Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader editorial associate Eric Stelpflug and editor Neil Besougloff show how to make and install puffball trees. […]
How to make and install puffball trees
Train Topic: Beginners
How to make and install puffball trees
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader editorial associate Eric Stelpflug and editor Neil Besougloff show how to make and install puffball trees. […]
“Shoo-fly track”
Q Does anyone know the origin of the term “shoo-fly track?”— Gordon Osmundson, Oakland, Calif. A According to the Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, this is an American expression, first noted in 1903 and denoting a temporary track. The word “shoo” means go away, and presumably to do so “on the fly” is […]
How to use a nibbler to make door and window openings
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader associate editor Cody Grivno shows how to use a nibbler to make door and window openings. […]
How to use a nibbler to make door and window openings
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader associate editor Cody Grivno shows how to use a nibbler to make door and window openings. […]
Difference between a cabless booster, a slug, and a calf
Q What is the difference between a cabless booster, a slug, and a calf?— Ken Williams, Tehachapi, Calif. A A cabless unit and a calf are quite similar. Cabless diesel units are usually considered to be road units from any builder and usually have their own designation. For example, an EMD F7 with a cab […]
History of the Orange Line
Orange Belt Railway President and GM Peter Demens (far right) stand near No. 7, a National Locomotive Works engine, in Pinellas County, Fla. Donald R. Hensley Jr. collection Q I recently heard about a railroad called the Orange Belt that ran through some of central Florida in the late 19th century. Who owned it? Where […]
The railroads behind today’s U.S. rail trails
Steve Glischinski Match the initials below to the Map of the Month in the May 2011 issue of Trains Magazine. The three-page foldout map will show you which recreational trails 10 miles or longer in the United States were fashioned from abandoned railroad lines. We mapped 415 trails in all (strung together, they would stretch […]
Cab-forward cab interiors
Q In a Southern Pacific cab-forward steam locomotive, is the engineer on the right side of the cab? If so, does he have to reach back to man the throttle, reverse gear, air brakes, etc.?— Ralph Podas, Columbus, Ohio A Builders of these locomotives redesigned the cabs entirely so that crews would face the correct […]
Basic Training: How to install feeder wires
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Good electrical connections are key to a smooth running model railroad, and one way to help achieve this is with feeder wires. In this basic training video you’ll learn how to attach feeder wires to the rails of model railroad track. […]
How to install feeder wires
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Good electrical connections are key to a smooth running model railroad, and one way to help achieve this is with feeder wires. In this basic training video you’ll learn how to attach feeder wires to the rails of model railroad track. […]
Air hoses on locomotives
Q This is a follow-up question to one in the July 2010 issue about the three air hoses on locomotives (page 58). I saw engines in the ’70s and earlier with four hoses and some with only two. Why the difference?— Dan Mirabelli, Neenah, Wis. A The two-line m.u. setup was generally for 14EL-equipped units. […]
