Check out these plans for a handcar shed from Model Railroader magazine. Every railroad needs myriad small storage sheds along the right-of-way and in engine terminals and yards. When I required a small trackside shed for my freelanced On30 (also known as On21⁄2) North Cariboo Ry., I decided it should show its age. I figured the shed would […]
Section: Build a Model Railroad
Video Step by Step: Build a plastic structure kit – part 2
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In this installment of Video Step by Step, Cody Grivno shows you how to assemble a Walthers HO scale ranch tract house kit. In part 2 of 2, he covers adding windows & doors, window panes, window dressing, and other finishing details. […]
Video Step by Step: Build a plastic structure kit – part 1
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In this installment of Video Step by Step, Cody Grivno shows you how to assemble a Walthers HO scale ranch tract house kit. In part 1 of 2 episodes, he covers wall assembly, preparing sub-assemblies, plus prepping and painting detail parts. […]
Union Pacific freight station drawings
Check out these plans for the Union Pacific Glendale freight depot from Model Railroader magazine. Union Pacific built this modern-looking freight station midway along the 1.25-mile Glendale Branch that once was part of the former Glendale & Montrose Ry. The post-World War II structure was built of brick with large windows for natural light, and […]
Video Step by Step: Build a water tank part 2
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page After building the tank and roof in part 1 of this Video Step by Step project, Steven Otte shows you how he completed his model of an HO scale wood water tank. […]
Video Step by Step: Build a water tank part 1
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Associate editor Steven Otte needed several wood water tanks for his layout, so he decided to scratchbuild them using stripwood and common materials. In part one of this two-part video, Steve shows you how he built the tank and the roof. […]
Canadian National Fenelon Falls, Ontario depot drawings
During a family vacation several years ago, I photographed the former Canadian National Ry. Fenelon Falls, Ont., station. This building stands on a now abandoned 55-mile-long rural branch line that once connected the town of Lindsay to Haliburton. The station houses an art gallery and now has board-and-batten sheathing. However, I’ve found several old pictures […]
Video Step by Step: Replacing turnouts
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Sometimes you need to replace a turnout or other trackwork on your model railroad. In this video Cody Grivno shares his technique for replacing turnouts on Model Railroader’s HO scale MR&T layout, walking you through the project from cutting out the old rails […]
Build a liquid-asphalt transfer terminal
Pelle Søeborg shows how he scratchbuilt a liquid-asphalt transfer terminal in the June 2013 Model Railroader. Back in the February 1994, Clyde Maybee Jr. showed how he modeled the industry on his layout. Click on the link to download a PDF of the original article. […]
Waterbury, Vermont historic railroad station drawings
Waterbury, Vermont’s historic railroad station was built by the Central Vermont Ry. in 1875. The station was the centerpiece of Waterbury Village for more than 75 years, serving as the gateway to nearby attractions. Its main entrance faced the village green. Through the 1950s, it was the destination for the Central Vermont’s Ski Train, which […]
Video Step by Step: Build a low-relief structure part 2
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In this installment of Video Step by Step, Cody Grivno shows you how to build a low-relief structure kit that fits between the tracks and the backdrop. In part 2 he covers final assembly, weathering, and installation. […]
Video Step by Step: Weathering hoppers
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Our Winter Hill project railroad needed a lot of rock hoppers, and Cody Grivno shows you how he restenciled and weathered various Walthers models to fill out the fleet on the HO scale MR&T. […]