Midday Modeler – March 29, 2023

Several people smile into a camera at a model railroad layout.

The Crew is back again with more MR goodness! Its an All-Star ensemble cast as David, Rene, Cody, Steve, Eric, and Bryson all share what projects they have been working on. And, of course, we answer more of YOUR questions! […]

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Conrail paint schemes: Gone but not forgotten

Shiny blue diesel locomotive among dirty black locomotives

The many faces of Conrail Conrail, the amalgamation of many financially struggling Eastern railroads both big and small, was born April 1, 1976. When it began, the system operated thousands of locomotives on about 19,000 route-miles in 15 states and two Canadian provinces. Its mandate: to revitalize rail service in the Northeast and Midwest as […]

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Midday Modeler for March 22, 2023

Man shows off book on a model railroad workbench.

In this week’s Midday Modeler, David talks about people building project layouts that have appeared in previous issues of MR magazine. Bryson shows off a cool Lego Maersk engine. Steve demo’s a “shack pack”. More viewer questions are answered. […]

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Big Skies & Iron Rails, Branch Lines and Locals

Branch line and local trains deliver goods to big and small towns everywhere. These routes are important arteries in the nation’s economic lifeline, especially to remote areas. While we use the term “last mile”, sometimes a local will traverse many miles to get cargo from main line railroad distribution yards to Main Street, USA. Take […]

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Big Skies & Iron Rails, Branch Lines and Locals

Branch line and local trains deliver goods to big and small towns everywhere. These routes are important arteries in the nation’s economic lifeline, especially to remote areas. While we use the term “last mile”, sometimes a local will traverse many miles to get cargo from main line railroad distribution yards to Main Street, USA. Take […]

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Midday Modeler for March 15, 2023

Two men at a model railroading workbench smiling at a camera.

On today’s Midday Modeler, work briefly shifts over to the MR&T from the project layout. David and Eric discuss the steps trying to get the MR&T closer to operation. Eric shows off his handrail progress. Steve provides an update on the structure he’s working on for the project layout. David dives in to a Mercantile […]

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Add interior lights to a passenger car

Model Railroader magazine’s associate editor Bryson Sleppy shares his technique for installing an LED kit into a modern, HO scale passenger car that did not come factory-equipped with lights. Even better, Bryson adds an NCE Light-it DCC decoder he’ll use to toggle the interior illumination on/off. Be sure to follow the exclusive In The Workshop […]

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Trains LIVE – Update C&NW No. 1385

Man standing in front of a steam locomotive that is being worked on.

Trains LIVE: Update C&NW No. 1385 — 3-15-2023 — In March 1907, the Chicago & North Western Railway took delivery of a 4-6-0 locomotive from Alco. Construction No. 42187 is an R1 class tipping the scale at 82 tons. The locomotive was assigned road No. 1385 and became part of C&NW’s largest steam locomotive class. […]

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Olympia & Sand Creek, Episode 9 | On the right track

After host David Popp cleans up a few foibles around the cork roadbed, he turns to the task of modifying turnouts to accommodate Tortoise switch motors. And then his full focus goes to laying down the trackwork! Follow his fastidious process for aligning the main line and gluing into place…to perfection! And be sure to […]

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Midday Modeler for March 8, 2023

On today’s Midday Modeler, David and Cody discuss painting track on the project railroad. Eric shows off the work he’s doing on a switch tower kit. Steve gives an update on the structures he’s building for the project layout. Mitch talks about working on the next layout structure, the water street freight terminal. David and […]

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