Video: HO scale Union Pacific stack train through central Texas

Yellow model Union Pacific locomotives lead a freight train through a low-density urban commercial corridor.

Union Pacific stack train with DPU running through the finished part (about 1/3) of Per Laursen’s modern HO scale model railroad. The model train layout theme is UP with BNSF trackage rights in east-central Texas. The main city of Waycross is fictional but the other towns Gladewater, Livingston, and LaGrange are made to resemble the […]

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Member video: Pulling empties on the HO scale Iowa Interstate

Pulling empties on the HO scale Iowa Interstate

Follow Train DMSW-08 as it pulls two empties from Beisser Lumber in Grimes on the Iowa Interstate’s Grimes Industrial Track. James McNab shot this video on his HO scale Iowa Interstate model railroad. See more of this modern-era model railroad, including a track plan, in Model Railroad Planning 2014! […]

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Member video: Pulling empties on the HO scale Iowa Interstate

Pulling empties on the HO scale Iowa Interstate

Follow Train DMSW-08 as it pulls two empties from Beisser Lumber in Grimes on the Iowa Interstate’s Grimes Industrial Track. James McNab shot this video on his HO scale Iowa Interstate model railroad. See more of this modern-era model railroad, including a track plan, in Model Railroad Planning 2014! […]

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The Roundhouse: Episode 10

Hal Miller, Dana Kawala, and Neil Besougloff

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Steve Haynes, sales manager for track manufacturer Peco, returns as Hal’s guest on The Roundhouse. Youth in the hobby, the National Train Show, and what it takes to produce models are all topics on this episode. And look for the first Unofficial Roundhouse […]

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Thin Branch Series: Backdrops part 2 – Hill highlights

Jay Smith painting a backdrop.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page In part 2 of our backdrop series, painter Jay Smith starts filling in the background details. In this installment he adds mist to the valleys and small treetops and sun highlights to the mid-ground hills. […]

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Thin Branch Series: Backdrops part 2B – The river

Jay Smith painting a river.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Painting backdrops involves trial and error, even for professional artists. In part 2B of our backdrop series, Jay Smith shows you how he painted the river from start to finish, including changing colors “midstream” several times to get the right look. […]

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Thin Branch Series: Backdrops part 2 – Hill highlights

Jay Smith painting a backdrop.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page In part 2 of our backdrop series, painter Jay Smith starts filling in the background details. In this installment he adds mist to the valleys and small treetops and sun highlights to the mid-ground hills. […]

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Thin Branch Series: Backdrops part 2B – The river

Jay Smith painting a river.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Painting backdrops involves trial and error, even for professional artists. In part 2B of our backdrop series, Jay Smith shows you how he painted the river from start to finish, including changing colors “midstream” several times to get the right look. […]

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Thin Branch Series: Backdrops part 1 – basic hills

Jay painting hills.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Need a painted backdrop for your model railroad? Learn the basics of painting with artist Jay Smith as he adds a backdrop to our Thin Branch project railroad. In part 1 of our series, Jay shows you how to work from photos to […]

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