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This HO scale masterpiece is a double-deck proto-lance 1950s-era layout built by Guy Cantwell that represents parts of California’s central valley, as well as the railroads that operated in the Sierra foothills and mountains. It features prototypes from the Southern Pacific, Western Pacific/Tidewater Southern, Sierra, Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite Valley Railroad, and West Side Railroads. Most […]
This is a short segment of which many were unaware was at the end of the 1950’s movie of HO scale custom-made Aerotrain. Video by Bruce Kingsley. […]
John Flann developed a novel car-forwarding system for his Clark Fork RR that used playing cards. He wrote about the system in Great Model Railroads and Model Railroad Planning. John Flann, a noted British and North American model railroader, died in March. A native of England, John was an award-winning modeler and author. When he […]
Rapido Trains HO scale Alco/Montreal Locomotive Works FA-2 and FPA-2 diesel locomotives HO scale locomotives Alco/Montreal Locomotive Works FA-2 and FPA-2 diesel locomotives. FA-2: Ann Arbor (delivery scheme); Burlington Northern (Spokane, Portland & Seattle patchout); Chicago & North Western (yellow and green); CP Rail (Action Red with Multimark); Erie Lackawanna (gray and maroon); Long Island […]
Three CMRM volunteer trains brought to Colorado Model Railroad Museum’s BNSF Days are featured. There is a combined El Capitan – Super Chief, a grain train composed of cars from a variety (most BNSF heritage roads) railroads, and a Santa Fe intermodal train from the 1990s. […]
Don’t miss the backdrop special in the June 2018 Model Railroader. If you’re looking for more backdrop-related projects, check out this digital collection of previously published articles. Whether you’re looking for a simple sky-blue scene divider or a detailed mountain vista, adding scenic backdrops to your layout isn’t hard with help from some experts featured […]
Name: St. George Layout owner: John Ottman Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 12 x 16 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by Louisville & Nashville, Norfolk & Western, Southern Ry., Wheeling & Lake Erie Locale: Appalachian Mountains Era: steam-to-diesel transition Style: walk-in Mainline run: 70 feet Minimum radius: 22″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 3 percent Benchwork: […]
A 1950s-style documentary of my HO scale Aerotrain locomotive and observation car. Now a fully DCC and sound operational locomotive, it started out as a 1960s Bowser “toy” shell. Except for the shell, all parts came from other HO and O gauge part sources and many were custom made. Though not my best work at […]
In this exclusive video for Model Railroader from James Wright of the JLWII2000 YouTube channel, you’ll see highlights of the superdetailed HO scale SD70M from Athearn Trains. Part of the firm’s Genesis series, the diesel locomotive model features a SoundTraxx Tsunami2 Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoder. […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page A new Amtrak electric in HO, protein gons in N, HO scale covered hopper kits, and an exciting new book highlight the new model railroading products in the April installment of Cody’s Office. Down in the Model Railroader workshop associate editor Cody Grivno […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In this episode, Cody demonstrates techniques for modeling old stock cars some railroads used in grain service. You’ll see how he first preps and primes the kit, before painting subtle weathering effects using a micro-brush. He also shows how to mask and then […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Finally! Wally the Dog gets his big brake in this episode of Off The Rails! As host Gerry Leone continues the effort to prevent trains from rolling away, he and Wally share how they used a Tortoise by Circuitron switch machine to make […]
