Southern Ry. Alco RS-3 no. 2143 passes over an older HO Shinohara turnout on Larry Puckett’s Ho layout. He explains how to make older turnouts DCC-friendly. In the September and October 2014 issues of Model Railroader, I wrote about how I modeled the Rockfish River crossing on my HO scale Piedmont Southern layout and built […]
Section: How To
Canadian Canyons Series: Scenery All-Stars, Part 3 – Forestry along the rock faces
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page MRVP All-Stars David Popp and Jenny Freeland team up to plant a full forest of trees in the craggy mountain walls along this Fraser Canyon scene. While the tree canopy will be dense in this part of our N scale (1:160) Canadian Canyons […]
City Terminal & Transfer Series: Episode 7 – Foam Foundation
Kent really likes working foam materials into various parts of the layouts he builds, including the O gauge City Terminal & Transfer Railway. After installing the layout’s pink foam tabletop, KJ turns to a different type of foam product made by Woodland Scenics. Follow along as he shows how to use foam risers and inclines […]
City Terminal & Transfer Series: Episode 6 – City Planners
Now that the trackwork is in place on the City Terminal & Transfer Railway, Kent Johnson and Bob Keller turn their attention to planning the urban scenery. In this video, you’ll see how careful consideration of a structure’s footprint allows the guys to place a wide array of city and industrial structures made by Menards, […]
Materials list for HO scale Sylvan GMC Cannonball detailing project
Mont Switzer’s finished HO scale Sylvan Scale Models GMC Cannonball semi-tractor, as detailed for a McLean Trucking Co. prototype. The article “How to model a 1950s semi-tractor” by Mont Switzer appeared in the July 2018 Model Railroader. The materials list for the project is shown below. Materials list A-Line 29201 Windshield wipers Bachmann 42342 Sitting […]
F Line traction
Name: F Line traction Layout owner: Harvey Simon Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 5 x 8 feet Prototype: San Francisco MunicipalTransp ortation Agency’s F Line Locale: San Francisco, between Castro District and Fisherman’s Wharf Era: modern Style: modified walk-in Mainline run: 40 feet Minimum radius: 6 1/4″ Minimum turnout: single point, equivalent to no. 2 Maximum […]
HO scale B&O Paquettin Division
Name: B&O Paquettin Division (updated 2018) Layout owner: Mike Tricker Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 16′-6″ x 16′-6″ Prototype: inspired by Baltimore & Ohio Locale: Appalachia to New Jersey Style: partial mushroom Era: early to mid-1950s Mainline run: 78 feet (excluding helix) Minimum radius: 18″, 15″(waterfront) Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 4 (waterfront) Maximum grade: […]
HO scale Palmetto Subdivision
Name: The Palmetto Subdivision Layout designer: Christian Javier Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 13 x 20 feet Prototype: Atlantic Coast Line Locale: southwest Florida Era: 1958-1959 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 93 feet Minimum radius: 28″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none (flat) This track plan originally appeared in the July 2018 issue of Model Railroader. […]
Mountains to seaside on a triple deck model railroad
Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2013 Model Railroader. Mike updated his plan and wrote a followup story in the July 2018 issue. Ever since receiving my first Hornby train set as a child in 1954, my modeling interests were focused on the railways of my home country, Great Britain. About 10 years […]
Canadian Canyons Series: Scenery All-Stars, Part 2 – Terrain & Trees
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page MRVP all-star Jenny Maaske gets into the scenery-making mode! After Drew and Kent tackle terrain coverage, Jenny shares her techniques for forming the endless forest of trees required to fill our N scale (1:160) Canadian Canyons project layout. […]
City Terminal & Transfer Series: Episode 5 – Track Attack
Kent Johnson and CTT’s Bob Keller lay it all on the line, as they work to assemble the main line using Lionel FasTrack O gauge components. Watch to see how they plot the course from the plan (printed in the pages of Classic Toy Trains magazine) to the pink foamboard tabletop, and then wire the […]
Canadian Canyons Series: Scenery All-Stars, Part 1 – Making a highway
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In this Canadian Canyons mini-series, the entire MRVP staff gets involved in shaping up the layout scenery! To get things started, Ben Lake and Gerry Leone combine their superpowers to model a curved mountain highway using a computer, a paper template, and a […]