Build a yard office with an HO Atlas elevated gate tower

Model railroad building with yellow and red faded paint, as well as silver tweezer holding small red trim board.

While sifting through my “someday” project box, I found an old Atlas elevated gate tower.  I’ve had this little plastic structure since my earliest days in the hobby, but it’s been a number of years since I’ve used it on a layout. Despite its rough shape, I pulled it out of the box thinking it […]

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News & Products for the week of May 27th 2024

A model passenger car in a yellow and gray paint scheme

News & Products for the week of May 27th 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 May 27th […]

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Give your layout a summer vacation

Cold weather and limited train events keeping you indoors running trains? Well, we can relate. If you choose to give your favorite pastime a break for the summer to enjoy the weather with friends and family, then we suggest doing the following to ensure a smooth transition back into the hobby come those chilly, fall […]

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Jack Routledge’s HO scale Alberta Pacific Ry.

Color image of a steam locomotive and tank cars in a town scene.

As part of our 90th anniversary celebration, we’re featuring never-before-published articles from our archives on Trains.com. This story is from 1994. Products mentioned in the article may no longer be available. I’ve had an active interest in model railroading for more than 45 years. My ultimate goal was to build a layout of my own […]

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What makes a steam locomotive chuff sound?

Four diagrams of a steam locomotive’s valve gear, cylinder, drive rods, and wheels

Q: What causes a steam locomotive chuff sound? — Tom Huckaby A: Whether you call it a chuff (the railroader’s term), puff, or chugga-chugga, that distinctive sound is made by spent steam and exhaust smoke escaping through the smokestack of a steam locomotive. For a more detailed explanation of what’s going on in a steam […]

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Rapido N scale ore hopper

Color photo showing pair of N scale freight cars.

A National Steel Car short-barrel ore hopper has joined the growing N scale freight car lineup from Rapido Trains. The ready-to-run car has Barber S-2 100-ton trucks; 36” metal wheelsets; and see-through, etched-metal crossover platforms. Prototype history The samples we received are decorated as Canadian National 346029, from the railroad’s 346000 through 346084 series, and […]

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News & Products for the week of May 20th 2024

A model locomotive in a black and orange paint scheme

News & Products for the week of May 20th 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 May 20th […]

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