Facts & features Name: Virginia & Western RR, Tidewater DistrictScale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 1′-3″ x 17′-0″Theme: Waterfront industrial districtLocale: Mid-Atlantic tidewaterEra: 1948-54Style: ShelfMainline run: NoneMinimum radius: Cosmetic curvesMinimum turnout: No. 5Maximum grade: NoneBenchwork: Plywood on shelf bracketsHeight: 44″Roadbed: CorkTrack: Handlaid code 70Scenery: tabletopBackdrop: Painted 1⁄4″ plywoodControl: Digitrax DCC Download a PDF of this track plan! Buy […]
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Facts & features Name: The Seaboard Central Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 11′-9″ x 22′-9″ Prototype: Proto-freelanced Era: Spring 2015 Locale: Griffin, Ga. Style: Walk-in Mainline run: 68 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: No. 6 Maximum grade: None Benchwork: Open grid, sectional Height: 40″ Roadbed: Cork, trackbed Track: Micro Engineering code 83 flextrack Scenery: Foam […]
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N scale layout design tips and considerations: Sometime back I wrote about how prototype railroad equipment has gotten larger over the years, making it more difficult to build a visually and operationally satisfying layout using trainset curves (93⁄4″ radius in N scale). An obvious solution – if you have the room – is to use […]
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Q: I was recently given some older HO scale hopper cars that apparently had snap-on trucks. What method do you recommend to fill in the hole so I can replace snap-on trucks with the screw-on type? I gather I would use 2-56 screws? – Artie Krass A: What you use to fill in those holes […]
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When N scale modeling doesn’t work out: I hate it when I’m working on some part of my N scale layout, and the further in I get, the more I want out. It can be most anything: a scenery feature, a turnout, weathering a car, whatever. The project just isn’t working, and the realization that […]
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Built by Others is an article series showcasing layouts constructed by modelers using plans and projects from the pages of Model Railroader and its associated magazines. The Olympia project was an On30 layout built by the MR Video Plus team for a series of videos that can be found on Trains.com Video. A “what if” […]
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Basic railroad signal terminology Here is a glossary of railroad signal terminology. Signals are used for protection and control of train traffic. However, there is no national standard or system, so signals used by individual railroads may vary. Glossary of railroad signal terminology Absolute signal: A signal whose “stop” indication means “stop and stay.” Usually […]
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Watch electric traction streetcars running on the Northwestern Traction Group’s HO scale (1:87) modules, a layout that Model Railroader magazine staff members enjoyed on display during Trainfest 2022. […]
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News & Products for the week of May 15th 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of May 15th 2023. […]
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Character, not caricature, in N scale: A few years ago I rode the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR. It was, in a few words, spectacular, beautiful, gorgeous, awesome, and any other superlative you can think of. The steam locomotives and most of the equipment are the real thing and served the line when it […]
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The case for body-mounted couplers: For 40 or so years N scalers have been debating – sometimes rather fiercely – the merits of body-mounted couplers versus the truck-mounted type that come on most rolling stock. My position is simple. I think that for 90 percent of N scalers, converting to body-mounts wouldn’t be worth the […]
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