N scale Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Line

MRRG0913_Norfolk

Name: Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Line Layout designer: Bob Sprague Scale: N (1:160) Size: 12′-10″ x 13′-4″ Prototype: Norfolk Southern Locale: Hershey, Pa. Era: present Style: multilevel walk in Mainline run: 35 feet Minimum radius: 15″ (except where noted) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared in the September 2013 Model Railroader. Click […]

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S scale Central California RR

MRRB0613_Central

Name: Central California RR Layout designers: Robert Jackson and Brian Jackson Scale: S (1:64) Size: 27 x 39 feet Prototype: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (diesel) and Southern Pacific (steam and diesel) Locale: Fresno to Sacramento, Calif. Era: 1955-1959 Style: walkaround Height: 55″ to 58″ Benchwork: L-girder Roadbed: Homabed Track: code 100 flextrack and handlaid […]

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Building Bay Junction part 1

Neil Besougloff next to layout

Beginning in the January 2011 issue you’ll see the latest Model Railroader project layout, the HO scale Bay Junction on the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy. We built this modern junction town as part of our MR&T club layout, but we’ll show you how you can build the railroad as a standalone island or shelf layout. […]

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Thin Branch Series: Making puffball trees

Neil Besougloff holding materials for puffball trees.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Need a lot of tree-covered hills on your layout? In this video, MR’s editor Neil Besougloff shows you how to make common puffball trees. This technique models just the treetops, and it’s a great way to fill background hills with trees quickly. […]

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Thin Branch Series: Making puffball trees

Neil Besougloff holding materials for puffball trees.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Need a lot of tree-covered hills on your layout? In this video, MR’s editor Neil Besougloff shows you how to make common puffball trees. This technique models just the treetops, and it’s a great way to fill background hills with trees quickly. […]

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Thin Branch Series Ballasting a 1950s main line track

Cody ballasting alongside a track.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Cody Grivno, our one-man ballasting crew, shares his tips and techniques for ballasting a well-groomed 1950s mainline track. Cody takes you through the process start to finish on our HO scale Thin Branch project, but his techniques work just as well in other […]

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Thin Branch Series Ballasting a 1950s main line track

Cody ballasting alongside a track.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Cody Grivno, our one-man ballasting crew, shares his tips and techniques for ballasting a well-groomed 1950s mainline track. Cody takes you through the process start to finish on our HO scale Thin Branch project, but his techniques work just as well in other […]

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Cody’s Workshop Episode 6 – rolled roofing

Cody Grivno placing a structure on a model railroad

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Our July visit to the workshop finds Cody finishing the freight house project by adding rolled roofing and final details to the structure. Along the way, Cody will also show you how to prepare a plastic shell for painting, join Atlas and Peco […]

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Cody’s Workshop Episode 6 – rolled roofing

Cody Grivno placing a structure on a model railroad

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Our July visit to the workshop finds Cody finishing the freight house project by adding rolled roofing and final details to the structure. Along the way, Cody will also show you how to prepare a plastic shell for painting, join Atlas and Peco […]

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Dick Iannacone’s realistic S gauge layout

Dick Iannacone's realistic S gauge layout

Inspired by a lifelong love of American Flyer trains and the beauty of his home, New England, Dick Iannacone built this highly realistic 16 x 20-foot S gauge layout set in the steam-to-diesel transition period of the late 1930s into the 1950s. Enjoy additional photos of his outstanding layout in the gallery below. […]

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MR Insider: N scale convention 2013

An airplane in the sky

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page The 2013 National N Scale Convention was held in Milwaukee the last of week of June, so the MR staff joined in the fun. This MR Insider video covers some of the events, including the train show, a tour of Kalmbach Publishing Co. […]

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