Click on the image to download a PDF copy of this track plan. Name: Aquia Line Layout owner: Bernard Kempinski Scale: O (1:48) Size: 31 x 32 feet Prototype: United States Military RR Locale: Virginia Era: late winter 1863 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 115 feet Minimum radius: 28″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 1 […]
Rail profiles through time from file: TRN-TC0513 Illustration: Rick Johnson Q: Why and when did rails get their profile? — Rozier Smith A: The basic shape, or profile, of rails that we see today: chucky head, thin web, and wide base, has its roots railroading as early as 1789, according to an illustration Trains printed […]
CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO ENLARGE THE MAP California to Nevada Nevada to Utah Utah to Wyoming Wyoming to Nebraska Nebraska to Iowa The first Transcontinental Railroad was a monumental undertaking by the time workers finished it in 1869. Today, tourists and enterprising photographers can visit much of what American ancestors left behind 150 years […]
Missouri-Kansas-Texas drovers’ caboose No. 350 shows off the car’s extra length. The cars could accommodate extra riders overseeing livestock shipments. Harold Schupp Q Where, in the train’s consist, were drovers’ cabooses placed? Were they at the rear with the regular caboose, or somewhere in the train’s consist near the stock cars? Were they used only […]
On August 2, 1911, the small town of Sheffield, Ill., 22 miles west of Bureau on the Rock Island’s main line, comes to life for the midday arrival of a passenger train bound for Chicago. Roy Campbell collection […]
Pennsylvania Railroad donated K4s No. 1361 to the city of Altoona, Pa., on June 8, 1957, shortly before this photo was taken. J.J. Young Jr. Q Why was Pennsylvania K4s No. 1361 returned to Altoona, Pa., for display instead of being restored to service? – Joseph Reihing, Elizabeth, N.J. A Although the 4-6-2 is in […]
Name: Gold Creek Timber Co. Layout owners: Loren Neufeld, Jim Lemmond Scale: On30 (1:48 proportion, 30″ narrow gauge) Size: 8′-0″ x 14′-41⁄2″ Prototype: freelanced Locale: Western redwood forest Style: portable display layout Mainline run: 38 feet Minimum radius: 19″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 1 percent Benchwork: plywood tabletop Height: 64″ Roadbed: none (track […]
Name: Leadville & Red Cliff RR Layout owner: Bill Brown Scale: HO and HOn3 (1:87.1) Size: 25 x 40 feet Prototype: Union Pacific, BNSF Ry. (lower level); Denver & Rio Grande Western, Rio Grande Southern, and Silverton RR narrow gauge lines (upper level) Locale: central Colorado Era: present day (lower level), 1949 (D&RGW and RGS), […]
Name: Sierra Pintada & Western RR Layout owner: Willem Van der Hoeven Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 10′-0″ x 34′-10″ Prototype: freelanced, inspired by old-time western United States railroads Locale: Arizona Era: 1880s Style: shelf Mainline run: 40 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 2 percent Benchwork: shelf on consoles Height: 40″ […]
Name: Paraqua Mountains & Shawnee River Layout owner: Pat Driscoll Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 9′-6″ x 16′-0″ Prototype: freelance Locale: southwestern United States Era: late 1800s to early 1900s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 164 ft. Minimum radius: 20” Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 7 percent Benchwork: open grid Height: 43″ to 53″ Roadbed: Homasote […]
Name: Otter Creek & Ripton Layout owner: David McLeod Scale: On30 (1:48, 30″ gauge) Size: 12 x 15 feet Theme: freelanced New England narrow gauge short line Locale: central Vermont Era: 1912 Style: around-the-walls with peninsula Mainline run: 61 feet Minimum radius: 24″ (main), 18″ (branch) Minimum turnout: Peco medium radius Maximum grade: 4.5 percent […]
Name: Colorado Midland Ry. Layout owner: Andrew Dodge Scale: Proto:48 (O fine scale) Size: 28 x 28 feet plus 13 x 18 feet Prototype: Colorado Midland Locale: western Colorado Era: 1897 Style: single-deck walkaround Mainline run: 300 feet Minimum radius: 46″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Benchwork: open grid Height: 44″ to 63″ Roadbed: 1⁄2″ plywood […]
