Head-end traffic helped cover some of the costs of America’s passenger trains for many years. Contracts with the United States Postal Service covered the transportation of mail, while the Railway Express Agency (REA) provided a nation- wide package delivery service. Small-to-medium-sized railroads forwarded most of the mail in Railway Post Office (RPO) cars and packages […]
Check out these plans for a Copper Range RR caboose from Model Railroader magazine. When I scratchbuild rolling stock, I do my best to follow a prototype. I typically select a subject from one of my favorite railroads, which happen to be the Soo Line, Chicago & North Western, and neighboring roads. The Russell Car & Snow-Plow Co. […]
Name: Pennsylvania RR Layout designer: Brent Monahan Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: layout 51⁄2 x 191⁄2 feet, dioramas 41⁄2 x 17 feet Locale: north of Princeton, N.J., to New York Era: 1959 Style: island (layout) and dioramas Mainline run: 10 feet (visible track) on layout Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent […]
Name: Glenwood & Black Creek Scale: HOn3 (1:87.1) Size: 16′-6″ x 35′-0″ Locale: western United States Theme: western narrow gauge Period: 1930s – 1940s Turnout minimum: no. 6 Minimum curve radius: 24″ Maximum grade: 2 percent (main), or 3 percent (branches) Originally appeared in the May 2014 Model Railroader. Click on the link to download […]
Learn how to build structures for your model railroad from a variety of materials including styrene, wood, cast plaster, and other materials. Includes 5 complete construction projects and tips for adding detail to stone, brick, roofs, and more. ($5.95, 35 pages, 2.7 KB) Download this article collection today! […]
1930s-era freight cars and locomotive on Model Railroader‘s Rice Harbor project layout. Accurail No. 2500 series Norfolk & Western USRA twin hoppers (2) No. 4111 Virginian 40-foot outside braced-boxcar with wood doors and wood ends No. 4311 New York Central 40-foot outside-braced boxcar with wood doors and metal ends No. 43041 Pennsylvania 40-foot outside-braced boxcar […]
Jim FitzGerald, left, converses with the yardmaster at the Santa Fe yard in Bakersfield, Calif., in the early 1980s. Jim’s home layout was a superbly done multi-module intermodal yard. Last summer we lost Jim FitzGerald, one of the N scale community’s great pioneers. He’d just turned 90. He was one of my personal heroes and […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page If you have trouble with your rolling stock staying on the rails, you should check the wheelsets. In this video, Cody shows you how to check and adjust the wheels on model trains. […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page With such a wide array of materials used in model railroading today, it can be challenging to figure out which glues and adhesives you’ll want to have on hand. Kent Johnson of MR Video Plus takes a quick look at some of the […]
Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. PLEASE NOTE: This […]
Name: Lime Ridge & Hercules and Portland & Western Layout designer: Steven Otte Scale: HO Size: 8 x 12 feet Theme: Stone and gravel industries Locale: generic Era: late steam to early transition era Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 63 feet Minimum radius: 15″ Minimum turnout: Atlas 18″ Snap-Switch (rest are no. 4) Maximum grade: 2 […]
Name: Pennsylvania RR’s Middle Division Layout designer: Will Darrow Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 24 x 36 feet Prototype: Pennsylvania RR Locale: Mifflin to Lewistown, Pa. Era: steam-to-diesel transition era Style: walk-in Mainline run: 130 feet Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared in the April 2014 Model Railroader. Click […]
