N scale Tidewater Southern RR

NscaleTidewaterSouthernRR

Name: Tidewater Southern RR Layout owner: Scale Rails club Scale: N (160:1) Size: 4′-1″ x 27′-0″ plus 24″ x 48″ Prototype: freelanced Locale: Eastern United States Era: 1950-1970 Style: island Mainline run: 162 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: modular Height: 40″ Roadbed: cork Track: code 80 flextrack Scenery: […]

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HO scale Pennsylvania RR Pittsburgh Division

HOscalePennsylvaniaRRPittsburghDivision

Name: Pennsylvania RR Pittsburgh Division Layout owner: Dave Johnson Scale: HO (1:187.1) Size: 33′-8″ x 37′-4″ Prototype: Pennsylvania RR Locale: Pittsburgh to Harrisburg, Pa. Period: 1952 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 235 feet Minimum radius: 30″ (main), 28″ (yard lead) Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 5 (yard) Maximum grade: 1.75 percent Benchwork: L-girder and open […]

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HO scale Rock Island Clay Center Branch

HOscaleRockIslandClayCenterBranch

Name: Rock Island, Clay Center Branch Layout owner: Ken Jenkins Scale: HO (1:87:1) Size: 27 x 55 feet Prototype: Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific RR Locale: Northeast Kansas Era: fall 1969 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 150 feet Minimum radius: 25″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 5 (yards and spurs) Maximum grade: 1.25 […]

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On30 Dolly Varden RR

  Name: Dolly Varden Layout owner: Dave Revelia Scale: On30 (1:48 proportion, 30″ track gauge) Size: 3 x 28 feet Prototype: Dolly Varden RR Locale: British Columbia, Canada Era: 1920s Style: shelf Mainline run: 28 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 5 percent Benchwork: aluminum Height: 40″ Roadbed: cork Track: flextrack […]

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HO scale Blue Ridge & Allegany Ry.

HOscaleBlueRidgeAlleganytrackplan

Name: Blue Ridge & Allegany Ry. Layout owner: Ron Hale Scale: HO (1:87.1) Layout size: 22′-6″ x 38′-6″ Prototype: freelanced, inspired by the Southern Ry. and Western Maryland Ry. Locale: Appalachian Mountains from Blue Ridge, N.C., to Allegany, Md. Era: 1952 Mainline run: 173 feet Minimum radius: 32″ (main), 28″ (branch) Minimum turnout: no. 6 […]

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HO scale Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe

HOscaleGulfColoradoWesterntrackplan

Name: Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Layout owner: David Kampsnider Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 26 x 30 feet Prototype: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. Locale: Oklahoma Era: 1951 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 100 feet Minimum radius: 34″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 5 (spurs) Maximum grade: 1 percent (main),2.2 percent (helix) Benchwork: 1 […]

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N scale Interstate RR – Dorchester and Roaring Fork branches

NscaleInterstateRR1

Name: Interstate RR – Dorchester and Roaring Fork branches Layout designer: Christian Javier Scale: N (1:160) Prototype: Interstate RR Locale: Wise County, Va. Era: 1967 Style: multilevel walk-in Mainline run: 125 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent (main) This track plan originally appeared in the November 2016 Model Railroader. […]

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Winston-Salem Southbound Series: Preparation for Operation

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Now that work on the trackwork, scenery, structures, details, motive power and rolling stock is nearly complete on our Winston-Salem Southbound HO scale project layout, it’s time to try running it like a real railroad. But before a single axle turns, MRVP’s David […]

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How-to Library: Cast your own rock molds, Part 2

Gerry Leone staining plaster rocks.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page   MRVP Contributing Editor Gerry Leone completes this How-To Library mini-series by demonstrating the steps for casting lightweight plaster rocks using the molds created in Part 1. He then shares his expert techniques for staining rocks to give them a natural-looking appearance. […]

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An all-new-under-the-hood locomotive

MRRNS1116_01

Jim’s N scale Atlas GP30 is all new under the hood thanks to a newer DCC-ready mechanism. A bonus was the new drivers. The nickel-silver plating had worn off the treads on the old locomotive, and they were difficult to keep clean. A few weeks back I pulled an Atlas N scale GP30 locomotive off […]

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