Make a Lake, Part 2 | Back on Track, Episode 19

Man standing over a model train layout wearing an apron.

Make a Lake, Part 2! In the previous video of this mini-series, host Gerry Leone launched an effort to add a realistic water feature to his HO scale Bona Vista RR. Now, he’s following up the groundwork and bridge construction by shaping the landforms along the shores. He also turns his attention to forming the […]

Read More…

Elevate buildings to track height | It’s My Railroad, Ep. 30

Elevate buildings to track height! Work continues on the Star Industries project, a mid-sized industry modeled on Steve Brown’s N scale layout. In this episode, Steve shares how he raises his rail-served buildings to the appropriate track height, simply by adding a foundation. You’ll also see his techniques for making paved roads featuring proper curbing […]

Read More…

Rocky Mountaineer’s Colorado Adventure

In the fall of 2021, Trains.com staff rode Amtrak train no. 5, California Zephyr from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Denver, Colorado, with the expressed intent of capturing seasonal operations of Rocky Mountaineer’s Colorado-Utah excursion. While best known for day treks into the Canadian Rockies, this new Rocky Mountaineer route offers patrons a similar mountain canyon experience […]

Read More…

Spring & Fall, Part 1: Building Bridges | Let’s Make a Scene

You’ve come to love Kathy Millatt as host of Let’s Make a Scene on Model Railroader Video Plus since October 2017. She’s now back with all-new episodes, Spring & Fall Part 1 Building Bridges, of the helpful scenery-making series on Trains.com! Even better, she’s also documented many of her expert modeling insight in the Kalmbach Media/Model […]

Read More…

Preparing an N scale locomotive for repainting | Cody’s Workshop, Ep. 48

Preparing an N scale locomotive for repainting. That’s what expert modeler Cody Grivno highlights in his latest Cody’s Workshop series video. From his workbench and vented spray booth, our host will lead you through the necessary steps for disassembling an Atlas EMD GP38-2 diesel locomotive model, stripping off the factory paint job and decoration, and then applying an […]

Read More…

Jim Wrinn tribute video — a compilation

Man speaking in front of steam locomotive.

Jim Wrinn tribute video — a compilation: Trains.com and Kalmbach Media are proud to celebrate the rail journalism life of Jim Wrinn. For the 17 years Jim served as Trains’ Editor — his dream job — Jim was a leader in trying new ways to reach audiences and going great distances to “get the story.” Please enjoy […]

Read More…

Make a Lake, Part 1 | Back on Track, Episode 18

By popular demand! Back on Track host Gerry Leone jumps ahead in time to begin an effort to shape a common layout space into a unique place! In this episode, you’ll see the start of the lake scene takes the curved mainline into consideration. First, Gerry works to build up a plate girder bridge to […]

Read More…

Putting the layout to the test | Back on Track, Episode 16

Following his recent grand tour, Gerry puts his HO scale Bona Vista under greater scrutiny. In this episode, our host closely examines how his construction efforts align with his established Givens and Druthers. After failing to pass every part of his self-graded test, Gerry invites fellow layout builders David Popp and Seth Puffer to check […]

Read More…

Venice Simplon Orient Express journey: two Australian’s adventure

Venice Simplon Orient Express journey: A dining room table in a luxurious rail car.

Join Jess and Stephen (or Stephen and Jess?!) for a full-review experience of the luxury Venice Simplon Orient Express journey by train from Venice, Italy, to London, U.K. The Australian family maintains a travel blog, Flying The Nest, where they detail their globe-trotting experiences, mostly out of a converted van. They’ve traveled throughout North America, […]

Read More…