Use prototypical railroads to design more realistic layouts, build accurate track arrangements, and plan for the future. […]
Model Train Layout Design
Section: Beginners
Computer desktop wallpaper from the September 2019 Model Railroader
Click on the links at left to download the image sized appropriately for your computer screen. Oil-burning Union Pacific Challenger no. 3977 pulls a special through the Rocky Mountains on Paul Brennecke’s N scale Grand Line model train layout. Click on the links below to download the image sized appropriately for your computer screen. Download […]
Layout Design for Operation
Download this free 14-page PDF to learn what makes one model railroad track plan better for operation than another. Inside this eBook, the editors of Model Railroader magazine discuss how to add realistic operation to freight yards, engine terminals, staging yards, loading zones, and more! […]
How to host an open house of your garden railroad
How to host an open house: What fun is a garden railroad if you can’t share it with others? An open house is where you get to show off your creation to fellow garden railroaders, tell them of your triumphs and tribulations, and hear their stories as well. How hard can it be, right? All […]
Computer desktop wallpaper from the August 2019 Model Railroader
Click on the links at left to download this image sized appropriately for your computer screen. Southern Pacific No. 2, the Sunset Limited, races through Wellton, Ariz., on Ron Mei’s HO scale Sunset Route. Featured in the August 2019 Model Railroader, this 58 x 68-foot layout celebrates SP and other southwestern railroads in the 1950s. […]
Layout Planning Ideas
When creating model railroads, it’s important to give your model cities and scenery the same realistic treatment you give your trains. A well-detailed and realistic downtown scene and scenery can add as much to a model railroad as any lineside industry. Download this free 15-page PDF for layout planning ideas that will bring your layout […]
Digital Command Control resources for model railroaders
Learn all about Digital Command Control (DCC) with the Model Railroader staff! Bill Zuback The July 2019 issue of Model Railroader magazine features a buyer’s guide for Digital Command Control (DCC) starter systems. To learn more about DCC, check out this DCC resources page. Below you’ll find links to reference articles, product reviews, and demo […]
Computer desktop wallpaper from the July 2019 Model Railroader
Click on the links at left to download the image sized appropriately for your computer screen. Rutland no. 208, an Alco RS-3, passes Duffy’s Coal as it approaches the north end of the Rutland, Vt., freight yard on Gregory Wiggins’ HO scale layout. This month you can download the trackside photo sized appropriately for your […]
Golden Spike Day on the Westie Line
The Westie Line today Ken Brody Ken Brody The Summer 2019 issue of Garden Railways features the Westie Line. Don’t miss the six-page feature on this gorgeous line! Owner Ken Brody shared these photographs from 1994, when he re-created a Golden Spike event on his line: These two photos were taken 25 years ago during […]
Track Planning for Beginners
When it comes to designing your own model railroad layout, getting your ideas down on paper is the first and most important step. Drawing your plan to scale with a reasonable degree of accuracy will ensure you that your plan will fit your space. Download this free 15-page PDF to learn how to draw accurate […]
Computer desktop wallpaper from the June 2019 Model Railroader
Click on the links at left to download the image sized appropriately for your computer screen. Engineer Ed West checks ahead as he eases his outside-frame Baldwin 2-8-0 – a recent acquisition for the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes – and its local freight up to the platform at Strong, Maine. Model Railroader contributing editor […]
Train Wiring for Beginners
Does your locomotive spark when it moves? Do you have a mass of indistinguishable wires under your layout? Download this free PDF to learn some basic electrical principles, practices, and commonly used products for layout wiring. […]
