N scale Bone Valley

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Name: Bone Valley Layout owner: Alex Marchand Scale: N (1:160) Size: 4 x 7 feet Prototype: CSX/Seaboard System Locale: West-central Florida Era: late 1980s Style: gallery Mainline run: 18 feet Minimum radius: 12″ Minimum turnout: none Maximum grade: none Benchwork: Homasote on open-grid Height: 59″ Roadbed: Woodland Scenics Track: Micro Engineering code 55 Backdrop: Printed […]

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3D Track Plans: Toronto Terminal in HO scale

Toronto Terminal in HO scale 3d track plan

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page MRVP’s Ben Lake has outdone himself with this incredible 3D rendering of a Bob Sprague multi-level passenger-themed design! In this virtual tour, you’ll see the ins, outs, ups, downs, and all-arounds of his Toronto Terminal, a 10 x 25-foot scheme. Then, be sure […]

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HO scale Chessie System Pennsylvania Division

HOscaleChessieSystemPennsylvaniaDivision

Name: Chessie System Pennsylvania Division Layout owner: Doug Gainer Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 16′-0″ x 27′-6″ (excluding main staging yard) Prototype: Chessie System Locales: Pittsburgh, Lake Erie port, West Virginia coalfield Era: 1972 to 1992 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 60 feet Minimum radius: 40″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main line), no. 4 (yards and branch […]

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HO scale Toronto Terminals

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Name: Toronto Terminals Layout owner: Bob Sprague Scale: HO (1:87.1) Layout size: 10 x 25 feet Locale: Toronto Era: 1980 Style: double deck Mainline run: 158 feet (with helix) Minimum radius: 30″ (mainline), 18″ (industries) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2.5 percent (helix) This track plan originally appeared in the June 2016 Model Railroader. […]

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HO scale Red Branch & Union RR

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Name: Red Branch & Union RR Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 4 x 8 feet Theme: Midwestern granger road Locale: Illinois Era: 1975 Style: island Mainline run: 20 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: Atlas 18″ radius Snap-Switch Maximum grade: none (flat) This track plan was originally published in the March 2016 Model Railroader. Click on the link […]

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3D Track Plan: The HO scale Conrail Bald Eagle Branch

HO scale Conrail Bald Eagle Branch 3d track plan

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page In this 3D rendering by MRVP’s Ben Lake, he tackles a little-known former Pennsy line originally drafted by MR contributor Bob Sprague. Take a virtual tour of the 11 x 27-foot walk-in track plan that features 60 feet of mainline run and a […]

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N scale Tehachapi Subdivision

NscaleTehachapiSub

Name: Tehachapi Subdivision Scale: N (1:160) Size: 11 x 13 feet Prototype: Southern Pacific RR and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. Locale: Tehachapi Pass and Modesto in California Era: early summer 1995 Style: island Benchwork: L-girder Height: 38″ to 48″ Roadbed: cork Track: code 80 flextrack Mainline run: 75 feet Minimum radius: 17″ (main […]

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HO scale Conrail’s Bald Eagle Branch

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Name: Conrail’s Bald Eagle Branch Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 11′-4″ x 27′-4″ Prototype: Conrail Locale: central Pennsylvania Era: 1996 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 60 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2.5 percent The track plan originally appeared in the June 2015 issue of Model Railroader. Click on the link to download […]

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Do you know where your boxcar is?

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In the December 2014 Model Railroader, Seth Neumann and Chris Drone wrote an article about using radio-frequency identification (RFID) and a computer to track rolling stock and new possibilities for operation. Prototype railroads have been using scanning technology since the late 1960s. Automatic Car Identification (ACI) used an optical reader and a color-coded plate to […]

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HO scale Terminal of Toledo RR

TerminalofToledoRR

Name: Terminal of Toledo RR Layout designer: Doug Tagsold Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 39 x 39 feet Prototype: Toledo Terminal RR, serving Amtrak, Ann Arbor, Chessie System, Conrail, Detroit & Toledo Shore Line, and Norfolk & Western Locale: Toledo, Ohio Period: summer 1979 Style: around the walls Mainline run: 250 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum […]

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