Facts & features Name: Post cereal plant in Battle Creek, Michigan Scale: N (1:160) Size: 12-0′ x 14-0′ Prototypes: Grand Trunk Western and Penn Central Locale: Battle Creek, Michigan Era: 1970s Style: Single deck Mainline run: Not applicable Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 3 percent Benchwork: L-girder with risers and open-grid […]
Scale: HO Scale
The HO scale Post cereal plant in Battle Creek, Michigan layout
Facts & features Name: Post cereal plant in Battle Creek, Michigan Scale: HO (1:87) Size: 12-0′ x 14-0′ Prototypes: Grand Trunk Western and Penn Central Locale: Battle Creek, Michigan Era: 1970s Style: Single deck Mainline run: Not applicable Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Benchwork: L-girder with risers and open-grid […]
Athearn Genesis National Steel Car 6400 gondola
Athearn Genesis National Steel Car 6400 gondola Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Single car, $64.9; two-pack, $109.99 Era: 2012 to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com National Steel Car 6400 gondola features: Multiple body styles, end variations, top chords, and ladder variations Brass stirrup steps Metal […]
Great Model Railroads 2023
PLUS Celebrating the CP’s centennial The freelanced HO scale Strathcona Division models the Canadian Pacific in British Columbia Modeling C&O’s Kanawha Sub Coal is king on this HO scale Appalachian layout Time well spent An O gauge modeler replaces his three-rail layout with a 1:48 scale granger road New England memories A new version of […]
How to Model Locomotives
PLUS Motivation for motive power Introduction Sound for legacy locomotives – F units A little soldering goes a long way How to detail, paint, and decal a locomotive Give a road switcher a new look How diesel facilities work A lot of work goes on behind the scenes between road trips Speed matching for DCC […]
Athearn Genesis General Electric AC4400CW diesel locomotive
Athearn Genesis General Electric AC4400CW diesel locomotive Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $269.99; with dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder, $369.99 Era: 1995+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com General Electric AC4400CW features: Light-Emitting Diode lighting including illuminated number boards, ground lights, […]
The HO scale Bishop Street Branch layout
Facts & features Name: Bishop Street Branch Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 10′-6″ x 22′-0″ Prototypes: Guilford/Pan Am Railways Locale: Portland, Maine Era: Late 1980s through the 1990s Style: Walk-in Mainline run: None Minimum radius: 24” Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: None Benchwork: Open grid Height: 51″ Roadbed: 1⁄2″ birch plywood with N scale cork […]
Bob Cochran’s HO scale Vermont Rail System layout
Facts & features Name: Vermont Rail System Scale: HO (1:87) in standard, narrow (3-foot), and dual gauges Size: 22’-103⁄4” x 25’-7” Prototypes: Vermont Rail System, Rutland Railroad Locale: Vermont Era: 1960s to present Style: Walk-in Mainline run: 96 feet point-to-point, 106 feet loop Minimum radius: 24” Minimum turnout: no. 4 (yards), no. 6 (main) Maximum […]
Olympia & Sand Creek, Episode 2 | Starting the new section
With a basic frame in place, host David Popp shares plans to build up the latest section of his On30 narrow gauge model railroad. […]
Steve Stewart, co-founder of Stewart Hobbies, dies at 79
In Memoriam: Steve Stewart. Steven “Steve” John Stewart of Chalfont, Pa., passed away on November 20, 2022, after enduring life with Parkinson’s disease for many years. Originally from Ambler, Pa., Steve began his early career in Salisbury, Md.,, teaching American history in the public school system for almost 30 years. A devoted educator, he was […]
Electro-Motive Division GP7 from Athearn Genesis
Electro-Motive Division GP7 from Athearn Genesis Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $219.99; with dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder, $319.99. Add $10 for Primed for Grime models. Era: 1949+ (varies on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com Electro-Motive Division GP7 features: Body-mounted McHenry knuckle couplers […]
Five details you can add to transition-era cabooses
We’ll take a look at five details you can add to transition-era cabooses. Some details are railroad-specific, while others apply to many railroads. When in doubt, refer to prototype photos. The steam-to-diesel transition era, roughly 1940 to 1960, is the most popular modeling era. There are several reasons for this. Many people who model this […]