Name: Virginia & Southern RR Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 4 x 8 feet Theme: Main line coal hauling Locale: Appalachian mountains Era: 1950s Style: island Mainline run: 19 feet (double-tracked) Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 3 percent This track plan was originally published in the March 2016 Model Railroader. Click on the link […]
Section: Modeling
N scale Coalton & Silver Range RR
Name: Coalton & Silver Range RR Scale: N (1:160) Size: 4 x 8 feet Theme: Rocky Mountain mining Locale: Colorado Era: 1920s Style: island Mainline run: 37 feet Minimum radius: 15″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 3 percent This track plan was originally published in the March 2016 Model Railroader. Click on the link to download […]
O scale Water Street Industrial District
Name: Water Street Industrial District Scale: O (1:48) Size: 4 x 8 feet Theme: Urban switching Locale: Generic city Era: 1940s-1950s Style: modular Mainline run: none Minimum radius: 22″ Minimum turnout: Atlas 20th Century Rail two-rail wye Maximum grade: none (flat) This track plan was originally published in the March 2016 Model Railroader. Click on the link […]
Sn3 scale Denver & Rio Grande Western
Name: Denver & Rio Grande Western Layout owner: Pat Gerstle Scale: Sn3 (1:64 proportion, 3-foot gauge) Size: 8 x 16 feet Prototype: Denver & Rio Grande Western Era: 1940s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 24 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: 50″ Roadbed: Homasote Track: about 80 […]
Project plans: Build a railroad beam bridge
Download plans for a railroad beam bridge. Learn how modeler Jim Ferenc scratchbuilt this common railroad bridge for his HO scale Colorado & Southern Northern Division model train layout in the March 2016 Model Railroader. Jim used wooden ties and plastic girders on his bridge. […]
Video: Athearn HO scale SD40 with SoundTraxx DCC
The Athearn HO scale Ready-to-Roll Electro-Motive Division SD40 features many roadname-specific details. The model also features a SoundTraxx Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoder. Watch the SD40 work a freight train on the Model Railroader staff’s Troy Branch model train layout. […]
Things I leave out when modeling N scale
These cattle on Jim Kelly’s N scale Tehachapi layout are content to loaf among the trees, and that’s a good thing, as there’s no fence to keep them off the railroad. Bet you didn’t notice. Jim Kelly photo The more I look at photos, the more I realize the images of place I’ve stored in […]
Computer desktop wallpaper from the March 2016 Model Railroader
Click on the links to the left to download the image size appropriate for your computer screen. Majestic Hardware, built from a Bar Mills craftsman kit, receives a flatcar on Pat Gerstle’s Sn3 Denver & Rio Grande Western model railroad. This month you can download this photo from Pat’s layout story to use as a […]
Winston-Salem Southbound Series: Painting an EMD GP9 diesel locomotive, Part 2 – Shell preparations
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Cody continues preparing our Athearn Genesis EMD GP9 for painting and decoration. In this video, he demonstrates how to perform a detailed cleaning of the shell, along with showing steps for removing, patching, and replacing various components to match the Winston-Salem Southbound prototype […]
Winston-Salem Southbound Series: Painting an EMD GP9 diesel locomotive, Part 2 – Shell preparations
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Cody continues preparing our Athearn Genesis EMD GP9 for painting and decoration. In this video, he demonstrates how to perform a detailed cleaning of the shell, along with showing steps for removing, patching, and replacing various components to match the Winston-Salem Southbound prototype […]
Tracks Ahead: Season 9 – Images of the Past
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Custom layout builders Dan and Armando Vargas highlight several of their model railroad and racetrack re-creations in this PBS Tracks Ahead segment. […]
MRVP Video Vault – Airbrushing for Model Railroaders: Basic techniques and cleaning
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page In this 1980s vintage video, MR Contributor Allen Keller demostrates specific techniques used when painting and weathering railroad models with an airbrush. He also shares tips for cleaning an airbrush after use. […]