HO scale Soo Line Latta Sub

HOscaleSooLineLattaSub

Name: Soo Line Latta Sub Layout owner: John Emley Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 26 x 28 feet Prototype: Soo Line Locale: southern Indiana Era: summer 1993 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 50 feet plus reversing loops Minimum radius: 32″ (main), 28″ (reversing loops), 24″ (branch) Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 5 (yard) Maximum […]

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HO scale Burlington Northern Peoria Subdivision

HOscaleBurlingtonNorthernPeoriaSubdivision

Name: Burlington Northern Peoria Subdivision Layout owner: Ken Thompson Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 22 x 36 feet Prototype: Burlington Northern Locale: northwestern Illinois Era: May 1980 Style: around the walls Mainline Run: 120 feet Minimum Radius: 36″ Turnout Minimum: no. 6 Maximum Grade: 1 percent Benchwork: open grid Height: 40″ Roadbed: Homasote Track: handlaid code […]

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N scale Pocahontas Division

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Name: Pocahontas Division Layout owner: Scott Teague Scale: N (1:160) Size: 18 x 42 feet Prototype: Norfolk Southern Locale: West Virginia Era: mid-1990s Style: walk-in Mainline Run: 436 feet (main), 198 feet (branch) Minimum radius: 28″ Minimum turnout: no. 8 Maximum grade: 3 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: 47″ to 74″ over three levels Roadbed: AMI […]

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Tune up your modern-style starter set for the holidays

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Lionel no. 31960 The Polar Express and other holiday train sets that come with trains, track, and a transformer are ideal for creating a display under the Christmas tree. Jim Forbes Around my house, all the holiday decorations that adorn our walls are clearly the result of my wife’s dedicated efforts. Wisely, she doesn’t trust […]

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HO scale Clinchfield RR

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Name: Clinchfield RR Layout owner: Stuart Wrightson (original version designed by John Armstrong) Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 14 x 32 feet Prototype: Clinchfield RR, CSX Locale: From Elkhorn City, Ky.,to the Tennessee/North Carolina border Era: Original plan, 1978; existing layout, present day Style: walk-in Mainline run: 223 feet (original) Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. […]

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Seatrain containers on Penn Central

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Penn Central and Santa Fe teamed up to provide coast-to-coast transport of containers for Seatrain Lines in August 1972. Here, four PC General Electric units are in charge of the train at Perlman Yard in Selkirk, N.Y. Carl H. Sturner photo […]

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HO scale West Wisconsin RR

HOscaleWestWisconsinRR1

Name: West Wisconsin RR Layout owner: Mark Digerness Scale: 1:87.1 (HO) Size: 27 x 27 feet Prototype: Chicago & North Western Locale: northwest Wisconsin Era: early 1990s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 300 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 2.5 percent (helix) Benchwork: open grid Height: 36″ (lower deck), 59″ (upper deck) […]

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BONUS ARTICLE: N scale through the Northwoods

NscaleMissabeJunction20131

Steve Miazga’s updated N scale Missabe Junction is featured in the September 2018 Model Railroader. Check out This first article about Steve’s layout from the November 2013 Model Railroader. Steve Miazga grew up less than two blocks from the Soo Line main in Rhinelander, Wis. As a kid, he saw the Soo’s first Geeps and […]

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N scale Missabe Junction Ry. (2018)

NscaleMissabeJunction

Name: Missabe Junction Ry. (2018) Layout owner: Steve Miazga Scale: N (160:1) Size: 18 x 22 feet Prototypes: Soo Line; Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range; Wisconsin Central/Fox River Valley; Canadian National; and Missabe Junction Ry. Locale: north-central Wisconsin Era: 1960 to 1990 Style: island walk-in Mainline run: 150 feet Minimum radius: 15″ Minimum turnout: no. […]

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Amtrak’s P40s

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Amtrak P40s that didn’t make the first cut for rebuilding wait their turn in Bear, Del., on June 7, 2010. Bob Johnston Q Whatever became of Amtrak’s P40s? They were numbered in the 800 series and looked very similar to the P42s in service today. What’s the difference between them? Does Amtrak still have any […]

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