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I’ve had a fondness for narrow gauge modeling since I was a teenager reading Model Railroader stories by John Olsen and Malcolm Furlow in the early 1980s. So when it came time to build my first real layout, it’s no surprise that I chose HOn3 scale. It’s also no surprise I chose a freelanced route, […]
Facts & features Name: Ashville Lumber Co.Scale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 6 x 8 feet (three 2 x 4-foot sections)Prototype: freelancedLocale: southeastern United StatesEra: 1940sStyle: shelfMainline run: 20 feetMinimum radius: 18″Minimum turnout: Atlas No. 4Maximum grade: 3.5%Benchwork: open grid Height: 45″ to 49″Roadbed: Studio Décor mat board Track: code 83 flextrackScenery: extruded-foam insulation board and papier-mâché Backdrop: […]
Design a toy train layout — O, S, or Standard/Wide gauge — it requires above all making one fundamental decision. Each operator must decide what sort of look he or she wants the layout to have. To be specific, each modeler has to figure out the extent to which the layout, regardless of size or […]
Facts & features Name: St. Paul & SouthernScale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 24 x 28 feetPrototype: Chicago & North Western’s “Spine Line”Locale: Minnesota, Iowa, and MissouriEra: 1995Style: Walk-inMainline run: 200 feetMinimum radius: 36″Minimum turnout: No. 6Maximum grade: FlatBenchwork: Open gridHeight: 47″Roadbed: CorkTrack: Micro Engineering flextrackScenery: Extruded-foam insulation boardBackdrop: Painted tempered hardboardControl: Switchable between DC cab control and MRC Prodigy […]
Facts & features Name: Norfolk & Western Scale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 12 x 25 feetPrototype: Norfolk & Western with Baltimore & Ohio and Chesapeake & OhioLocale: Virginia and West Virginia Era: 1950sStyle: Around-the-wallsMainline run: 240 feetMinimum radius: 22″Minimum turnout: No. 4Maximum grade: 4%Benchwork: open gridHeight: 38″ to 66″ Roadbed: corkTrack: Atlas code 100 flextrackScenery: Plaster-impregnated paper […]
Chris Montagna of the Chris’s Trains and Things YouTube channel is a contributing editor to Classic Toy Trains. He has done numerous reviews and how-to articles for Trains.com and the magazine. We asked him a few questions. My first train set (or locomotive) was…? My first locomotive was a Lionel Reading 4-6-2 (No. 6-18004) in […]
Facts & features Name: Virginia & Western RR, Tidewater DistrictScale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 1′-3″ x 17′-0″Theme: Waterfront industrial districtLocale: Mid-Atlantic tidewaterEra: 1948-54Style: ShelfMainline run: NoneMinimum radius: Cosmetic curvesMinimum turnout: No. 5Maximum grade: NoneBenchwork: Plywood on shelf bracketsHeight: 44″Roadbed: CorkTrack: Handlaid code 70Scenery: tabletopBackdrop: Painted 1⁄4″ plywoodControl: Digitrax DCC Download a PDF of this track plan! Buy […]
Facts & features Name: Jones IslandScale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 3′-6″ x 13′-10″Prototype: Port of MilwaukeeLocale: Milwaukee waterfrontEra: Present dayStyle: ShelfMainline run: NoneMinimum radius: 24″Minimum turnout: No. 6 Maximum grade: NoneBenchwork: L-girderHeight: 49″Roadbed: CorkTrack: Code 83Scenery: Extruded-foam insulation board, SculptamoldBackdrop: PhotoControl: NCE Digital Command Control Download a PDF of this track plan! Buy the May 2023 issue […]
Facts & features Name: Gulf & Pacific RR Scale: HO (1:87) and HOn3 (HO scale, 3-foot narrow gauge) Size: 20 x 24 feet Prototypes: Freelanced Locale: Generic Era: Early 1960s Style: Shelf Mainline run: 180 feet Minimum radius: 30″ (main), 24″ (branch and spurs) Minimum turnout: No. 6 (main), No. 4 (branch and spurs) Maximum […]
In some of my early “Sketching with Steve” articles – in particular, “What is a station?” and “Big industries for small spaces” – I admit to having an ulterior motive. I was building toward something. Specifically, I had been thinking for a while about building an L shaped N scale shelf layout in my basement office. […]
Lots of work is taking place on the Model Railroader staff’s Bay Junction model train layout. Associate editor Cody Grivno has installed his United Cooperative grain elevator, while senior editor Dana Kawala describes building the fertilizer plant that will be located in front of the scene. Managing editor David Popp will also show how the […]
As the author of Model Railroader’s “Ask MR” column, I get a lot of questions from readers. Usually I either know the answers or at least where I can find the answers for them. Sometimes, though, I get a question that stirs my imagination and prompts me to compose a more involved response. Such was […]
