Ask Trains.com March 2025| Join Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he addresses your questions…regarding both model railroading and 1:1 scale railroading too! In this installment, Cody discusses how to replicate short line operations on a model railroad; what a hypothetical MR&T steam era might have looked like; wire choices for a DCC layout; plus plenty other topics that viewers just like you are asking too!
Are you looking for more insights about model railroading, or do you have questions about full-size trains? We’d love to hear from you! Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com, or leave a question in the comment section below.
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Ask Trains.com is a regular video feature of Trains.com for magazine subscribers and Trains.com members, where editors answer the questions readers and viewers are asking.
Special guests can include editors and contributors from Model Railroader, Trains, Classic Toy Trains, Garden Railways and Trains.com.
Questions can be about any railroad or model railroading topic, including on the fan configuration on an SD45. These can include questions about railroad operating practices, railroad lantern manufacturer details, model locomotive details, and toy train transformers, among others.
Trains.com and Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno works through many of these questions, which are posted twice a week, each week, all year! See all our answers to questions online!
Wasn’t sure if this question falls here or over in the East Troy series. While noticing those benches y’all do presentations from, got me thinking about hobby benches for general modeling. Way, way, back there was an article on Jack’s Workbench which was great. Since MR has moved to a new location, have y’all given any thought to a video or magazine series on building a hobby bench? I’ve got to build a new one to fit my new train room so was looking for ideas. Maybe a collab with the folks over at Woodsmith magazine?
Cody, when I was reading the book on the MR&T (and seeing the pictures of the MR&T fleet), I noticed another set of numbers beside the logo, was that used for the older DCC system that was used for the 1027 MR&T or was it for something else??
Cody, further to the question on locomotive speed, I think most modelers will find that running trains at prototypical speed is not satisfactory. Because we cannot afford much space between stops on our model railroads, running at prototypical speeds will appear toylike. For example, suppose you have two towns that are separated by 25 actual feet of track (this would definitely be a medium to large layout). In HO scale, 25 actual feet is 2175 feet, or about four-tenths of a mile. At 60 miles per hour (the approximate speed of the Amtrak River Runner from KC to St. Louis), that run will take a little less than 25 seconds. Even the largest layout will seem small if trains run at prototypical speeds. I would suggest that switchers be limited to about 20 MPH, and road locomotives be limited to about 45 MPH, but everyone needs to find speeds that are pleasing to them.
Cody, It would be neat project if some group would restore one of the MR&T steamers to operation. A community mined company like the MR&T must have donated one or two. So there should be one in park somewhere that could be acquired and brought back to life.