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It is difficult to keep garden railroad buildings dry. We have all spent hours constructing fine models of buildings for our railroads. Depending on your climate, they are not out long before they start to decay. More and more modelers are turning to plastic composite materials to build with, but certain plastic materials can be […]
An easy Halloween project for your O gauge railroad is sprucing up a store-bought holiday item to add to your layout. With a few supplies, you can complete this project. It’s appropriate for all skill levels, too, so the kids can help! While browsing the Halloween section at Menards, my husband found some fun décor […]
Five modeling ideas from a General Electric Dash 9-44CW: In late June 2022, my wife, kids, and I visited my brother- and mother-in-law in Milbank, S.D. The parsonage they live in conveniently overlooks the BNSF Railway Appleton Subdivision, which runs between its namesake in Minnesota and Aberdeen, S.D. When I woke up on the morning […]
In the fall, it seems all I do is remove leaf debris from trestles. If you have trestles on your railroad, you have probably noticed how they can become excellent leaf traps. Most of my main line is located under trees, and as a result I get piles of leaves. Often, I need to use […]
Facts & features Name: The Eastern Loggers Scale: HO (1:87) in standard, narrow (3-foot), and dual gauges Size: 10 x 20 feet Prototypes: Pennsylvania logging railroads Locale: mountains of Pennsylvania Era: summer, early 1920s Style: sectional Mainline run: 60 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 6 percent Benchwork: open grid Height: […]
A small S gauge layout can give a lot of play value. For proof, check out John Mansueto’s layout in the November-December 2022 issue. It’s like many of the compact O and S gauge layouts spotlighted in Toy Train Layouts for Small Spaces, the 2021 special issue from Classic Toy Trains. Spare bedrooms, garage stalls, […]
By Sam Towler Disneyland is one of the few places in the world where one is guaranteed to see an operating steam locomotive the day they visit. These trains have been hauling happy guests around the park since 1955. One particular engine, No. 4, the Ernest S. Marsh, has always interested me due to its unique […]
Model railroad operations weekends offer a fun way to learn about others’ layouts, meet new people, and if you’re a magazine editor, find new model railroads to feature in the magazine. At the beginning of summer 2022, I headed west to SoCalOps, an operating weekend centered around the Simi Valley in suburban Los Angeles. I […]
Can you believe hobbyists used to use toxic chemicals on model railroads? In the days before hobby shops sold premade scenery and wiring products, hobbyists made their own. Unfortunately, some of the materials weren’t very safe. Note: We’re providing this article for information and entertainment only. We are definitely not endorsing any of these substances […]
A while ago, I wrote about the Free-Mo modular standard. This month I thought I would share my thought processes while designing a Free Mo module. I’ll let you in on a secret: We’re planning on building our 2024 project layout as a series of Free-Mo modules. So my goal here is designing a Free […]
Passengers were the missing element on the daily Amtrak trains operating over my HO Ohio Southern until I discovered sets of seated figures made by Faller and Noch. Best of all, they fit right into the molded interior seats in Walthers’ classic streamliners. My Amtrak train represents a secondary turn-around run covered by the older […]
How to clean a dirty diesel locomotive Q: I just bought a 35-year-old Athearn HO SD45 painted as Electro-Motive Division’s demonstrator No. 4353. The old model has picked up a lot of dirt over the years, and I’m not sure how to go about cleaning it without damaging the paint job. Also, were the prototype […]
