HO scale Central Vermont RR

HOscaleCentralVermonttrackplan

Name: Central Vermont Layout owner: Dave Mitchell Scale: HO (1:87.1) Layout size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by Central Vermont Locale: northern Vermont Era: early 1950s Mainline run: 18 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 3.6 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: 45″ Roadbed: cork on Homasote Track: code 83 sectional […]

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Olympia 2, The Log Blog: Part 1 – Olympia on the Move!

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page MRVP’s David Popp plans to keep the wintertime woes away by building an addition to the Olympia Logging Co. On30 display-style layout we started in 2014. Even better, he’ll host a video blog highlighting the planning and construction of the extension. But first, […]

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Canadian Canyons Series: Part 1 – Building the framework

David Popp with wood pieces

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page The fun begins as David Popp launches into the effort to assemble our N scale Canadian Canyons project layout! In this first of several videos addressing benchwork, David shows how to use a butt-joint framing technique to build a substructure that’s both rigid […]

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How-to Library: Operate The Beer Line, Part 4 – The Snake Track Job

David Popp and Jenny Maaske in front of a model railroad.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page MRVP’s David Popp and Jenny Maaske are set to show you that realistic model railroad operation has never been easier to learn and enjoy! Using Model Railroader magazine’s all-new HO scale Beer Line layout extension as their “gameboard,” the two team up to […]

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How-to Library: Operate The Beer Line, Part 5 – The Afternoon Beer Train

Beer Line layout track set.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page There’s just one more job to run on Model Railroader magazine’s all-new HO scale Beer Line layout extension. In this final episode of our operations mini-series, MRVP’s David Popp and MR’s Eric White walk you through the duties that come with running The […]

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Operating sequence table for Mackenzieville Yard and Glendale Junction

Operatingsequencetable

Mackenzieville Yard & Glendale Junction is a compact N scale layout based on the Reading Co. in Pennsylvania during the early 1970s. The layout was featured in Model Railroad Planning 2017. Check out the operating sequence that the layout owner and builder Ian Mackenzie Wilson uses to run the railroad. […]

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Following a ghost railroad

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Photo 1 USGS topographic map of Wheaton, Kansas. Photo 2 Every little town along this railroad and most others in the Midwest has a “Railroad St.” or “Railroad Ave.” Photo 3 The Google Earth view of the Kansas Central line east of Olsburg, Kansas. Photo 4 Kansas Central route highlighted in red. The arrow shows […]

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Conifers, part 2: More ideas for trees

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Photo 1 Dwarf Scots pine on the author’s current garden railroad. Don Parker Photo 2 Lynn’s Golden Hinoki false cypress on Marc Langan’s Mulberry Creek Railroad. Don Parker Photo 3 Blue Feathers false cypress. Photo taken at Mulberry Creek Herb Farm and Miniatures. Don Parker Photo 4 Chirimen false cypress. Photo taken at Mulberry Creek […]

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Pruning practices: Part 2

pruning2_1

1 Marcus and Vanessa Kollmann model European railroads on their Landschaft Gartenbahn. Living scenery wraps around the structures and cozies up to the track for a lush landscape. At left, a cut-leaf Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Dissectum’, Zones 5-9) stretches over the street for bright, dappled lighting. After winter, the Kollmanns shape this tree while […]

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