Project railroad series: Determining trackplan

Marc Horovitz Before we could start building, we needed a track plan. But before we could design our plan, we needed to know what sort of railway we wanted and what was possible. This was an important part of the process and not one to be glossed over. Rod and I sat down and discussed […]

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Project railroad series: introduction & grades

Adriane stays at stake #1 while I move around the yard. Here, the string has been tied to the second set of stakes. I call out dimensions while Adriane notes them on the site plan. A small passenger train is ready to depart the station on the newly completed Colorado & Pacific Marc Horovitz Marc […]

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A brief history of garden railroading

At the turn of the century even the smallest trains left little room for indoor model railroading Back before the “dawn of time,” say around 1860, the model train hobby was in its infancy, as was the full-size railroad industry. In fact, for decades, the development of model railways closely paralleled that of full-size railways. […]

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A brief history of garden railroading

At the turn of the century even the smallest trains left little room for indoor model railroading Back before the “dawn of time,” say around 1860, the model train hobby was in its infancy, as was the full-size railroad industry. In fact, for decades, the development of model railways closely paralleled that of full-size railways. […]

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A brief history of garden railroading

At the turn of the century even the smallest trains left little room for indoor model railroading Back before the “dawn of time,” say around 1860, the model train hobby was in its infancy, as was the full-size railroad industry. In fact, for decades, the development of model railways closely paralleled that of full-size railways. […]

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Louisville & Nashville: Still reliable after all these years

It was on March 5, 1850, that the Kentucky legislature approved a charter for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company. The first through train operated between L&N’s namesake end points in 1859. Had it not been for dynamic leadership, vision, money, and some luck, the L&N might not have matured beyond this original route and […]

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Trix, HO scale, NYC USRA 2-8-2

The Trix HO NYC light Mikado is excellent. Let’s just begin with the controversial part, okay? The new Trix 2-8-2 Mikado is the best-looking mass-produced HO scale steam locomotive I’ve ever seen. Plus, it runs like a precision instrument. Is it perfect? Not quite, but it’s awfully good. The New York Central was best known […]

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Bachmann HO USRA heavy 4-8-2 Mountain steam locomotive

Bachmann HO USRA heavy 4-8-2 Mountain steam locomotive Will fans of HO scale remember 2003 as the year of the steam locomotive? Perhaps – we’ve already seen several outstanding new releases from a variety of manufacturers. Now Bachmann has stepped forward with its second new steamer of the year, a USRA (United States Railway Administration) […]

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Summer tours and western travel

The end of the 19th century marked the beginning of a conservation movement in America. Naturalists and environmentalists lobbied the United States government to set aside vast areas of wilderness in the American West as national parks. Growing public awareness and support for the idea prompted Congress to pass the National Park Service Act, which […]

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Selling the service

In the days before airlines and interstates began siphoning off rail freight and passenger business – and big railroads merged to form today’s even bigger mega-systems – virtually every large city and town was served by multiple railroads. Shippers had their choice of carriers to move goods between Points A and B. Passengers, too, had […]

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A Little Nervous Calculating

On the Norfolk & Western, when you qualified for passenger service as a fireman or engineer, the Road Forman of Engines’ office put a “p” by your name on the seniority roster. This told the world that you had the right to warm the appropriate seatbox on a locomotive on any passenger train on your […]

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