How to model hardwood trees

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For nearly 30 years, when we lived in upstate New York, I would occasionally watch my husband, Lou, making trees for his HO scale West Hoosic Division RR. Over the years, together with his friend, Pete Darling, he managed to build and plant more than 4,000 HO scale hardwoods on his 22 x 26-foot layout. […]

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Kitbashing strategies for a feed mill

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Tony describes how he kitbashed the feed mill, pictured on the left, of his portable O scale Wingate model railroad. Using parts from two Atlas O Ace Feed & Supply kits, Tony rearranged the side walls and added a second story turned sideways to create a more realistic footprint and to disguise the kit’s all-too-familiar […]

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HO scale St. Louis Junction RR Co.

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The layout at a glance Name: St. Louis Junction Layout designer: John Schindler Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 30 x 60 feet Prototype: BNSF Ry., CSX, Norfolk Southern, Terminal RR Association of St. Louis, and Union Pacific Locale: St. Louis area Era: 2010 Style: multi-deck walk-in Mainline run: 275 feet Minimum radius: 32″ Minimum turnout: no. […]

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HO scale Western Maryland Ry. Blue Ridge Division

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The layout at a glance Name: Western Maryland Ry. Blue Ridge Division Layout designer: Brian Wolfe Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 28 x 39 feet Prototype: Western Maryland Ry. Locale: Maryland/Pennsylvania border Era: 1970 Style: multilevel walk-in Mainline run: 200 feet Minimum radius: 29″ (main), 18″ (Hagerstown wye) Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 4 (yards) […]

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Olympia & Sand Creek: Benchwork, Episode 1

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page David is back to building out his O scale (1:48) Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout. But this time, he’s got a little bit of extra help from MRVP Contributing Editor Gerry Leone! Watch as the two team up to construct new benchwork for […]

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Basics of car cards and waybills for model railroad operation part 3

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The switch crew in Woodsriver Yard on Paul Dolkos’ old Boston & Maine layout sorted cars according to waybill information to make up several different trains, pickups for trains passing through, and cuts for delivery to Woodsriver industries. Paul Dolkos The car-card-and-waybill freight-car routing system I’ve described in my ­previous two columns gives you all […]

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Linn Westcott remembers John Allen and his Gorre & Daphetid

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Click on the image to download the article. In the February 2020 Model Railroader, Charlie Getz describes how a damaged locomotive from John Allen’s famed Gorre & Daphetid layout was recently restored to running condition. For an overview of model railroad pioneer John Allen and his spectacular model railroads, registered members can download a copy […]

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HO scale Piermont Division

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The layout at a glance Name: Piermont Division Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 60 x 70 feet Theme: freelanced Locale: Pennsylvania, New York State, northwestern New Jersey Era: early 1950s Style: walk-in Mainline run: more than 1,400 feet Minimum radius: 38″ Minimum turnout: no. 10 (main and sidings), no. 8 (yards) Maximum grade: 1.5 percent (main), […]

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N scale Four Corners & Five Lakes Ry. track plan

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Click on the image or link below to download a PDF of this track plan. The layout at a glance Name: The Four Corners & Five Lakes Ry. (a business unit of FCFL Transportation) Scale: N (1:160) Size: 20 x 30 feet Theme: freelanced Locale: Four Corners region of U.S. Era: modern Style: around the […]

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Stuff We Use: Xuron Universal Wire Stripper

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Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Whether installing a decoder or working on the layout, a sharp wire cutter and striper can make any electronics project go faster and easier. Learn how as senior editor Dana Kawala demonstrates the Xuron Universal Wire Cutter. […]

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