Use fabric to cover your large-scale buildings

Model pool hall structure

I’ve discovered a way to build inexpensive and custom designed buildings for indoor use or temporary displays at train shows or open houses. The primary material for this project is fabric. These fabrics are called “landscape designs,” and include patterns such as brick, wood, and stone, as well as signs. Several manufacturers make these designs, […]

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Garden railroad inspired by Union Pacific and the Big Boy locomotives

Model freight train on a curve

  My garden railroad, the Snake River Railroad, is named after my interest in the Union Pacific. This has been my favorite railroad ever since I saw the Big Boy. The 200 by 300-foot railroad is shaped like a mirror image of Idaho, because of large Ponderosa pines in the backyard. There are two separate […]

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Stand up while cleaning your gauge-1 track

A track cleaner on a pole

Crawling around on the ground to clean my rail was getting tiring. I needed a new method to clean track, so I built an elevated track cleaner to get the job done instead. Supply list Wooden extension pole Drywall pole sander head Two-truck LGB gondola car LGB #50050 track cleaning attachment Scrap thin-gauge aluminum ¼” […]

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Motive power preparations on Dave Abeles’ Conrail Onondaga Cutoff

On Dave Abeles’ HO scale Conrail-inspired layout, locomotive fleet operations warrant the same careful attention as it does in 1:1 scale. Follow along to see how he and his crew ready the motive power for smooth and reliable performance at the head-end of his trains! […]

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Layout Visit: Signal Operations on Dave Abeles’ Conrail Onondaga Cutoff

Modeler Dave Abeles shares insights on the signal installations and operations on his HO scale Conrail-inspired layout. In this narrated trackside tour of the layout, Dave shares how to interpret signal indications. Also explore additional signaling info in the Kalmbach book, Guide to Signals & Interlockings, available from KalmbachHobbyStore.com. […]

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How to make a removable ‘projecting’ sign for your structure

A model newspaper structure

“Projecting” signs have been part of the commercial landscape for years. In the early years of the 20th century, they often consisted of boards jutting out from the front of buildings with the business name on both sides. They’re also referred to as “blade” or “flag-mounted” signs. I wanted to model projecting signs in my […]

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A portal for a tree-stump tunnel

Tunnel through tree with locomotive on track

Why build a garden railroad tunnel portal Thanks to the invasion of the Emerald Ash Borer, several large ash trees had died and their falling limbs caused problems for the Blackstone RR Maintenance Dept., so I called in a professional. When the worker saw my trains, he offered to leave a 10-foot high, 40” diameter […]

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Design “elemental” layouts in large scale

Scene on a large-scale railway built of wooden blocks

  When I was young, I had an American Flyer train and a set of American Plastic Bricks (interlocking toy bricks made in the 1960s). I liked running the train, but I was particularly drawn to the bricks. I could easily build something, tear it down, and build something else. Years later, I built an […]

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Nighttime Operations on Dave Abeles’ Conrail Onondaga Cutoff

Railroading is an industry that operates around the clock, and modeler Dave Abeles proves that model railroads can roll just fine in the dark too! Watch the night moves from a trackside position on Dave’s Conrail-inspired HO scale layout, and then look for additional coverage of the model railroad in the September 2019 and February […]

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Nighttime Operations on Dave Abeles’ Conrail Onondaga Cutoff

Railroading is an industry that operates around the clock, and modeler Dave Abeles proves that model railroads can roll just fine in the dark too! Watch the night moves from a trackside position on Dave’s Conrail-inspired HO scale layout, and then look for additional coverage of the model railroad in the September 2019 and February […]

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