Spaces to Places V | Finishing details for the highway and overpass, part 6

Watch Gerry working hard to finish this entire set of projects in this segment, including the yard lead and highway! His final push begins by adding detailed markings to the sandpaper roadway surface. Then, Gerry jumps to the task of installing the overpass, complete with surrounding scenery. All that adds up to a space that’s […]

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5 layout improvement tips

Color photo of airbrush being used to weather HO scale track.

Regardless the size, model railroads require regular maintenance. Cleaning track, dusting scenery and structures, and maintaining equipment are just some of the things that require attention. Not keeping up on these tasks will lead to a layout that runs poorly, looks tired, and potentially cause you (and/or members of your operating crew) to lose interest. […]

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Spaces to Places V | Highway construction, part 5

Host Gerry Leone sets his sights on highway construction for his HO scale Bona Vista model railroad. Catch up with his off-camera preliminary efforts, before following his technique for making authentic roads and streets using medium-grit sandpaper. As he notes, even more insights regarding this technique can be viewed in a prior Trains.com video series, […]

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What are you working on?

Color photo of two-story brick railroad office on model railroad.

Through our Trains.com website and the pages of Model Railroader magazine, you get a pretty good idea of what some of the hobby’s well-known names are working on. But not everything they do becomes an article for the website or magazine. In “What are you working on?” I surveyed some of our regular contributors to […]

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Spaces to Places V | A new path to the underpass, part 4

Our host Gerry Leone heads for the hills in this episode of Spaces to Places! More specifically, he works a bit on the topography of the underpass area and how the highway routes through it all. Wisely, Gerry elects to make a template of his initial design, and then uses it to guide his efforts shaping up […]

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How-To Library | Build a laser-cut wood structure kit, Part 1

For the single rail-served factory on Model Railroader magazine’s 2024 project layout, the HO scale Free-Mo module Freemont Mills, Steve selected American Model Builders’ A.C. Brown Mfg. Co., a laser-cut wood kit. Follow along as he works through this build and see if you pick up any tips to help you on your next laser-cut […]

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How-To Library | Build a laser-cut wood structure kit, Part 1

For the single rail-served factory on Model Railroader magazine’s 2024 project layout, the HO scale Free-Mo module Freemont Mills, Steve selected American Model Builders’ A.C. Brown Mfg. Co., a laser-cut wood kit. Follow along as he works through this build and see if you pick up any tips to help you on your next laser-cut […]

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Spaces to Places V | A new path to the underpass, part 3

In this episode of Spaces to Places, we find host Gerry Leone in the thick of two projects! The main objective of his efforts was to build out the highway underpass and scenery along a layout peninsula. But Gerry also scrambles to complete trackwork reconfiguration that will improved the operation of his HO scale Bona […]

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Spaces to Places V | A new path to the underpass, part 3

In this episode of Spaces to Places, we find host Gerry Leone in the thick of two projects! The main objective of his efforts was to build out the highway underpass and scenery along a layout peninsula. But Gerry also scrambles to complete trackwork reconfiguration that will improved the operation of his HO scale Bona […]

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