N scale Pennsylvania, Hudson & Potomac

NscalePennsylvaniaHudsonPotomac

Name: Pennsylvania, Hudson & Potomac Layout designer: Charles Klein Scale: N (1:160) Size: 12′-6″ x 12′-6″ Theme: freelanced, transition-era, freight and passenger trains Locale: Mid-Atlantic states Era: 1930 to 1948 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 200 feet Minimum radius: 16″ (hidden track), 20″ (visible track) Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 1 percent Originally […]

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Erie milk and express car drawings

MRRC1114_Amilkcar

The Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum near Rochester, N.Y., took delivery of an Erie-Lackawanna RR steel-bodied milk car, no. 6603, in 1987. It was built by the Greenville Steel Car Co. for the Erie RR in June 1935. At first glance, the car looks like a standard steel refrigerator car. But since it was […]

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Great Model Railroads 2015 desktop wallpaper

GMRcover

Pre-order Great Model Railroads 2015 Now! Great Model Railroads 2015 showcases 10 dream layouts engineered into reality by talented modelers. This special issue includes track plans, how-to tips, and vibrant photographs, which capture the vivid detail of these brilliant layouts. If you’re looking for inspiration and clever ideas, Great Model Railroads 2015 will spark your […]

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Three major NYC yards

Selkirk Yard-BEV

Selkirk Yard near Albany, N.Y. New York Central Cornerstone of New York Central’s $25 million “Castleton Cutoff” improvement project, Selkirk opened on November 20, 1924. Central’s objective was to bypass congestion at Albany, where two Hudson River drawbridges and the “Water Level Route’s” one big bump, the 1.75 percent West Albany grade between the Hudson […]

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First Look: WalthersMainline HO scale Budd passenger cars

MRRNP0215_100

Model Railroader recently had a chance to look at hand-painted, pre-production samples of the HO scale WalthersMainline Budd 85-foot passenger cars, scheduled for release in January 2015. The newly tooled cars, which can operate on 18” radius curves, will feature truck-mounted couplers, 36” turned-metal wheelsets, sprung diaphragms, and Proto-Max knuckle couplers. The gap between the […]

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DCC Programming: episode 11 – manual notching

Manual notching using a QSI Quantum decoder.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Modern sound decoders have made it possible for your model locomotives to sound just like the real thing. In this episode, DCC Programming Series host Dana Kawala shares a few ways to tweak the sound effects to further enhance the realistic operation of […]

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Rehab My Railroad: Episode 1

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page To get the series started, show host Drew Halverson introduces you to layout owner Chuck Sable and his HO scale basement setup. Top-notch modelers David Popp and Cody Grivno waste no time jumping into rehab work, with the first targets being a simple […]

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Olympia Logging Series: Part 19 – Adding LED lighting

David Popp holding a 6' LED lighting strip

After installing the fascia and cabinet, David had the bright idea to keep progress rolling on MRVP’s On30 Olympia Logging Co. layout. In this episode, he assembles, installs, and wires the LED strips used to illuminate our display-style layout. This is our first attempt at using LEDs, so David also shares several helpful installation tips […]

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Jacksonville Terminal in the 1940s

Headhouse-and-platforms-BEV

Headhouse and platforms Jacksonville Terminal Co. Jacksonville Terminal was a monument to Florida’s status as the southern vacation destination of choice for the eastern half of the U.S. Few travelers got off here; instead, the city was the funnel for trains arriving over the Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, and Southern Railway on their […]

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HO scale CSX Indianapolis Sub

HOscaleCSXIndianapolisSub

Name: CSX Indianapolis Sub Layout designer: Robert W. Sprague Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 21 x 21 feet Prototype: CSX Indianapolis Subdivision Locale: Indiana Era: present day (could be backdated to pre-2000) Style: walk-in Mainline run: 142 feet Minimum radius: 30″ (main), 20″ (branch) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 1 percent (main), 2 percent (to […]

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