Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page When essential framework under our Canadian Canyons N scale project layout prevented us from installing a Tortoise motor in the standard configuration, David opted for a nifty alternative solution. In this video David shows how to use a Remote Tortoise Mount to situate […]
Layout Size: Small Layouts
The Salt Lake Route, Part 5 – Easy-to-build desert scenery
Union Pacific road diesels lead a stack train along the Meadow Valley Wash. Dick Christianson explains how he scenicked this side of our N scale project layout. photo by Bill Zuback Fig. 1 Cutting foam. Dick’s friend Stener Harildstad used a serrated kitchen knife to cut the extruded-foam insulation board. The sloping contour of the […]
The Salt Lake Route, Part 4 – Wiring a small layout for DCC
Dick Christianson explains how to wire the Salt Lake Route for Digital Command Control. He concealed the system’s command station in a drawer built beneath the layout’s intermodal yard. Bill Zuback photo Fig. 1 Power feeders. Last month Dick explained how to install Kato Unitrack power feeders during tracklaying. He used plug-in sections on the […]
The Salt Lake Route, Part 3: Laying realistic sectional track
A pair of Union Pacific freights bank into the superelevated curves on the N scale Salt Lake Route. Dick Christianson explains how he installed Kato Unitrack, including the firm’s new double-track sections with superelevated curves (inset), on our project layout. One of the parameters Model Railroader gave me regarding the N scale project layout was […]
MRVP Video Vault – Layout Tour: Mike Bell’s N scale Pennsylvania RR
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page MRVP Video Vault tours Mike Bell’s Pennsylvania Railroad N scale layout originally featured in the 1991 premier edition of Great Model Railroads (out of print). […]
MRVP Video Vault – Layout Tour: Mike Bell’s N scale Pennsylvania RR
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page MRVP Video Vault tours Mike Bell’s Pennsylvania Railroad N scale layout originally featured in the 1991 premier edition of Great Model Railroads (out of print). […]
Canadian Canyons Series: Part 9 – Laying flextrack
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Trackwork continues on our N scale project railroad. In this installment of the ongoing Canadian Canyons series, David Popp shares techniques for laying down more sections of flextrack, specifically around the curves of the staging yard. […]
Canadian Canyons Series: Part 9 – Laying flextrack
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Trackwork continues on our N scale project railroad. In this installment of the ongoing Canadian Canyons series, David Popp shares techniques for laying down more sections of flextrack, specifically around the curves of the staging yard. […]
The Salt Lake Route, Part 2: Benchwork with folding legs
Stener Harildstad holds one end of the N scale Salt Lake Route with the legs folded up inside the L girders. This month, learn how to build easy-to-transport benchwork with folding legs for our 4 x 9-foot project layout. A pair of Union Pacific freights meet on the Meadow Valley Wash side of the layout. […]
The Salt Lake Route, Part 1: The inspiration for a small layout
The rugged mountain desert scenery of the Meadow Valley Wash provides a picturesque backdrop for trains on the N scale Union Pacific Salt Lake Route. The 4 x 9-foot model railroad, built by retired managing editor Dick Christianson, features Kato Unitrack with superelevated curves. Model Railroader associate editor Cody Grivno and graphic designer Drew Halverson […]
Canadian Canyons Series: Part 8 – Staging yard turnouts
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page David dives into laying track in the staging yard on our N scale project railroad, but before he even opens that brand-new box of flextrack, there’s a lot of other work to do, including painting the roadbed, drilling holes for the switch motors, […]
Canadian Canyons Series: Part 7 – Installing cork roadbed
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page The plywood panels are now in place, and the track centerlines are all marked! In this episode of the Canadian Canyons series, it’s time for David to begin the track laying effort by first installing cork roadbed. Follow along, as he demonstrates tips […]