When I’m planning a structure kitbash, I often start with a sketch. Scribbling down rough ideas, erasing what doesn’t work, and replacing them with things that help me visualize my plan and avoid false starts. With this technique I can figure out what parts I need and more clearly imagine what the structure will look […]
“Hear the Whistle” is Jack Haley’s biography, written by his daughter. It primarily covers his career in the rail industry. His first short line in Iowa and Minnesota focused on the revenue side — marketing and sales — rather than trying to reduce costs by trimming staff and deferring maintenance. The book’s most interesting portion […]
You’ll relive the glory years on the Baltimore & Ohio steam operations in Ohio, Indiana, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. A wide area of the B&O is covered during the steam era including Cincinnati to North Vernon, Ind.; Cincinnati to Pittsburgh via Columbus; and around Wheeling, W.Va. Also shown are scenes at Cincinnati Union Terminal, including […]
Amtrak America’s Railroad records the many trials of keeping America’s railroad passenger service on track, and there were and still remain many. The chapters offer coverage of “What We Had,” “Creating a New National Network,” “Where Do We Go From Here?” and “The Road to the Future.” The authors have dug deep to record input […]
There are several modular model railroading standards out there, but one you might have heard more about recently is the Free-Mo modular standard. Like most modular standards, the Free-Mo modular standard lets you build a section of model railroad that will connect and operate with others built to the same standard. The cool thing about […]
Finding the best approach for a track plan isn’t always easy. Even if you’re building your layout in a small room, you still have an almost infinite number of choices, decisions, and trade-offs to make. What scale? Around-the-room or island shape? Duckunder/gate or walk-in? Staging? And if so, what kind? To illustrate my thought process […]
Senior Editor Eric White evaulates and troubleshoots an HO scale brass steam locomotive from Sunset Models to figure out why the gearbox isn’t turning. […]
Today’s sketch was drawn long before Sketching with Steve was a gleam in anyone’s eye. It was 2008, and I’d been with Model Railroader less than a year. Finally, the resources to build my HO scale version of the Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern Ry. in 1906 were within my reach! I drew this track plan […]
On a railroad, a switch usually refers to the moving parts of a turnout that routes a train between two possible routes. This time, though, we’re talking about an electrical switch: specifically, a double-pole double-throw switch (DPDT). It’s easy to understand a single-pole single-throw switch: it only has two states, open or closed, off or […]
Join David Popp in the studio as he shows you how to tackle the tricky subject of cutting track, demonstrating proper technique and explaining the best tools to use! […]
Join David Popp in the studio as he shows you how to tackle the tricky subject of cutting track, demonstrating proper technique and explaining the best tools to use! […]
Join David Popp in the studio as he shows you how to tackle the tricky subject of cutting track, demonstrating proper technique and explaining the best tools to use! […]
