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This article was originally published in the November 2002 issue of Model Railroader. Hosting an open house is a great way for model railroaders to share the hobby with others. But coordinating one that people will never forget requires not only good planning, but practice. In the past two decades, I’ve hosted several open houses, […]
Scenes on David Popp’s Olympia & Sand Creek On30 logging layout are starting look much more rustic…and realistic too! Follow along as David share his techniques for adding trees, detailed ground cover, and even placing a few authentic figures into the scene. View the complete Olympia series exclusively on Trains.com Video! […]
In this episode, David shares a proven technique for adding and shaping a rustic course of ballast along the rails of the Olympia & Sand Creek On30 logging layout. But first he works to complete several scenery details, including realistic fencing, water effects, muddy cow paths, and more along the terrain and trackwork too! View […]
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 […]
I’m trying to troubleshoot a Lionel No. 624 Chesapeake & Ohio NW2 diesel switcher from the 1950s. The motor seems to short out, even after I spent time cleaning out the dried grease from long ago. All I get now is a grinding noise, and the locomotive barely moves. What do you think is the […]
I began collecting O and 027 gauge trains in middle school. Like many toy train enthusiasts, the trains were eventually packed away for various reasons. Years later, I unpacked my Lionel and Marx collection. It had been a long time since I had seen these trains. I unpacked mostly postwar and modern 2-4-2 outline steam […]
I recently took out my old toy trains that have been packed away for about 25 years. The tubular track sections that were brand new back then now have black marks on them. How do I clean them and get them usable again? — Joe Rampe If it’s just dry corrosion, a Scotch-Brite pad will […]
Now it’s time for scenery on David Popp’s Olympia & Sand Creek On30 display layout to take shape! In this episode, the efforts begins by adding a few more details, before David works to cover new ground with static grass and a variety of turf and brush materials. View the complete Olympia series exclusively on […]
Are you aware of any kind of commercial device that can prevent Lionel and MTH trains from running in reverse? Whenever any of my young grandchildren try to run a freight train in reverse, the cars inevitably derail and ruin our fun. This is an interesting problem to have! I can’t think of any device […]
When we moved to our new office in Brookfield, Wis., one of my favorite aspects of this new space was the workshop area. Not only do we have plenty of space for modeling and layout building, but we have just enough space for the Winston-Salem Southbound layout to sit next to our workbenches. One day […]
Menards continues to release an interesting variety of structures for your O gauge layout, from industrial, to whimsical, and anything else you might see in Anytown U.S.A. This latest structure, called “O gauge Main Street,” fits squarely in that Anytown category. A sticker on the clamshell box states that this is part of the Main […]
Host David Popp is making good progress with his modeling, so he takes a moment to highlight some of the details that help shape the realistic barn and farmhouse setting on his Olympia & Sand Creek On30 display layout. In this episode, he talks through tree selection, fabricating custom figures, adding exterior/interior structural intricacies, and […]
