Workshop tips: Roads and streets

Model roads look best when they are built to the proper size. By planning for the streets and roads at the same time you design your layout, you can be sure you have enough room for them. Rest assured that if you plan ahead and follow the prototype, your streets will realistically enhance your layout. […]

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Build this Retro 4 x 8 Railroad

Build this Retro 4 x 8 Railroad

Large layouts are cool, no doubt, but we thought that something smaller that combined postwar trains with modern materials also sounded like fun. We told Classic Toy Trains Editor Carl Swanson what we were thinking, and he challenged us to actually follow through. Uh-oh. This special 13-page magazine supplement contains step-by-step instructions for creating a 4 […]

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How to model realistic track and trackside scenes

In this special supplement to Model Railroader, you’ll get expert advice on and photos of lineside details for: Roadway, ballast, rails and ties Terrain and features alongside your track Signals, signs, and grade crossings Trackside communication, safety, and maintenance equipment Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter and get your free download! […]

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A Special Wish garden railway project

A Special Wish garden railway project

Special note: All photos courtesy of Aileen Elizabeth Photography For many, garden railways are a unique hobby, but for Jack, a garden railway was a “special wish.” A Special Wish Foundation, North Central Ohio Chapter (“Special Wish”), is a non-profit charitable organization dedicated to granting the wishes of children under the age of twenty-one who […]

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5 compact track plans

You can pack a lot of model railroading fun into a small space, and in this booklet we’ll show you five ways to do it. The HO and N scale plans featured here have all appeared in Model Railroader magazine. Each one has a unique theme, and all contain a key element of modern model railroad design […]

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How to repair and maintain Lionel postwar locomotives

How to repair and maintain Lionel postwar locomotives

  “I once found a 60-year-old train in the loft of a farmer’s barn, where it had spent more cold northern winters and hot summers than anyone could remember. A family of mice had even made a nest in the box and left behind over a pound of petrified ‘evidence.’ “I thought the engine was […]

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The Best Scenery Tips and Instructions for your Layout

The Best Scenery Tips and Instructions for your Layout

  Inside this exclusive 30-page supplement from Classic Toy Trains you will find tips and instructions on everything you need to know about building scenery. Build a hidden corner Add a gorge to your layout Construct customized elevated bridges Build a mountain and tunnel Use ceiling tile for scenery Enter your email address below to download […]

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The Salt Lake Route, Part 6 – Industry and yard scenery

MRRC0610_100a

In the final installment of our N scale project layout series, Dick Christianson explains how he modeled the industries and yard in Caliente, Nev. Fig. 1 Backdrop. Lacking enough sky to cover the tempered hardboard, Dick cut the sky and clouds from the photo and let the blue backdrop suffice. Fig. 2 Protective covering. Dick […]

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