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Listen in, as Trains.com draws knowledge and hobby insights from established retailer Jack Sommerfeld, owner/operator of Sommerfeld’s Trains & Hobbies in Butler, Wisconsin. Join staff writer Lucas Iverson as he chats with one of the top toy train dealers in the U.S., regarding the success and philosophy of his 40-year-old family-run business; his observations about […]
If you ever find yourself in the Milwaukee area, you may want to take a quick drive north to Butler, Wis., and visit Sommerfeld’s Trains & Hobbies. Don’t let its small size fool you — this brick-and-mortar store is a one-stop shop for a vast range of O gauge products. Owner Jack Sommerfeld, Chief Repair […]
Where has 2025 gone? We’re already into July, which means county fair season is in full swing. Right on its heels, back-to-school sales will begin! Between all of that hustle and bustle, take a few minutes to enjoy the July 2025 episode of Cody’s Office. We have an exciting lineup of products this month. Leading […]
If you’ve ever experimented with garden railroading, one of the first hurdles you’ll probably encounter is getting reliable connectivity between track sections when using track power. Especially in outdoor settings, weather and terrain are going to present inevitable challenges to maintaining track performance. Track installation techniques and track hardware are the most obvious factors to […]
Tony Koester, author of the popular Trains of Thought column in Model Railroader magazine and editor of MR’s annual publication Model Railroad Planning, was one of four recipients of the 2025 National Model Railroad Association Pioneer in Model Railroading award. The citation on his award read, “Author of regular articles in the hobby press and […]
Q: I’m trying to locate a source for large sheets of styrene. I can find the smaller sheets marketed by Evergreen, but I have been unsuccessful in my search for 4 x 8-foot sheets. Do you know of an online source? I live in the Toledo, Ohio, metro and there aren’t any plastics dealers in […]
Q: I have a bedroom sized N scale railroad with a four track staging/fiddle yard on one wall. I would like to run a branch line to a quarry over the staging, but I am concerned about the gradient to get the tracks to the right height. I will need about 6″ clearance for my […]
Q: I’m building a layout based on the early Burlington Northern in Idaho. I’ve seen a number of photos of renumbered locomotives and cabooses. Most have white numbers and reporting marks, but I’ve seen a few prototype photos online with the data in black. Did BN have a standard font and size for renumbering equipment, […]
Q: What website is best for finding prototype photos of freight cars to help with realistic weathering? — Jim Veronico A: Though some websites are certainly better than others, I’m reluctant to declare a single website as the “best” for finding prototype freight car photos. Over the years, I’ve found that using multiple sites helps […]
Steam locomotive manufacturers and aftermarket sound companies have come a long way in producing realistic sound, to a point. These systems usually have a single speaker mounted face down in the floor of the tender. Projecting sound downward and bouncing it off the track and ballast results in heightened bass and low definition between the […]
Common name: Creeping speedwell Latin name: Veronica repens Plant type: Groundcover Plant size: 1″ high, spreading 6-12″ USDA Hardiness Zones: 2-8 Cultural needs: Normal or sandy; well drained, moist soil; full sun to part shade Dwarfs and dwarf trees won’t be obscured when surrounded by this mat-forming creeping speedwell. Here, in full bloom during June […]
Back in 2010, I was part of a group of contributors to Scenery by the Seasons by Kalmbach Publishing Co. The 98-page book featured stories on modeling seasons on your layout. Among the topics covered were spring backdrops; lily pads, cattails, and pond scum; easy autumn trees; and ice and snow. Though the title is […]
