Some of the brightest minds in our hobby are gifted with the ability to put pencil to paper and whip up an original track plan. Even though I’ve designed a fair number of plans for Classic Toy Trains magazine, I can assure you that I’m certainly not a person with that kind of raw talent. […]
Without any legs, brackets, or other visible means of support, floating benchwork keeps all attention focused on the model railroad. Follow along as author Lance Mindheim shows how to build these lightweight, yet sturdy shelves. Lance designed his benchwork for a 16″ shelf width. Use as many benchwork segments (shown above) as needed to match […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page David Popp and Drew Halverson work to add a signature forest fire scene to the Thompson River Canyon on our Canadian Canyons N scale layout. Even without incorporating animated fire or smoke effects, the guys show how use of subtle color and scenery […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page David Popp and Drew Halverson work to add a signature forest fire scene to the Thompson River Canyon on our Canadian Canyons N scale layout. Even without incorporating animated fire or smoke effects, the guys show how use of subtle color and scenery […]
Surfaces with complicated textures and colors, like roads, can be difficult to reproduce convincingly on a layout. Lance Mindheim used a digital camera, photo-editing software, and blank decal paper to transfer images of real roads to streets on his layout. Fig. 1 Patchwork pavement. Years of weather, use, and repairs transform roads into a crazy […]
Adding mundane and non-revenue structures to your layout can enhance the authenticity of a scene, as demonstrated in these two scenes from the author’s Miami-based HO scale CSX Downtown Spur layout. The gray and salmon structure at the center of the top photo is 10th Avenue Tires in Miami. Structure building is one of the […]
In this installment of the O gauge CT&T Railway Series, David plays with paints to apply appropriate colors to The Big City sidewalks and a rock formation found along the tracks. […]
The Port yard had its own control panel and box for car cards and waybills. Click on the links to get the online extras. John Allen’s HO scale Gorre & Daphetid remains one of the hobby’s most influential model railroads. Check out this collection of online extras about this model railroading pioneer and his layout. […]
This is the first video in a seven-part series about Michael Collins’ HO scale NY Harbor – Lehigh Valley model railroad. […]
Santa Maria Valley 203 brings a cut of interchange cars into Guadalupe yard, as SP 2581 departs back to San Luis Obispo with the returning Guadalupe local on September 17, 1954. Video by Brian Moore. […]
Take a cab ride on the Livingston Model Railroad club layout, located in the old Northern Pacific depot in Livingston, Mont. The layout is generic with the exception of the town of Gardiner, Mont., which the train enters around 11:30. The Northern Pacific ran a train from Livingston, Mont., to Gardiner, Mont., until around 1955 […]
A “vignette” is a small portrait whose edges fade into the background without a definite border, or a brief episode. Vignette is my word for a video scene from a story that is unfinished or only partially told. Al Tillman’s railway was undergoing a major renovation on the day we visited but it had several […]
