Trains.com Video BONUS | Behind Spaces and Places

Master Model Railroader Gerry Leone has been one of Trains.com’s most recognized and most prolific contributors for many years running. From the pages of various Model Railroader magazines, special-issues, and books, to the numerous video series he’s hosted for Model Railroader Video Plus, Trains.com, Trains.com Video, and Model Railroader DVDs, you’ll find he’s all about […]

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New HO hopper from Tangent Scale Models

Color photo of HO scale hopper painted black with orange and white graphics.

Tangent Scale Models kicked off 2024 with a splash by releasing a new HO scale four-bay hopper. The model, based on an Illinois Central (IC) Centralia Shops 3,834-cubic-foot capacity prototype, features injection-molded plastic construction, wire grab irons and uncoupling levers, and road-specific details. Paint schemes Paint schemes on the initial release of the Centralia Shops […]

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News & Products for the week of January 3rd 2024

A model factory structure

News & Products for the week of January 3rd 2024   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 January 3rd […]

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N scale turnout roundup

Picture of an N scale turnout in a scenicked area on a layout

Are you building a siding or a yard? Or are you in the process of planning an N scale layout but not sure what turnouts are available? This N scale turnout roundup should help to answer some questions you may have. Turnouts (also referred to as switches) are pieces of track that allow a train […]

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T-TRAK Project Part 3: Laying Kato Unitrack

Tan wooden boxes with gray plastic model train track sections attached to the tops. Includes a black, gray, and blue small model train, as well as a brown and yellow miniature building.

Modelers David Popp, Brian Schmidt, and Bryson Sleppy add Kato Unitrack to their modular T-TRAK N scale layout. T-TRAK is a modular N scale railroading system that uses foot-wide boxes plugged together to build tabletop layouts. In this third installment, the trio demonstrates how to build, wire, and install the Kato N scale Unitrack to […]

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Model Railroader’s favorite products of 2023

A model locomotive in a red paint scheme

Model Railroader’s favorite products of 2023: As 2023 draws to a close, and we look forward to a new year, Model Railroader‘s Cody Grivno and Bryson Sleppy take a look back at some of their favorite model railroad products of 2023.   Tangent Scale Models HO scale Burlington Northern International Car Co. wide-vision cabooses For […]

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David Parks’ Cumberland West in HO scale

David Parks’ Cumberland West in HO scale | In this Trains.com Video exclusive, modeler David Parks shares his large HO (1:87) scale layout built in Northern California. David has deftly combined elements of the Baltimore & Ohio and Western Maryland railroads as they operated in 1953 in and around Cumberland, Maryland. As narrated by 0ur […]

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Three new products from Rapido Trains

CAD rendering of two red subway cars at a station

HO scale Electro-Motive Corp. FT diesels The Electro-Motive Corp. (EMC) FT is one of three new products from Rapido Trains. Road names include Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (freight and passenger schemes); Boston & Maine (maroon); Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (gray); Delaware, Lackawanna & Western (gray and maroon); Great Northern (as-delivered scheme); Milwaukee Road (as-delivered […]

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Build a 1950s O scale freight car from Athearn

Build a 1950s O scale freight car from Athearn: One day a few months ago, I opened my email to find a message from David Popp of Trains.com. David asked if I would be interested in building an O scale freight car from Athearn. He indicated that the staff of Model Railroader’s sister publication, Classic […]

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News & Products for the week of December 25th 2023

A model freight car in a black paint scheme

News & Products for the week of December 25th 2023   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 25th […]

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More snowy model railroad scenes

A trio of diesels pulls an intermodal freight train through a snowy mountain landscape

If it’s December, it must be time to put on a crackling fire, pour a hot chocolate, and explore some snowy model railroad scenes compiled from the pages of Model Railroader. If you’d like to see last year’s gallery of snowy model railroad scenes, follow this link. […]

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Model steel strapping for an open-top load

Three loads bundled with steel strapping on an HO scale flatcar

Q: I’m putting together some loads for flatbed and open gondola cars consisting of objects like pipe, wood, basically long straight pieces about half a car length in length. What would I use to model steel strapping to hold the loads together? I work in HO scale. — Rich Bond A: The easiest and best-looking solution […]

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