Beyond Alberta spruce

conifers2

1. The two darker trees on the right are Jean’s Dilly Alberta spruce (Picea glauca ‘Jean’s Dilly’, Zones 3-8), unpruned. The lighter-colored tree above the railtruck is a pruned dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca ‘Conica’, Zones 4-8—author’s former garden railroad). Don Parker 2. Miniature moss false cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Squarrosa Minima’, Zones 4-8) is scale-appropriate […]

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Blue Pyramid cypress

pyramid_unpruned

Unpruned Nancy Norris Common name: Blue Pyramid cypress Latin name: Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Pyramid’ Plant type: Dwarf conifer USDA Hardiness Zones: 6-9 Cultural needs: Average-to-poor well-drained soil; sun or light shade Plant size: Fast growing to 20′ in 10 years but easily pruned annually to stay under 3′ Pruned Nancy Norris Blue Pyramids are just […]

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How-to Library: DCC Installation for large layouts, Part 1 – Bus lines

David Popp standing behind model railroad products

In this all-new MRVP series, watch and learn as David Popp walks you through, step-by-step, the full sequence for installing Digital Command Control on a large model railroad. To get things started, David first provides a quick overview of DCC starter systems, and then he gets to work adding a DCC power bus line under […]

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HO scale Dayton & Southern RR

HOscaleDaytonSouthern

Name: Dayton & Southern Layout owner: Dave Sellers Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 23′-9″ x 47′-6″ Prototype: freelanced Baltimore & Ohio branch Locale: Southwest Ohio Era: steam-to-diesel transition Style: walk-in Mainline run: 150 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Maximum grade: 3 percent Minimum turnout: no. 4 Benchwork: L-girder, open grid, and shelf Height: 36″ to 52″ Roadbed: […]

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HO scale Kansas City Terminal

HOscaleKansasCityTerminal

Name: Kansas City Terminal Ry. Layout owner: Jim Senese Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 11 x 21 plus 11 x 40 Prototypes: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Kansas City Southern; Kansas City Terminal; Missouri-Kansas-Texas; Missouri Pacific; and St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco). Locale: Kansas City, Mo. and Kansas Time: 3 p.m. Nov. 15, 1980 Style: around-the-walls Mainline […]

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HO scale Santa Fe, Colorado & Western RR

HOscaleSantaFeColoradoWesternRR

Name: Santa Fe, Colorado & Western RR Layout owner: Scale Rails club Scale: N (1:87.1) and HOn3 (HO scale, 3 foot track gauge) Size: 27 x 42 feet Prototype: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and Denver & Rio Grande Western Locale: California and Colorado Era: 1955-1965 Style: multi-level, walk-in Mainline run: 731 feet Minimum radius: […]

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HO scale West Virginia & Southern Ry.

HOscaleWestVirginiaSouthern1

Name: West Virginia & Southern Ry. Layout owner: Terry B. Ketcham Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 14 x 40 feet Prototype: Norfolk & Western Locale: Southeastern W.Va. Era: 1950s Style: walkaround Mainline run: 360 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 4 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: 32″, 44″ and 60″ Roadbed: Homabed Track: code […]

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HOn3 San Juan del Oro

HOn3SanJuandelOro

Name: San Juan del Oro Layout owner: Eduardo Romo Scale: HOn3 (1:87.1 proportion, 3-foot gauge track) Size: 6 x 10 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: Southwest Colorado Era: 1932 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 64 feet in two independent loops Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: 49″ to 76″ […]

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N scale Bone Valley

NscaleBoneValley1

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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N scale Tidewater Southern RR

NscaleTidewaterSouthernRR

Name: Tidewater Southern RR Layout owner: Scale Rails club Scale: N (160:1) Size: 4′-1″ x 27′-0″ plus 24″ x 48″ Prototype: freelanced Locale: Eastern United States Era: 1950-1970 Style: island Mainline run: 162 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: modular Height: 40″ Roadbed: cork Track: code 80 flextrack Scenery: […]

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