How do I use paper turnout templates? Q: I’m looking to get back into model railroading and I’m having a hard time deciding on a layout. I’ve confused myself by looking at hundreds of plans, drawing possible layouts and trying design software. I would like to be able to use paper track templates, but I […]
Q: Next Christmas I’d like to build a small automatic direct-current layout to put in my wife’s shop window. How is it possible to make sure that when a train arrives at the station and stops, a switch is triggered, the polarity is reversed, and another train departs in the opposite direction? – Ferruccio Felletti, […]
Click the links below to download the appropriately sized image for your screen. Download the 1600 x 900 image Download the 1600 x 1000 image Download the 1600 x 1200 image […]
Recent scratchbuilding efforts prompted me to come up with a simple glue applicator that would put a small amount of adhesive precisely where I wanted it. There are many commercial products to do this, but none were exactly what I needed. I took a sewing needle, measured its diameter, and drilled a slightly smaller hole […]
Q: My N scale layout is set in 1933. Several years ago, someone whose railroading knowledge I respect told me that running boards on early freight cars weren’t painted since they would be dangerously slippery when wet. However, all the models I see sold now have the running boards painted the same color as the […]
Q: When superelevating track curves with shims, is the shim placed with one of its sides along the track centerline or in the middle of the line? – Robert, last name not given A: Superelevation is where the rail on the outside of a curve is elevated slightly above the inner rail so trains transiting […]
Learn the fundamentals from Model Railroader with our FREE Basic Training E-mail Series! For beginners and those who could use a refresher on key model railroad fundamentals, Model Railroader’s Basic Training E-mail Series is for YOU! This series of six e-mails includes: •a clear explanation of scales and gauges •a demonstration of model train sets […]
Learn what you need to get started as a toy train operator/collector. Classic Toy Trains brings you a new 4-part email series called “Toy Train Basics.” Using insightful articles and helpful video guides, it teaches you the essentials of the hobby, including: •Lessons on fundamental terminology. •How to create a small, simple track plan. […]
Classic Toy Trains Editor Hal Miller prowls the dollar store aisles in search of inexpensive items that are useful on the workbench or layout. […]
Q: I’m relatively new to the hobby and am seriously thinking about expanding my 4 x 8-foot HO scale layout to something larger. When I read about all the great layouts that appear in your magazine every month, I often wonder how you keep a large layout clean and free from dust. Right now I […]
Kalmbach’s own Cody Grivno talks through the basic ways of fastening track to a layout so you can run model trains. […]
Download this image to use as a background on your computer screen In a shot inspired by the nighttime photography of O. Winston Link, a Norfolk & Western class M2C locomotive is seen pulling a short local through the darkened Virginia countryside on an autumn night. Gary Hoover of Florissant, Mo., captured the image by […]
