Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In Part 4, Gerry Leone really starts to cover some ground… or in this case, pink foam insulation board! Watch and learn how easy it is to transform stark construction materials into a natural-looking setting. […]
Section: Modeling
Lionel Trains a look at 1954: Lionel’s finest year; the last of three parts
Missed a part? [Read Part 1] [Read Part 2] Excellent low-end O gauge sets As nice as the O-27 outfits were, the kids poring through a Lionel wishbook didn’t stop with them. They spent lots of time checking out the O gauge sets, believing that Lionel saved the best of its 1954 product line for […]
A Saturday afternoon at the Colorado Model Railroad Museum
This was video was shot during the 2019 BNSF Days at the Colorado Model Railroad Museum. CMRM volunteers bring their personal trains to these events, so the video features a variety of trains from different eras and BNSF predecessor railroads. Video by Bill Rogers. […]
N scale Erie Lackawanna
Henrik Akesson’s N scale version of the Erie Lackawanna RR in Pennsylvania is set during the late 1960s to the mid 1970s. It’s built in a spare bedroom around the walls in a dogbone on styrofoam. It features Peco code 80 track, Digitrax DCC, and a small copy of the Starrucca viaduct kitbashed from several […]
844 Excursion Train
Brian Olson’s N scale Union Pacific Excursion Train is now complete. A project more than a year in the making, he started with Kato’s 844 steam engine, later adding the tenders and the Spirit of Union Pacific 1943 diesel engine, and finally, Kato’s 7-car Excursion Car Set. The train in this video is on a […]
Ron Hoess’ Eastbound Chestnut Hill & Stifftown Branch PRR
This HO scale layout (13′ x 18′) is a point-to-point switching layout that depicts the Stifftown Branch and the first portion of the Chestnut Hill Branch of the PRR. The setting is North Philadelphia circa 1958. Since this is a prototype layout, all of the structures are scratchbuilt to better match the prototype. Key signature […]
How to build a stow-away model railroad test track
Tom Knapp’s workshop now sports this N scale standard and narrow gauge model railroad test track that folds up. With the safety bolt retracted, Tom can lift the table out of its hangers and tip it up against the door. The test track folds flat against the door, where it’s held by a magnetic latch […]
Olympia 2, The Log Blog: Part 24
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page You’ve been asking for a updated operating plan for the new and improved Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout. In this installment, David not only delivers a scheme, but he also runs a few trains to demonstrate how it all comes together. As a […]
Olympia 2, The Log Blog: Part 24
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page You’ve been asking for a updated operating plan for the new and improved Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout. In this installment, David not only delivers a scheme, but he also runs a few trains to demonstrate how it all comes together. As a […]
Lionel Trains a look at 1954: Lionel’s finest year; the second of three parts
Absolutely stunning is the best way to describe Lionel’s classic no. 1520W Texas Special passenger set from 1954. [Missed Part 1? Click here to read the first installment] Middle of the O-27 line First in the catalog, with a designated listing of $39.95, came the no. 1503WS. Familiar? Yes, because Lionel had shown that outfit […]
Lionel Trains a look at 1954: Lionel’s finest year; a first of three parts
If you want to speak strictly from the heart, then any year in the postwar era was a great one to receive your first Lionel set. But if you prefer to let your brain do the talking, then 1954 surely was the year to pick. From the peak of the company’s grand 50th anniversary celebration […]
How-to Library: Arduinos in Model Railroading – Part 3 Use servos to save your trains
In part 3 of this MRVP mini-series, Gerry Leone resumes his helpful instructions for working with an Arduino. This time Gerry shows how he harnessed their usefulness to solve a problem on his HO scale layout. Turns out the tiny devices really are powerful enough to stop a train in its tracks…or from flying off […]