Embark on an epic journey back to the late 1940s and early ’50s, as depicted on Curt LaRue’s HO scale (1:87.1) Pennsylvania Railroad Panhandle Division! Originally presented in the October 2025 issue of Model Railroader magazine, this stunning layout comes to life as cameras capture various modeled rural and industrial sites along the multi-track mainline […]
This article was originally published in the November 2002 issue of Model Railroader. Hosting an open house is a great way for model railroaders to share the hobby with others. But coordinating one that people will never forget requires not only good planning, but practice. In the past two decades, I’ve hosted several open houses, […]
Gerry Leone, host of Spaces to Places, works along the streets of Westcott, a Bona Vista HO scale layout town site he thought was previously “finished.” Here, he shows how to add a key missing element – telephone poles (aka utility/power/line poles)! Follow along, and you’ll see Gerry’s process for building, painting, and installing the […]
The thunder of modern motive power and the rumble of long trains rolling through Colorado’s Rocky Mountain passes caught Bill Becker’s imagination years ago, and it remains the theme of his fictional N scale Colorado & Eastern RR. Working in this small scale makes it possible to capture the majesty of the Rocky Mountains with […]
In this episode of Spaces to Places, host Gerry Leone focuses on the final details of the yard and roundhouse area on his HO scale (1:87.1) Bona Vista model railroad. He begins by placing background buildings and uses a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees to cover a hole in the backdrop. After ballasting all […]
Facts and features Name: Brush Creek & Western Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 21 x 45 feet Prototype: freelance Locale: St. Louis, Mo., to Oklahoma City, Okla. Era: 1935 to 1975 Style: peninsula Mainline run: 300 feet Minimum radius: 28″ Minimum turnout: No. 5 Maximum grade: 2% Benchwork: open grid Height: 16″ to 72″ Roadbed: lauan […]
Q: What was the western terminus of the MR&T, your HO scale staff layout? — Phil Stead A: Jim Kelly explained the concept behind the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy in “Meet the MR&T” in the December 1989 Model Railroader. “You may have already guessed that the initials in MR&T stand for Model Railroader and Trains, […]
Facts and features Name: Boston & Maine Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 13′-0″ x 34′-9″ Prototype: Boston & Maine Locale: Five villages of Wakefield, N.H. Era: 1909 Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: approximately 90 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: No. 4 Maximum grade: Less than 1% Benchwork: manufactured truss joists with 1 x 4 L-girders and […]
In this Spaces to Places episode, host Gerry Leone tackles the final touches around the lower deck roundhouse area of his HO scale (1:87.1) Bona Vista model railroad. Gerry first focuses on adapting background buildings, before transforming an empty space behind the roundhouse into an authentic place, including static grass and gravel roads. Want to […]
2025 NMRA National Convention, Train Show Highlights | Tour with Model Railroader Editor Eric White, as he makes the rounds to visit with small vendors and major manufacturers at the 2025 National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) Convention and Train Show recently held in Novi, Michigan. From new model announcements and releases to helpful modeling products […]
2025 NMRA National Convention, Layout Visits | Tour with Model Railroader Editor Eric White, as he discovers a diverse collection of model railroads from the 2025 National Model Railroad Association (NMRA) National Convention recently held in Novi, Michigan! Explore Steve Smith’s HO scale freelanced Sierra Valley & Harbor Junction; Dan Lewis’s nostalgic N scale Milwaukee […]
Facts and features Name: Willoughby LineScale: HO and HOn3 (1:87.1)Size: 13 x 22 feetPrototype: proto-freelancedLocale: California’s Central Valley and Sierra NevadaEra: 1935-1950Style: multi-deck walk-inMainline run: 180 feetMinimum radius: 30″Minimum turnout: No. 6Maximum grade: 2%Benchwork: L-girder and plywood brackets (upper deck)Height: 40 to 60 inchesRoadbed: HomasoteTrack: Micro Engineering codes 55, 70, and 83 flextrackScenery: Hydrocal hard […]
