John Armstong had produced hundreds of model railroad track plans published in magazines and books, and in fact, earned the nickname “Dean of Model Railroad Track Planning.” He drew this never-published Mineral Range & Lake Michigan RR for a paying client, but it was apparently forgotten for many years in a home in a Chicago […]
Name: The “Michigan” Layout designer: Jim Six Scale: HO (1:87) Size: 12′-3″ x 44′-0″ Prototype: New York Central’s Michigan District Locale: northeastern Indiana Period: 1955 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 116 feet Minimum radius: 42″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 0.25 percent Originally appeared in Model Railroad Planning 2012. Click on the link […]
The lead F-unit of six pulling a westbound Baltimore & Ohio Time Saver train eases along in front of the Cumberland, Md., station on a July 1956 day. The train is bound for points west via Grafton, W.Va. Read more about Cumberland, the shop, and the B&O in the March 2012 issue of Trains. Photo […]
Name: Eaglecreek & Northern Ry. Layout designer: Flemming Ørneholm Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 6′-8″ x 12′-0″ plus 1′-10″ x 10′-0″ staging yard Prototype: Union Pacific Locale: western United States Era: 1955 Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 85 feet Minimum radius: 28″ Minimum turnout: 30″ radius Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared in the February 2012 issue […]
Name: Fulton County RR Layout designer: Jim Hediger Scale: N (1:160) Size: 8 x 10 feet Theme: Freight interchange point Locale: generic Midwest Era: mid-1950s to 1970s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 22 feet (loop) Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Originally appeared in the February 2012 issue of Model Railroader. Click […]
Name: The Ironbound (Newark & Elizabethport Connecting RR) Layout designer: Andy Romano Scale: O (1:48) Size: 18 x 21 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by the Central RR of New Jersey Locale: the “Ironbound” section of Newark, N.J. Era: 1955 to 1960 Mainline run: 65 feet Minimum radius: 60″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 4 […]
Name: Wolverine Junction Layout designer: Dana Kawala Scale: HO (1:87.1) Room size: 10 x 15 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by Michigan Central RR’s Bay City Branch Locale: southeastern Michigan Era: 1955 Style: around-the-walls with peninsula Minimum radius: 24″ Mainline run: 43½ feet Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 4 (Wolverine Short Line) Originally appeared in […]
Lucky youngsters from the 1920s to the 1960s were privileged to visit Lionel’s showroom in New York City to admire its trains and accessories operating on the great layouts there. Decades later we can only envy them for being there to view the landmark displays. […]
Lucky youngsters from the 1920s to the 1960s were privileged to visit Lionel’s showroom in New York City to admire its trains and accessories operating on the great layouts there. Decades later we can only envy them for being there to view the landmark displays. […]
Name: Terminal RR of San Antonio Layout designer: Bill Carpenter Scale: N (1:160) Size: 10′-2″ x 13′-0″ Locale: downtown San Antonio Prototype: Southern Pacific and Texas & New Orleans Era: 1950s Style: walk-in, and around the walls with roll-away peninsula Minimum radius: 15″ Mainline run: 32 feet Minimum turnout: no. 5 Originally appeared in the […]
Name: The Virginian Layout designer: David Popp Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 4 x 8 feet, plus extensions Prototype: Virginian Ry. Locale: West Virginia Era: spring 1955 Style: island, portable Mainline run: 18 feet Minimum radius: 22″ (main), 18″ (branch) Minimum turnout: Atlas Snap-Switch Maximum grade: 3 percent Originally appeared in the January 2012 issue of […]
Amtrak inherited from Penn Central these self-propelled Rail Diesel Cars with distinctive front ends built for the New Haven Railroad’s Roger Williams. Budd Co. delivered six RDCs in an A-B-B-B-B-A formation to the New Haven in 1956. The slapped-on Amtrak logo from this February 1975 view would be replaced four years later with the company’s […]
