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Regardless the size, model railroads require regular maintenance. Cleaning track, dusting scenery and structures, and maintaining equipment are just some of the things that require attention. Not keeping up on these tasks will lead to a layout that runs poorly, looks tired, and potentially cause you (and/or members of your operating crew) to lose interest. […]
As model railroaders age, we are faced with the question of how to dispose of a model railroad in case of changing scales, downsizing, moving, or death. No one seems willing to address this uncomfortable question. In the case of death, the model railroader’s family is saddled with the problem of disposing of the models. […]
Modelers David Popp, Brian Schmidt, and Bryson Sleppy continue the scenery process on their T-TRAK modules in an attempt to make them look more like the prairies of Colorado. T-TRAK is a modular N scale railroading system that uses foot-wide boxes plugged together to build tabletop layouts. In this eighth installment of the T-TRAK series, […]
If you’re looking forward to hosting an operating session, open house, layout photo session, or just a visit from friends and relatives, you want your layout to make the best possible impression. But there’s more to cleaning a model railroad than just polishing the track and wheels, as important as those things are. Dust is […]
If you’re planning on building a model railroad, preparing a train room should be your first step. You might be eager to get to work building benchwork and laying track, but basics like wiring and lighting your layout space and making it comfortable for your operators are a lot easier to do before there’s a […]
Modelers David Popp, Brian Schmidt, and Bryson Sleppy continue the scenery process on their T-TRAK modules in an attempt to make them look more like the prairies of Colorado. T-TRAK is a modular N scale railroading system that uses foot-wide boxes plugged together to build tabletop layouts. In this sixth installment, the three modelers explain […]
Tony Koester’s “Trains of Thought” column in our May 2024 issue, about the Norfolk & Western (formerly Wabash) Detroit car float terminal, inspired me to sketch up a track plan for a rail-marine Free-Mo module. I’ve written before about the Free-Mo modular standard and designing a Free-Mo module, a variant of which became Freemont Mills, […]
Modelers David Popp, Brian Schmidt, and Bryson Sleppy continue the scenery process on their T-TRAK modules by adding gravel, ground foam, and static grass in an attempt to make them look more like the prairies of Colorado. T-TRAK is a modular N scale railroading system that uses foot-wide boxes plugged together to build tabletop layouts. […]
Q: I always thought N gauge track was the go-to gauge for narrow gauge HO operating equipment. I found out yesterday that is not true. I got a model kit for an HOn3 locomotive. Everything was going smoothly until I discovered the wheels and trucks supplied with the kit are spaced too far apart for N gauge […]
Q: I recently added a Faller carousel to my HO scale model railroad. It is lighted and motorized. Now I would like to add a sound module to the layout to play carousel sounds. Any suggestions where I might find one? — Larry Gaiardelli A: I couldn’t find a sound module pre-recorded with carousel sounds, […]
In 1951, Linn Westcott wrote a story about his ideas for a million-dollar model railroad. It was a thought experiment that looked at everything from the layout space to how he’d control the trains. You can read about it here. A recently republished interview with Linn on Trains.com got some of us thinking about what […]
A reader’s inquiry to my “Ask MR” column (published earlier on Trains.com) inspired me to sketch a track plan for an HO scale glass factory shelf layout. We published a track plan for a glass factory in our January 2003 issue, but that was a 4 x 8-foot plan, and not everybody can devote 48 square […]
