Enjoy this exclusive video tour of Rolf & Richard Plachter’s Midwest Lines HO scale (1:87) layout inspired by CB&Q, Rock Island, and UP railroad operations. Follow the action along the line, and then look for additional coverage of the layout in the December 2020 issue of Model Railroader magazine. […]
Check out this sound-equipped Athearn HO scale Union Pacific class CA-8 caboose. […]
Watch Atlas’s HO scale Alco RSD-5 on the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy! […]
Paint jar caps that are stuck or tightly sealed are a problem most modelers’ experience. In the spray booth at Model Railroader, we use an Oxo Good Grips jar opener (no. 21191) to open stubborn paint bottle caps. These are sold at most major discount stores and specialty cooking shops. Just place the cap into […]
The layout at a glance Name: Karlberg Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 15″ x 9′-0″ Theme: generic granger road Locale: upper Midwest Era: 1950s Style: shelf Mainline run: 8 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 4 percent (interchange) Benchwork: tabletop Height: 54″ Roadbed: Homasote Track: Micro Engineering code 55 Scenery: extruded-foam insulation board Backdrop: photographs Control: Digitrax Digital Command Control plus ProtoThrottle See a PDF version of this […]
Layout at a glance Name: CSX Thurmond, W.Va. Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 25 x 47 feet Prototype: proto-freelanced CSX Locale: Thurmond, W.Va. Era: Present day Style: Shelf Minimum radius: 32″ main, 24″ in industrial park and RJ Corman shortline Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: box girder Height: 56″ Roadbed: birch plywood Track: Peco code 83 flextrack Scenery: extruded-foam insualtion board Backdrop: hand-painted on medium-density fiberboard Control: NCE wireless Digital […]
The layout at a glance Name: Boston & Maine Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 14 x 25 feet Prototype: Boston & Maine Locale: Springfield, Mass., to White River Junction, Vt. Era: Autumn, late 1950s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 80 feet Minimum radius: 32” Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: less than 1 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: […]
Product news Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, structures, electronics, train sets, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of January 21, 2021. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division FP45 diesel locomotive. Atchison, […]
Laurium, Mohawk & Brockway no. 2, a Baldwin 2-6-2T, maneuvers its work train through Phoenix Yard on its way to do some track work. Larry Burk of Holly, Mich., photographed the scene on his On30 layout, which was featured in our November issue. Engine no. 2 is a modified Bachmann Spectrum model. Download the […]
Steam-era operation typically requires additional infrastructure items, such as coaling towers and water cranes, but perhaps the most interesting of these is the turntable, used for turning locomotives and sending them back out in the opposite direction. Kitwood Hill Models offers several laser-cut wood kits for gallows-style narrow-gauge turntables in an assortment of lengths, all […]
Atlas Model Railroad Co. has released a new run of HO scale Alco RSD-5 diesel locomotives in its Classic line. The six-axle road switcher features a dual-mode ESU LokSound decoder, improved tooling on the turbo exhaust stack (air- and water-cooled versions), and factory-installed and painted wire grab irons. The prototype. Alco produced the RSD-5 from March […]
Product News Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, structures, electronics, train sets, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of January 14, 2021. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Diesel SD70M-2 diesel locomotive. Canadian […]
