How to wire power-routing turnouts: While it may initially seem difficult, basic two-rail wiring for power-routing turnouts is easy if you understand and apply just two simple rules. The diagrams below demonstrate these crucial wiring principles. Rule 1: Gap the rails between turnouts located frog-to-frog. Place gaps in both rails, between turnout frogs in opposite […]
The invention of the tank car coincided with the discovery of oil in northwestern Pennsylvania in the 1860s. Oilmen quickly discovered that hauling oil to market in horse-drawn wagons or floating barrels down local streams wasn’t going to do the job as oil production ramped up. The oil industry needed to find a way to […]
Gravel-covered siding. Gravel from an adjacent lot can mix with ballast on a siding. Paul partially covered this siding (lower right) at the freight house on his home layout. He embedded the rails of the spur (at left) into the parking lot. On some secondary lines the space between the ties is filled with dirt […]
Feather-topped palm trees are a signature element for any model railroad set in a tropical climate. Author Joseph Kreiss scratchbuilt numerous coconut plams for his HO scale Big Island Rail layout, set in Hawaii in the 1970s. When you can’t live in a tropical paradise, perhaps the next best thing is to model it. That’s […]
Name: Järfälla Model Railroad Club Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 33 x 46 feet Theme: generic American Era: variable Style: walkaround Mainline run: 360 feet Minimum radius: 47″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent (main), 3.5 percent (branch line) Originally appeared in the March 2010 issue of Model Railroader. Click on the link to […]
Name: Mount Royal Division of the Baltimore & Ohio RR Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 12 x 24 feet Prototype: freelanced based on Baltimore & Ohio RR Locale: Maryland and Pennsylvania Era: 1940 to 1948 Style: walk-in with liftout Mainline run: 65 feet Minimum radius: 20″ (34″ on main) Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 3 […]
For additional scenery tips, don’t miss Essential Model Railroad Scenery Techniques from Kalmbach Books. No muss! No fuss! Just add the ingredients, mix thoroughly, and pour yourself a hillside full of trees. Believe it or not, it really can be just about that simple. I came up with my scrambled-trees technique when I wanted to […]
A gallery of miniature conifers: Nothing gives a sense of scale and believability to a garden railway quite as well as miniature trees. When it comes to really small trees that translate well to our railroad landscapes, conifers (cone bearing, needled evergreens) seem to have the most representatives in the miniature woody-plant kingdom. I will […]
Name: Burlington Brnach Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 10 x 12 feet Theme: branchline terminal Locale: Wyoming plains Era: 1950s Style: around the walls Mainline run: 26 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: Peco large radius Maximum grade: none Originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Model Railroader. Click on the link to download the […]
Name: Rhode Haven Scale: HO Size: 18′-4″ x 22′-6″ Prototype: freelanced, with New Haven influence Locale: New England Era: 1930s to 1940s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 140 feet Minimum radius: 32″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 21/2 percent Originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Model Railroader. Click on the link to download […]
Name: Virginian Ry. Scale: N (1:160) Size: 12 x 12 feet Theme: Appalachian coal railroading Locale: West Virginia Era: 1960s Style: around the walls Mainline run: 60 feet Minimum radius: 20″ Minimum turnout: Peco medium radius Maximum grade: 4 percent Originally appeared in the February 2010 issue of Model Railroader. Click here to download a […]
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. Despite our best […]
