Ask MRVP: Episode 46

David introduces a video while standing in the MR&T layout room at Kalmbach Media.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page David Popp and his colleagues are back to answer your hobby-related questions regarding scenery, backdrops, MR products and project layouts, DC wiring, modeling glue, and more! […]

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New model trains for the week of September 19, 2019

Atlas Model Railroad Co. N scale Difco dump car

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD70M diesel locomotive. CSX (dark blue and yellow with boxcar herald in two road numbers), Norfolk Southern (Thoroughbred scheme with Positive Train Control antennas and primer gray, both with flared radiators in three numbers each), Progress Rail (CSX patchout, three numbers), Southern Pacific (as-delivered scheme, four numbers), and Union Pacific […]

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Bachmann On30 0-6-0 steam locomotive

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Bachmann On30 0-6-0 steam locomotive Whether it’s logging, mining, or in-plant switching, all private narrow-gauge railroads have one thing in common – they need a reliable locomotive to move their rolling stock. Bachmann’s latest addition to its Spectrum line of On30 steam locomotives is a home-grown 0-6-0 tender-style switcher. The ready-to-run model comes with a […]

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ScaleTrains.com HO scale SD40T-2 diesel

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There’s more to modeling an Electro-Motive Division (EMD) SD40T-2 tunnel motor than simply repositioning the air intakes on an SD40-2. The meticulously detailed ScaleTrains.com HO scale SD40T-2, part of the firm’s top-of-the-line Rivet Counter series, provides an exclamation point to that statement. The model is dimensionally accurate and available in several roadname- and roadnumber-specific versions. […]

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Kato N scale Viewliner II baggage car

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Kato N scale Viewliner II baggage car If you like to keep up with the cutting edge of rail passenger equipment, Kato has a deal for N scale modelers. Viewliner II baggage cars are now on hobby shop shelves, hot on the heels of their recently delivered prototypes. The prototype: The Viewliner II is the […]

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WalthersMainline HO wide-vision caboose

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WalthersMainline HO wide-vision caboose A newly tooled model of a steel International Car Co. extended wide-vision caboose is available from Walthers. Part of the WalthersMainline series, the value-priced model features accurate dimensions and is solidly built, but doesn’t feature all the factory-applied separate detail of a WalthersProto model. For those who wish to add grab […]

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Steel Mill Operation, Part One “The Coal Dumper Job”

Model locomotive near steel mill

Check out operations on Thomas Wilson’s Union Railroad, Clairton Coke Works layout. The layout was featured on page 69 in Bernie Kempinski’s book “The Model Railroader Guide to Steel Mills.” Information was taken from Thomas’ late uncle on the operation, who was a Union RR engineer for 38 years in the plant. This is part […]

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New model trains for the week of September 12, 2019

American Model Builders Inc. HO scale New York Central lot 732 long and Pacemaker service wood cupola cabooses

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP7u diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (blue-and-yellow warbonnet, five road numbers); Bangor & Aroostook (gray, red, and black scheme, four numbers); Cargill (green and white, one number); Integrated Grain & Milling (red, white, and yellow, one number); Morristown & Erie (Bangor & Aroostook patchout and red and black […]

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Design Your City summer camp program combines urban planning, model railroading, and fun

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The Design Your City campers stand behind their finished modules at Milwaukee’s Discovery World along with World’s Greatest Hobby president Stacey Walthers Naffah (far right). The campers built model railroad structure kits to represent the businesses, residences, and industries of their HO scale neighborhood. Stacey Walthers-Naffah, president of the World’s Greatest Hobby organization, helps a […]

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10 tips for beginner model railroaders

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Model railroad scale comparison. These actual examples of model train locomotives show that each common scale is about half the size of the next larger scale. The locomotives shown here are in N (1:160), HO (1:87.1), and O (1:48) scales. Model railroad turnout angles. Scale turnouts diverge at an angle, rather than through a sharp […]

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New model trains for the week of September 5, 2019

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ScaleTrains.com HO scale General Electric Tier 4 GEVo diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives General Electric Tier 4 GEVo diesel locomotive. Canadian National (with Aboriginal Affairs logo in three road numbers, 100th anniversary scheme with Aboriginal Affairs logo in one number) and Kansas City Southern (Southern Belle scheme in six numbers). Prototype-specific details, directional light-emitting-diode headlights, […]

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