Name: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy-Lines East Scale: S (1:64) Size: 19 x 30 feet Prototype: semi-freelanced, inspired by CB&Q Locale: Illinois Era: late 1940s to early 1960s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 312 feet Minimum radius: 42″ Minimum turnout: no. 8 Maximum grade: 2 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: 48″ to 56″ Roadbed: Homasote and cork Track: […]
Name: Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific River Subdivision Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 30 x 60 feet Locale: Eastern Minnesota along the Mississippi River Period: Early fall 1950 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 195 feet (per westbound and eastbound tracks) Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent (in helix) Benchwork: L girder, […]
Name: Nickel Plate Road, Kentucky Western Division and Canandaigua Southern RR, Southern Division Scale: O (1:48) Size: 18 x 89 feet Prototype: Nickel Plate Road and freelanced Locale: southern Ohio and western Pennsylvania Period: May 1958 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 1,000 feet Minimum radius: 64″ (main line), 56″ (staging loops) Maximum grade: 2.5 percent Benchwork: […]
Name: New York, Westchester & Boston Scale: S (1:64) Size: 12 x 39 feet Prototype: alternate history New York, Westchester & Boston Locale: New England Period: 1955 Style: around-the-walls with peninsula Mainline run: 120 feet Minimum radius: 42″ (visible), 36″ (hidden) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2.5 percent (main), 3 percent (branch), 4 percent (down […]
Name: New England, Berkshire & Western RR Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 33 x 124 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by Delaware & Hudson and Rutland Locale: upstate New York and western Vermont Era: 1950 Style: linear walkaround Benchwork: L-girder Height: 51″ to 59″ Roadbed: 1⁄2″ Homasote with molded wood putty shoulders on 3⁄4″ plywood Track: handlaid […]
Name: Great Lakes & Western Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 37 x 48 feet Theme: freelanced Class 1 with standard gauge logging and narrow gauge branch lines Locale: Midwest to Western United States Era: 1940s to present day (depends on operating session) Style: walk-in Mainline run: approx. 800 feet Minimum radius: 30″ (main line), 26″ (narrow […]
Name: Manassas Junction, Va. Scale: N (1:160) Size: 34″ x 52.5″ Prototype: Manassas Gap RR and Orange & Alexandria RR Locale: Manassas Junction, Va. Era: July 1861 Style: diorama Mainline run: 4′-4″ Minimum radius: 19″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: 1 x 2 frame with 1⁄4″ plywood top Height: 47′-6″ Roadbed: built […]
Name: Cornbelt Northern RR Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 30 x 54 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by Chicago & North Western, Great Northern, and Milwaukee Road Locale: upper Midwest Era: early 1950s Style: around the walls Mainline run: 215 feet Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Height: 51″ to 57″ Roadbed: […]
HO scale Union Pacific Butte Line Name: Butte Line Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 38 x 38 feet Prototype: Union Pacific’s branch line from Pocatello, Idaho, to Butte, Mont. Locale: Southeastern Idaho and south-central Montana Era: 1954 Style: Point-to-point walkaround Mainline run: 280 feet, including hidden staging and return loops (140 feet excluding staging) Minimum radii: […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In this segment from the hit PBS series Tracks Ahead, you’ll visit Jerry Mickey’s Bear Creek Railroad, a basement-filling O scale (three-rail) layout. […]
HO scale Pennsylvania RR Middle Division from the April 2015 Model Railroader Name: Pennsylvania RR Middle Division Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 36 x 36 feet Prototype: Pennsylvania RR Locale: Harrisburg, Pa. Era: 1945 to 1950 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 150 feet Minimum radius: 36″ (main line), 24″ (branch line) Minimum turnout: no. 5 […]
The layout is 61 feet long and between 3′ 3″ and 5′ wide. Style is European, set roughly in the 1950s and 1960s. Because this is enjoyed by grandkids, I’ve tried to make it interactive. They can fill tank cars remotely and load trains (and a ship) with two cranes, one at each end of […]
