The C&NW at Milwaukee’s Jones Island

This amazing indoor large-scale railroad was featured in Garden Railways’ February 2007 issue. The following photos are a sneak peek of what you can see in the full article. William Zuback OverviewAlmost the entire 28′ length of Bay Street can be seen here. The high-speed electric line running atop the concrete viaduct is not operational. […]

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The Operators video special: Mail and express train car models

Andy Sperandeo next to layout

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page You’ll find tips for adding mail and express switching operations to your layout in the July 2010 installment of “The Operators” column in Model Railroader. In this video, Executive Editor Andy Sperandeo shows you some of the mail and express train car models […]

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PDF: Build a 1:20.3 scale dock for a lobster boat

Build a 1:20.3 scale dock for a lobster boat

Download the PDF of this project here.  This part includes the dock for the boat. Note: This PDF is tiled to print on your home printer. Two “overview” pages will print first, followed by the full-size plans. Each page has 1 1/2″ of intentional overlap. Trim the excess paper from each page and assemble the […]

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9 steps to motorize a wind-up Rail Zeppelin

parts of model train car

In 1931, a propeller-driven German railcar built by Franz Kruckenberg ran between Hamburg and Berlin. The Rail Zeppelin reached a speed of 142 mph, a record that stood for 20 years. The Rail Zeppelin, with a body similar to the Zeppelin airships, never went into production. Perhaps the idea of an open propeller operating so […]

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Build a two-engine firehouse from kitbash remnants

Photos by Michael Raynor Once I finished building my Grand Central Station from two MTH bank structures (see the May 2006 issue of CLASSIC TOY TRAINS), I kept thinking about those great-looking leftover wall sections. After pondering the parts, I decided to shape the three unused bank walls, plus the roof section, to form a […]

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PDF: 1:20.3 scale lobster boat, part 1

1:20.3 scale lobster boat

Download a PDF to build part one of our 1:20.3-scale lobster boat. Part one includes plans for the boat itself. Note: This PDF is tiled to print on your home printer. Two “overview” pages will print first, followed by the full-size plans. Each page has 1 1/2″ of intentional overlap. Trim the excess paper from […]

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PDF: Build a 1:20.3 scale drovers’ caboose

Build a 1:20.3 scale drovers' caboose

PDF: Build a 1:20.3 scale drovers’ caboose Download the PDF of this project here. Note: This PDF is tiled to print on your home printer. Two “overview” pages will print first, followed by the full-size plans. Each page has 1 1/2″ of intentional overlap. Trim the excess paper from each page and assemble the sections […]

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