Visiting Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum If you took a major Class I railroad in the early 1950s, shrunk it, and set it aside to show people today what a section of big-time, steam-era railroading was all about, you’d create Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Set on a portion of Southern Railway’s original main line into Chattanooga, […]
Train Topic: Beginners
So, you want to own a caboose?
After being a ubiquitous part of American railroads for more than 150 years, they went away some 40 years ago. Today, you’ll find a rare and rusty handful on Class I railroads in use as lowly “shoving platforms,” with their windows and doors often welded shut. The lucky ones got away to museums, tourist railroads, […]
How locomotives operate together in a train consist
In the railroad industry, different locomotive models and manufacturers can be found in any train consist operating in different directions from one another. The ability to achieve this is due to a set of uniform standards for both pneumatic and electrical connections adopted by all manufacturers and can be found on almost all freight and […]
Locomotive model designations explained
Locomotive builders use model designations to differentiate between products, describing major features found on them. Often, these model designations will be used by the railroads who purchase them, or they will be shortened or modified to conform to space limitations on a computer system, uniform naming schemes, or to identify features that are important to […]
Welcome to garden railroading!
Get an overview of the garden railroading hobby by watching our introductory video. If you are interested in knowing more about putting trains in your backyard or garden, consider signing up for our welcome email series. […]
New type of virtual model train show will be held in April
The first virtual model train show to replicate the in-person train show experience, an event dubbed World’s Greatest Hobby Online, will take place on April 17th. The event is sponsored by the World’s Greatest Hobby, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. It will feature digital exhibits and keynote addresses from some of the best-known model train […]
Member video: Union Pacific tours the S&P lines
Name: Peter Atonna Railroad Name: Seligman and Paulden Lines Location: Arizona Scale: O Theme: Railroad running through Arizona serving its big and little towns Description: Union Pacific officials decided that since the S&P Lines furnish a good amount of traffic to the UP, they would do a tour of the railroad. Join them in the […]
Member video: Union Pacific tours the S&P lines
Name: Peter Atonna Railroad Name: Seligman and Paulden Lines Location: Arizona Scale: O Theme: Railroad running through Arizona serving its big and little towns Description: Union Pacific officials decided that since the S&P Lines furnish a good amount of traffic to the UP, they would do a tour of the railroad. Join them in the […]
Ask MR: What do different TTX marks signify?
Question: I have six freshly painted brass O scale auto racks that I need decals for. I’ve found some TTX flatcar sets that might be close. Do auto racks have special letters before or after the reporting mark different from those on a regular TTX flatcar? – Tom Champley, Oregon, Ill. Answer: Yes. Each type […]
Beginners
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Model Railroader basic training: How to cut rails
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page When building your model railroad, you may have times when you need to cut track to fit in a certain space. Model Railroader associate editor Cody Grivno will show you how to easily cut track in this basic training video. […]
Ask MRVP: Episode 52
Host David Popp has scores of your hobby-related questions to address in his triumphant return to MRVP headquarters! As he tools around the MR workshop, MR&T layout, and other popular project railroads (several are up for sale!), he tackles inquiries regarding benchwork, trackwork, wiring, scenery, and so much more. […]