Wordsworth Township

Wordsworth Township

Name: Wordsworth Township Layout designer: M.C. Fujiwara Scale: N (1:160) Size: 2 x 4 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: urban industrial district Era: 1900 to 1970s Style: island or shelf Mainline run: 9 feet Minimum radius: 9″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Originally appeared in the September 2012 issue of Model Railroader. Click here […]

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Midwest Quarry & Mining Co.

MRR-KC0912_A plan

The layout at a glance Name: Midwest Quarry & Mining Co. Layout owner: Bob Genack Scale: On 2 1/2 (1:48, narrow gauge) Size: 8′-6″ x 12′-0″ Prototype: freelanced Locale: Midwest Era: 1930s Style: L-shaped Benchwork: L-girder and open grid Height: 46″ Roadbed: cork Track: Atlas code 100 Mainline run: 57 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum […]

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The HO scale Coloma Line

MRR-A0912_A plan

The layout at a glance Name: The Coloma Line Layout owner: Perry Amicangelo Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 9 x 13 feet Prototype: Chicago & North Western and Milwaukee Road Locale: southwest Wisconsin Era: mid-1950s Style: walk-in Benchwork: open grid Height: 43″ Roadbed: none Track: code 100 sectional and flextrack Mainline run: 44 feet Minimum radius: […]

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How to use heat shrink tubing

Hand holding a piece of heat shrink tubing

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page When working on a wiring project, it’s a good idea to protect solder joints. Model Railroader associate editor shows you an easy method using heat-shrink tubing. […]

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Make stronger scale retaining walls

retaining_walls1

Here’s a delicate looking woodworking project that’s tough enough to resist even being accidentally stomped on. Almost everyone has a section of a 2 x 6 stored on their property. You’ll also need a table saw for ripping the narrow boards required, or you can use thin wooden stakes from a garden center or collect […]

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Branchline station drawings in 1:29 scale

Branchline station drawings in 1:29 scale

Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. NOTE: This file […]

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Silver carpet or dymondia

silver_carpet

Nancy Norris Common name: Silver carpet, Dymondia Latin name: Dymondia margaretae Plant type: Groundcover USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-11 Cultural needs: Full sun to part shade; well drained, sandy soil Plant size: 1-2″ high, spreading slowly Dymondia margaretae is usually just called dymondia, because it’s the only species of a genus from South Africa. As a […]

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HO scale Boston Maine Bedford Division

Name: Boston & Maine Bedford Division Layout designer: Bill Moore Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 12′-0″ x 18′-6″ Prototype: freelanced, inspired by the Boston & Maine Locale: west-central New England Era: late 1940s to early 1950s Style: multilevel walk-in Mainline run: 174 feet Minimum radius: 36″ (upper level), 28″ (middle level), 21″ (lower level) Minimum turnout: […]

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HO scale Long Island & Lake Erie RR

Name: Long Island & Lake Erie RR Layout designer: Charlie Weinhofer Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 17 x 24 feet Prototype: Pennsylvania RR and Long Island RR Locale: New York Era: 1950s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 60 feet Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 8 (main), no. 6 (yards), no. 4 (spurs) Maximum grade: 2 percent […]

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Build an 1880s oil refinery

Pioneer Refinery

Refineries are a fascinating industry to model, and they can add considerable switching activity to a model railroad operating session. Kits for contemporary refineries are available, but they weren’t much help on my 1895-era railroad where the principal retail petroleum product is kerosene instead of gasoline. Some time ago, I became aware of the remains […]

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The HO scale New England & North Coast

Name: New England & North Coast Layout designer: Sam Novello Scale: HO (1:87.1) Room size: 12 x 14 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: New England seacoast Era: 1955 to 1965 Style: walkaround Minimum radius: 22″ Mainline run: 100 feet Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 3 percent Originally appeared in the July 2012 issue of Model […]

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How to make a more realistic puffball forest

Puffballtrees

The cardboard brings the puffball foliage to the same height as the foreground trees. The screen and cardboard are completely hidden in the finished scene. Modeling a dense forest area on your model train layout can get expensive if you start using individual trees.  I found a way to make puffball trees look more realistic, […]

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