Trailing ice plant or Cooper’s ice plant

Trailing ice plant next to model locomotive

Trailing ice plant Common name:
 Trailing ice plant, Cooper’s ice plant Latin name: 
Delosperma cooperi USDA Hardiness Zones: 6 to 9 Cultural needs: Well-drained soil, sun or part shade Plant size: 3-inches high by 3-feet wide Sometimes called hardy ice plant or purple ice plant, this low succulent is not to be confused with the […]

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Exclusive Layout Visits Trailer

black and red model train model

You’ve seen amazing model railroads of all scales highlighted in the pages of Model Railroader magazine. Now Trains.com Unlimited members can see them in action! Join layout builders, owners, and operators on exclusive, up-close, guided walking tours of the sights and sounds that promise to thrill and inspire. […]

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Garden railroading in the snow

model diesel with load of logs on garden railway

I am a member of the Genesee G Gauge Railway Society and enjoy garden railroading in the snow. My Crow Haven line is in Springwater, NY and was built over the last five years. It is comprised of 300+ feet of track on three levels, three trestles, 72 buildings (each with solar lights), 24 diecast […]

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Locomotives we didn’t get for Christmas

A black and white photo of Soviet steam locomotive

Trains and Christmas go hand-in-hand, and many of us had some special railroad-related gifts on our wish list, but instead of a wish list, this is a list of the locomotives we didn’t get for Christmas. These models either have never been mass-produced in our preferred scale or have not been produced in a decade […]

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Garden railroading in Hawaii

Garden railroading in Hawaii: model sugar cane train

Garden railroading in Hawaii: In late 2013, my wife set in motion a scheme that eventually became the Oberammergau, Ogden & Olomana Railroad – the Triple O. A few books, a GR subscription, and a year of study later, and we broke ground on what has become a family project to bring a stylized piece […]

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Tortoise Switch Machine topside installation

In the all-new series playing exclusively on Trains.com Video, you’ll discover scores of expert techniques and useful tools for making your model railroading efforts easy, more efficient, and even fun! To get the series started, Model Railroader magazine Editor Eric White shares his process for installing a Tortoise by Circuitron Slow Motion Switch Machine to […]

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Tortoise Switch Machine topside installation

In the all-new series playing exclusively on Trains.com Video, you’ll discover scores of expert techniques and useful tools for making your model railroading efforts easy, more efficient, and even fun! To get the series started, Model Railroader magazine Editor Eric White shares his process for installing a Tortoise by Circuitron Slow Motion Switch Machine to […]

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Lingonberry or mountain cranberry

plant with red berries on garden railway

Lingonberry or mountain cranberry   Common name: Lingonberry, mountain cranberry Latin name: Vaccinium vitis-idaea Plant type: Perennial USDA Hardiness Zones: 2-6 Cultural needs: Moist, well-drained, very acidic soil, full sun to partial shade Plant size: 4-12″, depending on variety and culture   Hello, Zone 2 gardeners! This naturalized Scandinavian import is hardy to -50°F! Mountaincranberry, […]

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An easy way to clean track and repel critters

Bottle of Fantastic cleaner on garden railway with track cleaning pole

Clean track and repel critters: I’ve been running my garden railway for about nine years. While operations have been successful, I’ve had to deal with two recurring challenges that seem to affect other large-scale operators as well, namely connectivity and Mother Nature. Connectivity issues usually means either bad joint connections between pieces of track or […]

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Meet David Popp

Meet David Popp: Balding middle-aged white male standing in front of a blurry painting of a steam train.

Meet David Popp What was your first train set? With a dad and grandfather both into model trains, I was surrounded by model railroading from an early age. The first train I can remember that I was given was a colorful plastic version of what we would now call Brio trains. It had silver-colored plastic […]

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Hobby shops, trains, and holidays just go together

Hobby shops trains hand holidays chile watching locomotive

Everyone knows hobby shops, trains, and holidays just go together. Right? I was recently talking to the owner of my local hobby shop, Cool Trains in Lancaster, Pa. Our chats usually kick off with an update around how business is going. I shouldn’t be surprised that his response is that summer is slow, but that […]

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Large scale boxcars and graffiti in an art exhibit

boxcar with graffiti

Large scale boxcars and graffiti in an art exhibit: The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (MOCA) opened its Art in the Streets show on April 17, 2011. It is the first major US museum exhibition on the history of graffiti and street art, tracing its development from the 1970s to the global movement […]

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