Basic Training: Cleaning track

Hand cleaning model train track

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Dirty track can take all the fun out of model railroading. Kent Johnson shows you how easy it is to shine up the rails and keep your trains rolling smoothly in this video. […]

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Thin Branch Series: Backdrops part 4 – Clouds

Jay Smith painting a bird.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page In our final backdrop painting installment, artist Jay Smith shows you how to add clouds to the sky of your model railroad. To complete the scene, he also provides tips for painting simple birds. Look for Jay’s other backdrop-painting videos on MR Video […]

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David Smith’s O gauge holiday display

David Smith's O gauge holiday display

David Smith’s 4 x 6-foot O gauge holiday display uses a pie-shaped platform to run his toy trains under a full-size Christmas tree. Learn how to build this attractive and compact display bursting with holiday cheer in the December issue. […]

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Jay Cain’s innovative O gauge layout

Jay Cain’s innovative O gauge layout

Jay Cain’s O-27 empire was one of the last O gauge layouts to be featured in our sister publication, Model Railroader. This new 12 x 30-foot O gauge layout reflects his wealth of experience in the hobby, along with his artistic and mechanical talents and vast imagination. […]

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A minor adjustment, please

On May 29, 1961, engineer Walter Good tightens the spark arrestor on Cass Shay No. 1 after the engine started a brush fire. The railroad was in transition at the time from logging railroad to tourist attraction. Check out more Cass and West Virginia coverage in the August 2013 issue of Trains magazine. Photo by John P. Killoran […]

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Cody’s Workshop: Episode 9 – Stripping paint

black-and-white photo of Cody Grivno wearing a white jacket and safety goggles on head

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Just in time for Halloween, Cody shows you two ways to strip paint from models in his latest visit to the “MR Laboratory.” He also shares some scary tips for preparing resin models, cutting coupler trip pins, and painting locomotive numberboards. And watchout […]

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