HO scale Leadville & Red Cliff (LARC)

HOscaleLeadvilleRedCliffRR

Name: Leadville & Red Cliff (LARC) Layout designer: Bill and Steve Brown Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 25 x 40 feet Prototype: Union Pacific (lower level), Rio Grande Southern and Denver & Rio Grande (upper) Locale: Central and Southern Colorado Era: Modern day (lower level), 1949 (upper) Style: walkaround Mainline run: 300 feet (standard gauge), 75 feet (narrow […]

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N scale CSX Indianapolis Sub

NscaleCSXIndianapolisSub

Name: CSX Indianapolis Sub Layout designer: Robert W. Sprague Scale: N (1:160) Size: 9′-6″ x 13′-0″ Prototype: CSX Indianapolis Subdivision Locale: Indiana Era: present day (could be backdated to pre-2000) Style: walk-in Mainline run: 62 feet Minimum radius: 15″ (main), 12″ (branch) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none (main line), 2 to 3 percent […]

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N scale Pennsylvania, Hudson & Potomac

NscalePennsylvaniaHudsonPotomac

Name: Pennsylvania, Hudson & Potomac Layout designer: Charles Klein Scale: N (1:160) Size: 12′-6″ x 12′-6″ Theme: freelanced, transition-era, freight and passenger trains Locale: Mid-Atlantic states Era: 1930 to 1948 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 200 feet Minimum radius: 16″ (hidden track), 20″ (visible track) Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 1 percent Originally […]

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Erie milk and express car drawings

MRRC1114_Amilkcar

The Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum near Rochester, N.Y., took delivery of an Erie-Lackawanna RR steel-bodied milk car, no. 6603, in 1987. It was built by the Greenville Steel Car Co. for the Erie RR in June 1935. At first glance, the car looks like a standard steel refrigerator car. But since it was […]

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Olympia Logging Series: Part 19 – Adding LED lighting

David Popp holding a 6' LED lighting strip

After installing the fascia and cabinet, David had the bright idea to keep progress rolling on MRVP’s On30 Olympia Logging Co. layout. In this episode, he assembles, installs, and wires the LED strips used to illuminate our display-style layout. This is our first attempt at using LEDs, so David also shares several helpful installation tips […]

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HO scale CSX Indianapolis Sub

HOscaleCSXIndianapolisSub

Name: CSX Indianapolis Sub Layout designer: Robert W. Sprague Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 21 x 21 feet Prototype: CSX Indianapolis Subdivision Locale: Indiana Era: present day (could be backdated to pre-2000) Style: walk-in Mainline run: 142 feet Minimum radius: 30″ (main), 20″ (branch) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 1 percent (main), 2 percent (to […]

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Olympia Logging Series: Part 22 – Painting rock faces

To complete the rockwork suite on the Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout, David Popp shares an easy technique for adding realistic coloring to the wall of Sculptamold and rubber rock castings. Watch how David uses just a few shades of latex and acrylic modeling paint, along with a few light brushstrokes, to turn a stark […]

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Olympia Logging Series: Part 21 – Sculptamold rocks

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page The scenery work keeps rockin’ on the Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout as David Popp demonstrates another technique for making simple, yet realistic rock outcroppings using Sculptamold. David walks you through all of the steps, from mixing up the material to forming the […]

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Olympia Logging Series: Part 20 – Rubber rock castings

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Scenery projects resume on MRVP’s On30 Olympia Logging Co. display-style layout with Kent Johnson adding a large rock face. Kent keeps it simple by using a single rubber casting to form a sheer rock wall along the layout’s elevated line. Don’t miss his […]

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Annuals for the railroad garden

plantannuals1

1. A spectacular display of annual flowers edges the mainline of Ned and Phyllis Ruetz’s Rock Canyon Garden Railroad in Michigan. Don Parker 2. White sweet alyssum blooms profusely on the right of a clump of blue lobelia on Tom Speer’s Hard Rock & Dynamite Railroad in Denver. Don Parker 3. What appears to be […]

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Black-leaved clover

clover

Nancy Norris Common name: Black-leaved clover Latin name: Trifolium repens ‘Atropurpureum’ Plant type: Groundcover USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-10 Cultural needs: Well drained, moist soil; sun to shade Plant size: 3-6″ high by 12″ wide White clover is native to every US State and almost all Canadian provinces. This portrait shows a selection of the common […]

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