News & Products for the week of July 8th 2024

A computer scan of a locomotive

News & Products for the week of July 8th 2024   Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of July 8th […]

Read More…

What are some uses for alcohol in model railroading?

A hand holds a model locomotive so its wheels can spin on a dampened paper towel laid across a track

Q: I have heard of some of the uses for alcohol in model railroading, such as cleaning parts, removing paint, and track cleaning. Are there other uses I’m not aware of? And at what strengths would be used? — Ron Buddemeier A: Isopropyl alcohol is a fairly strong solvent, and as such, there are a […]

Read More…

Designing two HO scale modules on a hollow core door

A pencil sketch of two HO scale modules on a hollow core door

When people think about building a model train layout on a hollow core door, they most often envision an N scale layout, like our Red Oak project (which was published starting in MR’s January 2015 issue). Admittedly, hollow core doors are a convenient size for small N scale layouts, since nested 9.5” and 11” radius […]

Read More…

Cardinal River Models’ Super Power startup

Closeup of parts from a 3D model of steam locomotive.

In May 2024, an up-and-coming model railroad company took the stage with Super Power in its arsenal. Cardinal River Models LLC of West Virginia announced plans to manufacture a museum-tier model of the Nickel Plate Road Class S-2 2-8-4 Berkshire-type steam locomotive in HO. Although Nickel Plate Berkshires are nothing new to the market, owner […]

Read More…

Plans for a masonry depot

Color image of weather-beaten masonry depot

Harold W. Russell’s illustrations have been appearing in Model Railroader magazine since the mid-1960s. He has more than 150 bylines to his credit. In the July 2024 issue he shared plans for a masonry depot on the Lehigh Valley in Gorham, N.Y. Click on the link below to download Harold’s plans. Use this link to […]

Read More…

News & Products for the week of July 1st 2024

A model locomotive in a city of Chicago paint scheme

News & Products for the week of July 1st 2024   Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of July 1st […]

Read More…

ScaleTrains HO Rivet Counter Trinity reefer

Title screen of review video with two HO scale freight cars painted white with blue and green graphics.

The ScaleTrains HO Rivet Counter Trinity reefer recently arrived at the Model Railroader offices. Join Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he provides a brief history of the full-size BNSF Ry. cars, points out the various details on the contemporary freight car, and demonstrates how the sound and light functions work. Then see two of the […]

Read More…

Five train layouts you can visit this summer

Large model train layout with full-scale red caboose in the background

Planning your travel for this summer? Be sure to include some model trains in those plans! These five train layouts throughout the country (and world) are all worth a visit this summer. Colorado Model Railroad Museum Featuring more than 500 HO scale locomotives, 80 scale miles of track, and tens of thousands of handmade trees, […]

Read More…

Model Railroader Hall of Fame August nominees

Color photo of man wearing glasses in striped polo shirt standing by model railroad.

The Model Railroader Hall of Fame August nominees are all part of the Kalmbach Media (formerly Kalmbach Publishing Co.) family tree. Though all three men worked here, each impacted model railroading in a different way. Jim Hediger shared his modeling tips and techniques with readers for more than 40 years. Michael Stephens, a second-generation Kalmbach […]

Read More…

Storage ideas for under your layout

pine shelving units support an L-shaped switching layout

Model railroads can take up a lot of space, but one way to recuperate some of that is to use the area under the benchwork for either modeling or household items. So here are some storage ideas for under your layout. Shelving Shelving is a popular strategy for storage under your layout. One of the […]

Read More…

Why do railroads use towers?

An HO scale model of a railroad interlocking tower with boarded-up windows stands next to a track as a red-nosed Canadian National wide-nose Alco M420 approaches from the right

What are railroad tower operations? Railroad tower operations can have at least two meanings. One is what happens inside a tower, or more specifically, an interlocking tower. The other is a way of running a railroad, by using the operators in interlocking towers to control traffic through specific points of the railroad. So, why do […]

Read More…