News & Products for the week of December 1st 2025 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of December 1st, 2025. […]
Host Gerry Leone faces a yet another challenge along the opposite side of his recently developed roundhouse space on his Bona Vista HO scale layout – finding another way to hide a train as it emerges from a hole in the backdrop! See how Gerry borrows the “air rights” concept from Model Railroader magazine legend […]
Master Model Railroader Gerry Leone is back to give us an exclusive tour of the progress he’s made on the famed Bona Vista HO scale (1:87.1) layout! You’ll want to watch this update to see the latest work on a layout that’s featured in the pages of Great Model Railroads 2026 special issue magazine, now […]
The concrete west portal of Erie’s Otisville (N.Y.) tunnel — from which a Berkshire-powered freight emerges — is fairly simple, but with pilasters and the inscription “19–OTISVILLE–08” in embossed lettering overhead. Note the early installation of welded rail on the eastward track. Wayne Brumbaugh photo […]
Welcome back to the East Troy Industrial Park Project – This episode is a scenic smorgasbord! Starting with the final touches on the weathered HO scale (1:87.1) bridge, you’ll learn the technique for affixing Monroe Models pastel weathering. Then, see how to populate the farm scene with cast-off details, like rusty barrels and a truck, […]
Join Cody Grivno for the latest Sidetrack Series departure, as he dives into the detail work on his HO scale (1:87.1) depot structure roof and chimney! See how he uses paints to create realistic shingle highlights and weathering streaks. Then learn a handy trick for filling the gap between plastic parts. Cody also shares the […]
Time to distress some steel! Follow along as David demonstrate two essential bridge weathering techniques on the HO scale (1:87.1) ETIP project layout, from heavy all-over rust using Monroe Models washes to creating the effect of faded, blistered paint with Vallejo Paints. Get the pro tips on permanent installation and finish details along the authentic […]
In fall 1953, Canadian National 4-6-2 5545 simmers inside the roundhouse at Moncton, New Brunswick. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Looking west at Frankfort, Ind., in 1944, we see the westbound yard with its east-end ladder angling off to the right, and in the distance the eastbound yard’s east ladder running the other way. Beyond the east yard ladder are the icing platform and the ice plant. Jay Williams photo […]
In the Nickel Plate Road’s roundhouse at Conneaut, Ohio — one of the last citadels of high-speed steam freight locomotives — Berkshire 731 and another engine rest on March 16, 1957. Classic Trains coll. […]
The guys focus on adding the depot platform and a farm field to theHO scale (1:87.1)East Troy Industrial project layout. David selects a diluted gray stain for the depot platform, and then demonstrates how to correct a scenery mistake. Cody works on the hayfield, sharing his intriguing technique for modeling windrows with yarn, and then […]
This article will help you build a simple Arduino-based DCC system. Growing up in the 1980s I was living the dream. I had an HO layout on a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood in my parents’ basement in Reading, Pa., a soldering iron, a nearby RadioShack, and a subscription to Model Railroader. My favorite […]
