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N scale model railroads are often small layouts based on 4 x 8-foot sheets of plywood, for obvious reasons. A flat tabletop is a lot easier to build than L-girder benchwork, and almost any home has room for a 4 x 8 table at one side of a bedroom or basement. Great things have been […]
From his Off The Rails series, we’ve discovered that Master Model Railroader Gerry Leone is quite prone to getting derailed. And ever since he’s torn down his model railroad, we’ve had even more reason to wonder about him. But no need to worry, he’s right Back On Track constructing a new home…and a new layout […]
The layout at a glance Name: Karlberg Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 15″ x 9′-0″ Theme: generic granger road Locale: upper Midwest Era: 1950s Style: shelf Mainline run: 8 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 4 percent (interchange) Benchwork: tabletop Height: 54″ Roadbed: Homasote Track: Micro Engineering code 55 Scenery: extruded-foam insulation board Backdrop: photographs Control: Digitrax Digital Command Control plus ProtoThrottle See a PDF version of this […]
Layout at a glance Name: CSX Thurmond, W.Va. Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 25 x 47 feet Prototype: proto-freelanced CSX Locale: Thurmond, W.Va. Era: Present day Style: Shelf Minimum radius: 32″ main, 24″ in industrial park and RJ Corman shortline Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: box girder Height: 56″ Roadbed: birch plywood Track: Peco code 83 flextrack Scenery: extruded-foam insualtion board Backdrop: hand-painted on medium-density fiberboard Control: NCE wireless Digital […]
The layout at a glance Name: Boston & Maine Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 14 x 25 feet Prototype: Boston & Maine Locale: Springfield, Mass., to White River Junction, Vt. Era: Autumn, late 1950s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 80 feet Minimum radius: 32” Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: less than 1 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: […]
Turnouts are generally reliable right out of the package. But sometimes problems arise that simple fixes can’t solve. Here are 3 advanced tips to try. 1. Fill flangeways In a perfect world, the wheel treads are wide enough, the gauge is correct, and the flangeways are precise enough that a wheel never drops into the […]
The layout at a glance Name: Danefield modules Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 28″ x 8′-11″ Prototype: Union Pacific Locale: generic Midwest Era: modern Style: module Mainline run: none Minimum radius: none Minimum turnout: no. 7 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: laser-cut plywood modules Height: 56″ Roadbed: cork Track: handlaid codes 83, 70, and 55 Scenery: plywood […]
The layout at a glance Name: Royal Gorge Route Layout owner: Florida Scale Rails club Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 8 x 12 feet Prototype: Denver & Rio Grande Western (standard and HOn3 narrow gauge); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; and Union Pacific Locale: Colorado Era: 1930s to ’60s Mainline run: 75 feet Minimum radius: 22″ […]
The layout at a glance Name: Bone Valley Layout owner: Alex Marchand Scale: N (1:160) Size: 6′-7″ x 7′-0″ Prototype: CSX/Seaboard System Locale: West Central Florida Era: late 1980s Style: multilevel, gallery Mainline run: 40 feet Minimum radius: 12″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: extruded-foam insulation board on 1 x 2 frame […]
The layout at a glance Name: Midwest Lines Layout owner: Rolf Plachter Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 33 x 52 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Rock Island; and Union Pacific Locale: Denver to Milwaukee Era: mid-1960s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 400 feet Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 2 […]
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The layout at a glance Name: Laurium, Mohawk & Brockway Layout owner: Larry Burk Scale: On30 (1:48, 30″ track gauge) Size: 27 x 38 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Era: 1935 Style: shelf Mainline run: 150 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 4 percent on switchback to lumber branch […]
