Iowa Interstate RR no. 715 leads Train ICSW-22 across US Highway 6 in Iowa City on the HO scale IAIS Hills Industrial Spur. More information on The Hills Line at http://thehillsline.com. Video by James McNab. […]
A bit of a departure from my model railroad, but worth the journey to experience the real thing … and I mean EXPERIENCE! Count the rivets … smell the tar … feel the steam … vibrate with the ground … as THE BIG BOY rolls by an arms length away. Enjoy this intimate view of […]
The Cold hard tracks Crystal Lake was once used for harvesting ice. Blocks of ice were cut from the lake in winter, then stored in warehouses along the shore. The ice was shipped in refrigerator cars to Chicago via the “Ice Track,” a 2-mile branch that ran from the C&NW main line through the west […]
Not everyone has a fabulous railroad library to work from, but the library at the Model Railroader offices didn’t get me as far as you’d think. Following is a short list of places I’ve found amazing stuff when looking for research: • Most railroads have a historical society, so it’s good to have an up-to-date […]
Prototype operations weren’t the focus of many model railroaders when I started work on my HO scale layout in 1988. But I had a clear vision of an operations-oriented layout that would depict the Canadian Pacific Ry.’s Montreal Terminals Division in Canada’s second largest city in the late 1960s. That was when I spent […]
The layout at a glance Name: Stockton & Copperopolis RR Layout designer: Don Ball Scale: HO (1:87) Size: 37′-0″ x 40′-3″ Prototype: Stockton & Copperopolis RR Locale: California Era: 1895 Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 240 feet Branchline run: 100 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Train length: […]
Why would anyone model the Stockton & Copperopolis, an obscure short line with a name that sounds made up? Or model this little-known prototype in the 1890s? Most importantly, would it be practical to build it as a large, prototypically faithful model railroad capable of realistic operation and equip it with authentic locomotives and rolling […]
In this video, I show how I set up operations on my small switching layouts, including making car cards, building car-card racks, and running through a short operating session. Video by Steven Strum […]
Take a closer look: Find the accompanying text and pictures for John’s article, “Video 101: Along the line” in the Spring 2020 issue of Garden Railways magazine, page 12. […]
For nearly 30 years, when we lived in upstate New York, I would occasionally watch my husband, Lou, making trees for his HO scale West Hoosic Division RR. Over the years, together with his friend, Pete Darling, he managed to build and plant more than 4,000 HO scale hardwoods on his 22 x 26-foot layout. […]
Take a closer look: Find the accompanying text and pictures for John’s article, “Video 101: Along the line” in the Spring 2020 issue of Garden Railways magazine, page 12. […]
Tony describes how he kitbashed the feed mill, pictured on the left, of his portable O scale Wingate model railroad. Using parts from two Atlas O Ace Feed & Supply kits, Tony rearranged the side walls and added a second story turned sideways to create a more realistic footprint and to disguise the kit’s all-too-familiar […]
