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Tired of hassling with an entire layout shutdown when a single train derails on your DCC layout? We certainly were! In this episode, David Popp explains why it happens, and then shows how to remedy this inconvenience by establishing power districts and adding circuit breakers. Watch to see how these easy fixes pave the way […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page MRVP is pleased to introduce FineScale Modeler senior editor Aaron Skinner to an audience eager to acquire new airbrush painting and weathering tips, tricks, and techniques! In the first episode of this series, Aaron guides you through the wide array of airbrush options […]
Get the source code for Detlef Kurpanek’s Arduino-controlled model train signal system described in the December 2016 Model Railroader. In the December 2016 Model Railroader, Detlef Kurpanek describes how designed an operating model railroad signal system that uses Arduino microcontrollers. As an online bonus, you can download Detlef’s source code for the project by clicking […]
Name: Western Pacific RR Layout owner: Jim Pendley Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 20 x 46 feet Prototype: Western Pacific Locale: California’s Sierra Nevada Time periods: 1960s, early 1970s, early 1980s, mid-1980s Style: walkaround Mainline run: 220 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 8 (main), no. 6 (yards) Maximum grade: 1.5 percent Benchwork: L-girder and […]
Name: Iowa Interstate RR Grimes Line Layout designer: James McNab Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 12′-0″ x 18′-8″ Prototype: IAIS Grimes Industrial Track Locale: Greater Des Moines, Iowa Period: September 2008 Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 52 feet Minimum radius: 22″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Originally appeared in Great Model Railroads 2015. Click […]
Name: Annaville & Adirondack Layout owner: Sandy Colabufo Scale: N (1:160) Size: 9 x 21 feet Prototype: Freelanced, inspired by Delaware & Hudson Locale: upstate New York (Adirondack region) Era: 1950 to late 1960s Style: walkaround Mainline run: 104 feet Minimum radius: 15″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 (mainline), no. 4 (sidings and yards) Maximum grade: […]
Add some interest to your railroad by building a newspaper vending machine. Jack Verducci provides full-size PDF drawings. For the full article, read the December 2016 issue. Note: These drawings are full-size for 1/2″ scale. To make them in other scales, follow the chart below. For 1:32 scale, reduce the drawings to 75% For 1:22.5 […]
1. The two darker trees on the right are Jean’s Dilly Alberta spruce (Picea glauca ‘Jean’s Dilly’, Zones 3-8), unpruned. The lighter-colored tree above the railtruck is a pruned dwarf Alberta spruce (Picea glauca ‘Conica’, Zones 4-8—author’s former garden railroad). Don Parker 2. Miniature moss false cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Squarrosa Minima’, Zones 4-8) is scale-appropriate […]
Unpruned Nancy Norris Common name: Blue Pyramid cypress Latin name: Cupressus arizonica ‘Blue Pyramid’ Plant type: Dwarf conifer USDA Hardiness Zones: 6-9 Cultural needs: Average-to-poor well-drained soil; sun or light shade Plant size: Fast growing to 20′ in 10 years but easily pruned annually to stay under 3′ Pruned Nancy Norris Blue Pyramids are just […]
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In this all-new MRVP series, watch and learn as David Popp walks you through, step-by-step, the full sequence for installing Digital Command Control on a large model railroad. To get things started, David first provides a quick overview of DCC starter systems, and then he gets to work adding a DCC power bus line under […]
Two versions of this track plan, one using tubular track and one using FasTrack. Build a Lionel showroom display […]
