A noisy little railway story

Black Canyon Railroad

As I walked up the driveway toward Mick Spilsbury’s Black Canyon Railroad, I could begin to hear the multitude of sounds stemming from the site. At first, I could distinguish the sounds of cows and sheep coming from the vicinity of four stock cars. But then I listened a bit more deliberately, and heard 10 […]

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Anatomy of a water feature

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Nancy Norris/Rick Johnson Water goes down to ‘seek its own level’. Hygroscopic tension forces water sideways when moisture follows the underside of a spill rock or fallen branch. Soil wicks water in all directions by osmosis. Splashing bounces up. Water evaporates into thin air and we wonder if the reservoir is leaking. Water needs to […]

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Build a steel-frame snow plow

snowplow_project

Follow along with author Mike Lafond as he builds a steel-frame snow plow in the Fall and Winter 2019 issues. Download a full-size version of his CAD drawings here. Please note: Check your printer settings before printing. Uncheck the “scale to fit” box. You may need to tile these pieces into two pages. See gray […]

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Christmas in July Giveaway!

Close up of large-scale locomotive

Enter the Christmas in July Prize Pack Giveaway, brought to you by USA Trains, Red Caboose Motel & Casey Jones’ Restaurant, Right On Track Models, Yankee Dabbler, and Blackstone Models. This special Sweepstakes ends on July 31, 2019. One lucky winner that will take home the complete prize package valued at over $1,500! Now let’s […]

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Make magnificent mountains

mountains_making

Wayne Wesoloski In the Summer 2019 issue, author Wayne Wesoloski documents a mountain-making method perfect by Gary Martin in the Phoenix area. We had more photos and resources than we could fit into the print magazine, so we’re sharing them here! Get some friends together and make mountains! Wayne Wesoloski Tips for peak performance • […]

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More ideas for kid-friendly garden railroading

child next to garden railway

More ideas for kid-friendly garden railroading   Don’t miss the companion article, Kid-friendly garden railroading. How have you made a difference for kids in railways? Zones are USDA Hardiness Zones This longer version of Regional gardening reports from “Greening your railway” (Summer 2019 issue) includes nine reports, many photos and a variety of themes. Some […]

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Design your railway, Part 1: Organize the plan

plan_your_railway1

1. Retired but still active, Jerry and Alison Ogden maintain their Possum Creek Railroad to stay lush, with wall-to-wall plants they bought from Miniature Plant Kingdom. At this stage, six years after its initial construction, the trackplan still works and access is easy, but several unruly or languishing plants have been replaced. Jerry started with […]

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