America’s newest roundhouse

Former regional railroad owner Jerry Joe Jacobson built a private, 18-stall roundhouse he calls the “Age of Steam” in Sugarcreek, Ohio, to house his collection of a dozen locomotives. The complex includes a boiler wash track, offices, a backshop, machine shop, store house, water tank, and water column. Enjoy this short video, and be sure […]

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Build a rustic structure

Build a rustic structure

In the December 2012 and February 2013 issues, Ray Dunakin describes how to make a rustic cabin out of styrene. Use these full-size drawings of the walls as a template, and follow along with Ray to learn how to make this impressive structure. Download the PDF of this project here. […]

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Enginehouse drawings in 1:29 scale

Enginehouse drawings in 1:29 scale

  Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Please note: […]

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Build a compact coal trestle

The drawing of this coal trestle is based on a prototype located on the Norfolk & Western Ry. in Montpelier, Va. Coal from this terminal was loaded onto trucks with a conveyor and delivered to the nearby DuPont estate. Since the terminal was for private, exclusive use, there was no weigh scale or office house. […]

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Clamps for structure model building

Cody Grivno at his desk

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page There are many useful clamps that will help make your next structure building project a lot easier. Model Railroader associate editor Cody Grivno gives you an overview of the different types of clamps that are available and shows you how to use them […]

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Clamps for structure model building

Cody Grivno at his desk

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page There are many useful clamps that will help make your next structure building project a lot easier. Model Railroader associate editor Cody Grivno gives you an overview of the different types of clamps that are available and shows you how to use them […]

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Sand house drawings in 1:29 scale

Sand house drawings in 1:29 scale

Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Please note: This […]

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Branchline station drawings in 1:29 scale

Branchline station drawings in 1:29 scale

Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. NOTE: This file […]

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Build an 1880s oil refinery

Pioneer Refinery

Refineries are a fascinating industry to model, and they can add considerable switching activity to a model railroad operating session. Kits for contemporary refineries are available, but they weren’t much help on my 1895-era railroad where the principal retail petroleum product is kerosene instead of gasoline. Some time ago, I became aware of the remains […]

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Take a photo tour of Amtrak’s new Miami shop

FULL SCREEN Bob Johnston Welcome to Hialeah! Amtrak shares space in the 53-acre shop area with CSX and Tri-Rail vendors Veolia and Bombardier, which service Tri-Rail’s Miami-West Palm Beach commuter trains. FULL SCREEN Bob Johnston Wheels that have been recently trued (machined and straightened) are put on a truck for the Auto Train facility at […]

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Bath & Hammondsport RR enginehouse plans

MRR-C0612_A enginehouse

This enginehouse would fit on many model railroads set in the modern era The prototype structure is found along the Bath & Hammondsport Rail Corp., a shortline subsidiary of the Livonia, Avon & Lakeville RR, operates on the former Erie Lackawanna line between Wayland and Painted Post, N.Y. In addition, it also serves customers along […]

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