In this Spaces to Places episode, host Gerry Leone tackles the final touches around the lower deck roundhouse area of his HO scale (1:87.1) Bona Vista model railroad. Gerry first focuses on adapting background buildings, before transforming an empty space behind the roundhouse into an authentic place, including static grass and gravel roads. Want to […]
2025 NMRA National Convention, Train Show Highlights | Tour with Model Railroader Editor Eric White, as he makes the rounds to visit with small vendors and major manufacturers at the 2025 National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) Convention and Train Show recently held in Novi, Michigan. From new model announcements and releases to helpful modeling products […]
2025 NMRA National Convention, Layout Visits | Tour with Model Railroader Editor Eric White, as he discovers a diverse collection of model railroads from the 2025 National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) National Convention recently held in Novi, Michigan! Explore Steve Smith’s HO scale freelanced Sierra Valley & Harbor Junction; Dan Lewis’s nostalgic N scale Milwaukee […]
Facts and features Name: Willoughby LineScale: HO and HOn3 (1:87.1)Size: 13 x 22 feetPrototype: proto-freelancedLocale: California’s Central Valley and Sierra NevadaEra: 1935-1950Style: multi-deck walk-inMainline run: 180 feetMinimum radius: 30″Minimum turnout: No. 6Maximum grade: 2%Benchwork: L-girder and plywood brackets (upper deck)Height: 40 to 60 inchesRoadbed: HomasoteTrack: Micro Engineering codes 55, 70, and 83 flextrackScenery: Hydrocal hard […]
Trains.com video series host and Master Model Railroader Gerry Leone sets his sights on the interior details of the previously assembled three-stall roundhouse he reworked for his latest HO scale (1:87.1) Bona Vista model railroad. From the inspection pit, to the interior flooring and wall, to the oil stains, to a full complement of racks […]
In the August 2025 issue of Model Railroader, we featured Art Kear’s HO scale Buffalo & Susquehanna to Wellsville, Addison & Galeton. The 12 x 32-foot multi-deck walk-in layout features a logging line circa 1910 and the steam-to-diesel transition era in 1950. “Once the train room was completed, it was time to get started on […]
In the August 2025 issue of Model Railroader, we featured Art Kear’s HO scale Buffalo & Susquehanna to Wellsville, Addison & Galeton. The 12 x 32-foot multi-deck walk-in layout features a logging line circa 1910 and the steam-to-diesel transition era in 1950. “Once the train room was completed, it was time to get started on […]
In January of this year, the future looked bleak for the storied Pacific Southern Railway, a model railroad club based in Rocky Hill, New Jersey. Their decades-old, constantly evolving club layout was facing an existential threat. The HO scale Pacific Southern Railway, spanning 5,000 square feet with over 3,500 feet of handlaid track, began its […]
Facts and features Name: Colorado & Southern Clear Creek DistrictScale: 1:72Size: 40 x 52 feetPrototype: Colorado & Southern Clear Creek DistrictLocale: Denver to Rocky MountainsEra: 1920sStyle: Double-deck linear walkaroundMainline run: 725 feet plus branch lineMinimum radius: 24″Minimum turnout: No. 6Maximum grade: 3%Benchwork: open gridHeight: 30″ to 70″Roadbed: cork on insulation boardTrack: code 70 and 83 […]
The plan is simple: a long loop-to-loop (folded dog-bone) single-track line. There are several passing sidings to allow three trains to be on the line at the same time with a long run between return loops. Wireless controls are always nice, but a classic Lionel type-ZW transformer with a switch control panel board is really […]
My layout, The “Casey” Line, was published in the September 2021 Classic Toy Trains. My 30-year project was based on reading a boxful of 1950’s Model Railroader magazines and compiling a list of the best features on model railroads from those articles. Fortunately, I was able to include all the scenic features recommended in those […]
Name: Neal Schorr’s Pennsylvania RR Middle DivisionGauge: O scale (1:48)Dimensions: 38 x 45 feet (maximum dimensions)Track: Atlas O code 215 three-rail flextrackTurnouts: Atlas O, Ross Custom SwitchesMotive power and rolling stock: Atlas O, Golden Gate Depot, K-Line, Lionel, WeaverControls: Lionel TrainMaster Command Control Structures: Atlas O, DPM, Lionel, MTH, scratchbuilt, Wm. K. WalthersFigures: Arttista, Woodland […]
