HO scale River City

HOscaleRiverCity

Name: River City Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 13 x 23 feet Prototype: Minneapolis & St. Louis Ry. Locale: Mason City, Iowa Period: first week of May 1954 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 90 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: open frame Height: 42″ Roadbed: Homasote on plywood Track: Peco code […]

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HOn3 East Broad Top RR

HOn3EastBroadTop

Name: East Broad Top RR Scale: HOn3 (1:87, 3-foot-gauge track) Size: 15′-8″ x 19′-8″ Prototype: East Broad Top RR Locale: south-central Pennsylvania Period: 1926 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 110 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 4 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: 48″ to 52″ Roadbed: Homasote on plywood Track: Micro Engineering code […]

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O scale Nickel Plate Road/Canandaigua Southern RR

OscaleNickelPlateRoadCanandaiguaSouthern1

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: […]

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S scale New York, Westchester & Boston

SscaleNewYorkWestchesterandBoston

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 […]

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Andy Sperandeo has passed away

Andy Sperandeo in cab of locomotive

For more than 30 years Andy Sperandeo was an integral part of Model Railroader magazine. October 3, 2015 – With a heavy heart, I’m sad to report that Andy Sperandeo, who has been a part of our lives at Model Railroader magazine for more than 30 years, has died. Andy was 70 years old. As […]

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Build the Black River Junction – part 4

MRRB0407_01

People, cars, buildings, and trees are part of everyday life. We’ll add all of these important details to our HO scale project railroad. Model trains are a lot of fun, and having a layout to run them on is even better. However, trains and track in isolation don’t look very realistic. While the scenery we […]

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HO scale New England, Berkshire & Western RR

HOscalenewenglandberkshirewestern

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 […]

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N scale CSX Southside Spur

NscaleCSXSouthsideSpur

Name: CSX Southside Spur Scale: N (1:160) Size: 12 x 15 feet Prototype: CSX Locale: St. Petersburg, Fla. Era: 2004 Style: along the walls Mainline run: not applicable Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 10 Maximum grade: none The track plan initially appeared in the November 2015 issue of Model Railroader. Click on the link […]

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On30 Colorado Narrow Gauge

On30ColoradoNarrowGauge

Name: Colorado Narrow Gauge Scale: On30 (1:48 proportion, 30″ track gauge) Size: 2 x 15 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: inspired by the Colorado Rocky Mountains Era: early 20th century Style: freestanding modular display Mainline run: 15 feet Minimum radius: 15″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: extruded-foam insulation board Height: 48″ Roadbed: Styrofoam […]

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