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 […]
Section: Modeling
N scale Annaville & Adirondack
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: […]
Bonus computer desktop wallpaper from the December 2016 Model Railroader
Click on the links to the left to download the image sized appropriately for your computer screen. Snow has melted along the right-of-way, making roads muddy, on this bright April day in Maine as Forney engine no. 9, with Ed West at the throttle, passes South Strong station. Lou Sassi, a frequent contributor to Model […]
Video: TCS WOWSound Steam Version 4 decoder
Senior editor Dana Kawala recently installed a WOWSound Steam Version 4 decoder and 28mm high-bass WOWSpeaker with enclosure from Train Control Systems into an HO scale 2-8-2 Mikado. The upgraded TCS decoder includes a new Calibrated Proto Chuff feature. Hear the new decoder in action as the HO scale steam locomotive speeds along the main […]
Video: GoodDeals DCC Test Track
At the National Train Show 2016 held in Indianapolis, Ind., the Model Railroader staff came across a line of professionally built test tracks from Good Deals DCC. Gary Cohn, president of Good Deals DCC, custom-built a 15-foot long version for the Model Railroader workshop. Follow along as Gary shows senior editor Dana Kawala how to […]
Build a newspaper vending machine
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 […]
Beyond Alberta spruce
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 […]
Video extra: Rehab My Railroad
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Video extra: Rehab My Railroad
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Making movies without a video camera
GoPro cameras, cell-phone cameras, and video-capable DSLR cameras are everywhere. This column will review a dozen examples of video technique from my “Video 101” workshop, presented at the National Garden Railway Convention. Columns will include suggestions, with photographic links to a short demonstration videos of some Bay Area railroads. I recently saw a man filming […]
Video: Kato HO SD40-2 and EMD 2nd Generation Sound Card
Kato USA released a Second-generation Electro-Motive Division (EMD) Sound Card that’s a perfect match to its new HO scale mid-production SD40-2. Check out the realistic effects provided by SoundTraxx as Model Railroader senior editor Dana Kawala demonstrates the new Sound Card with a Kato Sound Box controller. […]
Ask MRVP: Episode 18
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page MRVP answer man David Popp is never afraid to field your tricky questions! This month, David, with help from MR’s Neil Besougloff and Cody Grivno, tackles topics related to adding decals, improving locomotive and rolling stock performance, selecting era-appropriate details, building bridges, turntable […]