Welcome to the enjoyable and exciting hobby of toy trains! Folks enter this hobby a number of ways. Perhaps you found your childhood train set after many years and want to relive the fun you had with those toys. Maybe you picked up a vintage toy locomotive and cars at a yard sale or an […]
Model roads look best when they are built to the proper size. By planning for the streets and roads at the same time you design your layout, you can be sure you have enough room for them. Rest assured that if you plan ahead and follow the prototype, your streets will realistically enhance your layout. […]
Click on the links at left to download this image sized appropriately for your computer screen. It’s a snowy winter day in Gold Mine Gap on Ron Foreman’s HOn3 Devil’s Gulch & Helengon. The silver ore train must go through so the precious metal can be smelted into Christmas gifts. Click on the links below […]
Trains Magazine columnist Fred W. Frailey takes a look inside BNSF Railway’s busy Willow Springs intermodal yard, near Chicago. In this free download, you’ll get a peek behind the security fence to experience the rush to move priority UPS traffic into and out of the Windy City. […]
Great Model Railroads 2018 features a wide variety of outstanding model train layouts in N, HO, O, and large scales. This month you can download images from all 11 model railroads to use as a background wallpaper on your computer screen. Click on the links below for the appropriately sized images. Want to see more […]
Large layouts are cool, no doubt, but we thought that something smaller that combined postwar trains with modern materials also sounded like fun. We told Classic Toy Trains Editor Carl Swanson what we were thinking, and he challenged us to actually follow through. Uh-oh. This special 13-page magazine supplement contains step-by-step instructions for creating a 4 […]
In this special supplement to Model Railroader, you’ll get expert advice on and photos of lineside details for: Roadway, ballast, rails and ties Terrain and features alongside your track Signals, signs, and grade crossings Trackside communication, safety, and maintenance equipment Enter your email below to sign up for our weekly newsletter and get your free download! […]
Long before the advent of diesels and lightweight equipment, streamliners shaped “high-speed rail” in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In this free, 35-page download, we revisit the classic streamliner era. This series includes: The Great Chicago-Twin Cities Speed War: How intense competition between Burlington Route, Milwaukee Road, and Chicago & North Western drastically reduced daytime […]
Click on the links at left to download the wallpaper. Urban switching and street running are the highlights of Carroll Street on Paul Dolkos’ HO scale Baltimore Harbor District. Click on the links below to download the image sized appropriately for your computer screen. Download the 1600 x 900 image Download the 1600 x 1000 […]
Click on the links at left to download the image sized appropriately for your computer screen. New York Central no. 6024, a 4-8-4 Niagara, departs Ellison Union Station with the afternoon express, while no. 9403, a class A-2a Berkshire, enters the yard with a manifest freight on Lee Gasparik’s O scale layout. This trackside photo, […]
You can pack a lot of model railroading fun into a small space, and in this booklet we’ll show you five ways to do it. The HO and N scale plans featured here have all appeared in Model Railroader magazine. Each one has a unique theme, and all contain a key element of modern model railroad design […]
“I once found a 60-year-old train in the loft of a farmer’s barn, where it had spent more cold northern winters and hot summers than anyone could remember. A family of mice had even made a nest in the box and left behind over a pound of petrified ‘evidence.’ “I thought the engine was […]
