Passenger car lighting with a decoder

A closeup of a model train decoder with a button being pressed with a small wooden rod

Passenger car lighting with a decoder: People have been installing light-emitting diodes (LEDs) inside passenger cars for years. It’s nothing new. There are plenty of articles written about it, but I wanted to go further. When operating my trains in the yard, I want the lights in my passenger car to be off, but when […]

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Airbrush cleaning tips and techniques

Color photo showing how to flush siphon on a color bottle assembly.

Airbrushing is a facet of the hobby I really enjoy. I’m sure some of my interest in painting is because my father and grandfather were auto body repairmen. I grew up around paint and paint equipment. One of the many lessons I learned from them was to take care of your tools. That’s true whether […]

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Model Railroader Video Vault highlights

An image of two men standing behind a modeling workbench

Model Railroader Video Vault highlights: Kalmbach has been producing model railroading videos for a long time, longer even than some readers realize. Luckily for us contemporary model railroaders, some of these videos have been digitized, and range from how-to videos to layout visits. These videos contain a wealth of knowledge from model railroading stars of […]

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The Buffalo & Susquehanna Railroad

A model steam locomotive pulls a passenger car over a bridge.

For most of my 70 plus years I have been interested in trains. Wherever I lived, I built a number of layouts in basements and attics. It was not until I became interested in the life of the Buffalo & Susquehanna Railroad that I thought it would be a railroad to model. It could not […]

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Wiring for Free-Mo

Ben, Eric, and David team up to work through the process for wiring trackwork on Model Railroader’s modular project, but the steps apply to just about any DCC layout. They’ll cover basic techniques for attaching feeder wires to the rails, fixing them to bus wires below the benchwork, and provide other helpful insights along the way! […]

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In Memoriam: Robert (Bob) Hundman

Color scan of model railroad magazine cover.

Robert (Bob) Hundman, founder of Hundman Publishing Inc., died on April 22, 2023. He was 88 years old. Robert’s work appeared in the pages of the hobby press for nearly 50 years. His earliest published drawing, a Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range class M-4 2-8-8-4, was in the March 1958 issue of Model Railroader. Robert’s […]

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News & Products for the week of April 24th 2023

News & Products for the week of April 24th 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 April 24th 2023. […]

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Midday Modeler – April 19th, 2023

On this week’s episode of Midday Modeler, David and Cody talk 3D printing and ballasting. Steve does some paving on the freemo layout. Bryson explains his new love for working on wood structures. David explains a project he’s been working on for a viewer that had his N scale pieces damaged in a basement flood. […]

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Model Train Décor using Coffee Table Layouts

Black coffee table on white carpet. Table has small model layout inside under glass top

Model train décor using coffee table layouts: I always love the idea of a model railroad “hidden in plain sight.” Although a shelf layout is an effective and efficient way to integrate a model railroad into a living space, it is also very obvious where the layout is when you enter the room – particularly […]

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PIKO America Building Block R/C Starter Set

Color photo of large scale train set components.

  PIKO America Building Block R/C Starter set: An ongoing question in the hobby is “How do we get new people into model railroading?” PIKO America offers a clever solution with its Building Block R/C Starter Set (No. 37155). The indoor/outdoor set includes a battery-operated 1:24-proportion General Electric (GE) 25-ton diesel locomotives, two flatcars, a […]

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