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Era: 1946 - 1970
Roanoke & Southern

Name: Roanoke & Southern Layout owner: Jeff Kraker Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 9′-31/2″ x 22′-6″ Theme: freelanced Eastern coal hauler Locale: southwest Virginia Era: 1953-1960 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 78 feet Minimum radius: 22″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 4 percent Originally appeared in the May 2010 issue of Model Railroader. Click on the […]
East Broad Top and Pennsylvania RR

Name: East Broad Top and Pennsylvania RR Layout owner: Don Shook Scale: HO (1:87.1) and HOn3 (1:87.1, three foot gauge) Size: 24′-3″ x 26′-3″ Prototype: EBT and PRR Locale: central Pennsylvania Era: Summer 1955 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 120 feet (EBT), 96 feet (PRR) Minimum radius: 24″ (EBT), 52″ (PRR) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum […]
Great Northern

Name: Great Northern Layout owner: Jim Shaw Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 9 x 11 feet Prototype: freelanced, based on Great Northern and Canadian Pacific Locale: Pacific Northwest Era: Early diesel era Style: around-the-walls Minimum radius: 15″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Originally appeared in the April 2010 issue of Model Railroader. Click on […]
Jack Fox had to wait for his O gauge layout

Here’s a classic tale of a kid who badly wanted to play with his trains, but couldn’t – at least not right away. Find out exactly what we’re talking about! Jack Fox had to wait for his O gauge layout […]
Saving an American Flyer Royal Blue engine from a landfill

While I have been a part of the toy train hobby, I have attended many train shows and met other train lovers. And I’ve come to realize that there are hundreds of us that don’t know enough about the value and rarity of different O and S gauge trains. We may not even be aware […]
A simple transition-era locomotive terminal

Want to add a basic locomotive servicing area but don’t have room for the turntable, roundhouse, and other shop and warehouse buildings typical of a large facility? As this 1953 photo of a Missouri Pacific RR fueling facility in Little Rock, Ark., shows, a no-frills fueling area can easily be modeled in limited space. At […]
Development of the railroad tank car

The invention of the tank car coincided with the discovery of oil in northwestern Pennsylvania in the 1860s. Oilmen quickly discovered that hauling oil to market in horse-drawn wagons or floating barrels down local streams wasn’t going to do the job as oil production ramped up. The oil industry needed to find a way to […]
Järfälla Model Railroad Club

Name: Järfälla Model Railroad Club Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 33 x 46 feet Theme: generic American Era: variable Style: walkaround Mainline run: 360 feet Minimum radius: 47″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent (main), 3.5 percent (branch line) Originally appeared in the March 2010 issue of Model Railroader. Click on the link to […]
Mount Royal Division of the Baltimore & Ohio RR

Name: Mount Royal Division of the Baltimore & Ohio RR Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 12 x 24 feet Prototype: freelanced based on Baltimore & Ohio RR Locale: Maryland and Pennsylvania Era: 1940 to 1948 Style: walk-in with liftout Mainline run: 65 feet Minimum radius: 20″ (34″ on main) Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 3 […]
Burlington Branch

Name: Burlington Brnach Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 10 x 12 feet Theme: branchline terminal Locale: Wyoming plains Era: 1950s Style: around the walls Mainline run: 26 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: Peco large radius Maximum grade: none Originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Model Railroader. Click on the link to download the […]
Virginian Ry.

Name: Virginian Ry. Scale: N (1:160) Size: 12 x 12 feet Theme: Appalachian coal railroading Locale: West Virginia Era: 1960s Style: around the walls Mainline run: 60 feet Minimum radius: 20″ Minimum turnout: Peco medium radius Maximum grade: 4 percent Originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Model Railroader. Click here to download a […]