Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Associate editor Cody Grivno shows you some of the latest new products to arrive in the Model Railroader offices, including the new Digital Command Control (DCC) sound equipped Paragon2 Baldwin Centipede in HO scale from Broadway Limited Imports. Cody will also demonstrate how […]
Section: Modeling
Modeler’s Spotlight Video — Inside Cody’s Office for September 16, 2010
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Associate editor Cody Grivno shows you some of the latest new products to arrive in the Model Railroader offices, including the new Digital Command Control (DCC) sound equipped Paragon2 Baldwin Centipede in HO scale from Broadway Limited Imports. Cody will also demonstrate how […]
Bill Hildebrand’s O gauge Erie Lackawanna railroad layout
Bill Hildebrand used scale drawings and inexpensive hardboard material to construct an O gauge model of the famous Hoboken Terminal. Ornate architecture, magnificent concourses, and a seemingly endless parade of people and trains are just a few of the characteristics that make large passenger train terminals just as captivating on toy train layouts as they […]
Kitbash a unique O gauge railroad station
Richard Van de Kieft formed an impressive O gauge passenger terminal out of two MTH structures. Photos by Michael Raynor 2. A motor tool with a cutting disk quickly removes a tapered support along the interior ledge. 3. Use a razor saw to cut the ledge and separate the walls. 1. Use a Phillips-head screwdriver […]
The Secrets of “Smoke” and The Secrets of Lionel’s Smoke Pellets
The sight of a toy train locomotive puffing across a layout, its rhythmic white exhaust reaching out to the sky, is as captivating today as it was when the first smoking O gauge locomotive debuted more than 50 years ago. But what you see isn’t smoke. There is no combustion occurring. Without combustion, you can’t […]
6 hot postwar Lionel collectibles
F3s, Hudsons, and Girls’ trains – those are the postwar jackpots that everybody knows about. Here, though, are six underexposed Lionel items that are quickly moving up the charts. Models courtesy Joe Algozzini What’s hot today among postwar Lionel trains and accessories? I attend several train shows each year, check out eBay listings almost every […]
Create your own Christmas train
A GIFT FROM THE HEART IS SOMETHING TO TREASURE. If the gift happens to be a train, that’s all the better. Such is the case with the Christmas train I created for my club layout to operate throughout the holiday season. While a variety of special holiday sets are readily available from toy train manufacturers, […]
Make your own billboards
It’s easy and fun to create your own roadside signage. I love billboards, especially the Lionel billboards that have removable inserts allowing you to change what’s on the billboard. Until recently, you had to be content with whatever advertisement was printed on the thin cardboard that’s packed with the billboard. Wouldn’t it be more fun […]
Ten tips for better O gauge track
If you’re just getting into O gauge, or even if you’re a collector getting the urge to build a layout, you’ll need to lay some track. After all, without track (and a transformer, of course), your three-rail trains are just expensive push toys! Where I refer to “tubular” track, I’m talking about regular Lionel, K-Line, […]
Video: Athearn Genesis HO scale MT-4
The Athearn Genesis HO scale MT-4 features a SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoder. See and hear this new steam locomotive run on the Model Railroader club layout, the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy. […]
Glenwood & Sierra RR.
Name: Glenwood & Sierra RR. Layout designer: Sy Diamond Scale: N (1:160) Size: 7′-6″ x 13′-0″ feet Theme: freelanced Locale: various locations across North America Era: 1950s (steam to diesel transition) Style: around the walls with aisle Mainline run: 75 feet Minimum radius: 17″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 2.5 percent Click on the […]
Milwaukee Road, Morton Branch
Name: Milwaukee Road, Morton Branch Layout designer: Eric Williams Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 9 x 11 feet Prototype: Milwaukee Road Locale: Morton, Wash. Era: 1945 to 1950 Style: Around-the-walls Mainline run: 34 feet Minimum radius: 32″ (visible), 24″ (staging) Minimum turnout: Peco medium radius Maximum grade: 4 percent Click on the link to download the […]