California’s Salton Sea: A rail photo gallery

The Salton Sea in Southern California was formed in 1907 when men tried to redirect Colorado River irrigation canals and caused a two-year flood. It spans the intersection of two great deserts: the Mojave to the north and the Sonoran to the south and west. Summer temperatures routinely hover at 120 degrees. In the 1950s […]

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East Berkshire Branch

East Berkshire Branch

Name: East Berkshire Branch Layout designer: John Callahan Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 14 x 21 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by the Boston & Maine and Rutland RR Locale: rural New England Era: early to mid-1950s Style: walk in Mainline run: 120 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 4 (sidings) Maximum grade: […]

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Lehigh Valley RR Bronx Terminal

Lehigh Valley RR

Name: Lehigh Valley RR Bronx Terminal Layout designer: Wayne N. Carlsen Scale: N (1:160) Size: 5 x 9 feet Prototype: Lehigh Valley RR Locale: South Bronx, New York City Era: early 1960s Style: island Mainline run: not applicable Minimum radius: 9-3/4″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Originally appeared in the March 2013 Model Railroader. Click on […]

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HO scale Sugar Valley Sweetwater RR

Sugar Valley Sweetwater RR

Name: Sugar Valley & Sweetwater RR Layout designer: Brian Glock Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 13′-6″ x 25′-0″ Theme: Southern bridge line Locale: east Tennessee-west North Carolina mountains Era: 1950s Style: walk-in with swing gates Mainline run: 130 feet Minimum radius: 271⁄2″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 4 percent (main), 8 percent (branch) Originally appeared […]

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Building HO scale Winter Hill quarry branch part 6

Cody Grivno next to layou

Follow along as associate editor Cody Grivno uses an airbrush to weather the track on the Model Railroader staff’s Winter Hill Quarry Branch. Cody will show you his easy technique for weathering the rails and ties of model railroad track. You’ll also learn how to use a microbrush to paint the rails around turnouts. […]

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Sunset Models HO scale P-1a and P-2b electric locomotives

Sunset Models HO scale P1a and P2b electric locomotives

Sunset Models HO scale P1a electric locomotive Whether detailed for duty at Cleveland Union Terminal or New York’s Grand Central Terminal, these brass P-1a and P-2b electric locomotives from Sunset Models come fully equipped to haul varnish on HO rails. The accurately detailed brass models include a dual-mode QSI Titan Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder […]

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MTH Electric Trains HO scale Empire State Express set

MTH Electric Trains HO scale Empire State Express

MTH Electric Trains HO scale Empire State Express An elegant streamlined train whose much-hyped relaunch was eclipsed by infamy lives again in an accurately modeled, meticulously detailed HO scale set from MTH Electric Trains. The five cars feature gleaming silver paint, flexible rubber diaphragms, and interior lighting circuits that work under direct current or Digital […]

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BLMA Models N scale 5-platform intermodal car

BLMA Models N scale BLMA TTX intermodal spine car

BLMA Models N scale BLMA TTX intermodal spine car This 5-platform intermodal car, made by BLMA Models, captures the simple lines and Spartan appearance of the prototype. Known in the industry as a spine car, 250 sets of these cars were built in late 1997 by TrinityRail for TTX Corp. The ready-to-run model represents an […]

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Video: Kato N scale Silver Streak Zephyr

This new Kato USA passenger model train marks the first time that the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s Silver Streak Zephyr has been available as a ready-to-run N scale model. The passenger cars and the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) E5 diesel-electric locomotive feature all-new prototypically accurate tooling. Watch the video to see the train in action on […]

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