Soo Line

Soo-Line

Track plan at a glance Name: Soo Line Scale: HO (1:87) Size: 14 x 34 feet Theme: Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie (Soo Line) granger railroad Era: 1954 Style: portable oval Minimum radius: 48″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 yards, no. 8 main line Maximum grade: 1 percent Originally appeared in the April 1998 […]

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Ashland & Southern

Ashland & Southern

N ame: Ashland & Southern Layout designer: Terry Thompson, publisher Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: freelance Locale: north-central Ohio Era: 1950s to present day Mainline run: 14 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: Atlas 18″ radius Snap Switch Maximum grade: 2.5 percent Click on the link to download the PDF of […]

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Burlington Northern 34th Subdivision

MRR-D0311_A

Name: Burlington Northern 34th Subdivision Layout designer: Cody Grivno, associate editor Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: Burlington Northern Locale: Northwestern Minnesota Era: 1988 Mainline run: 14 feet Minimum radius: 20″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Click on the link to download the PDF of this track plan. […]

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Engine terminal and car shops

MRR-D0311_B

Name: Engine terminal and car shops Layout designer: Kent Johnson, associate editor Scale: O (1:48) Size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: freelanced Locale: urban Era: 1950s Mainline run: none Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Click on the link to download the PDF of this track plan. […]

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Iron Ridge & Mayville Ry.

MRR-D0311_C

Name: Iron Ridge & Mayville Ry. Layout designer: Neil Besougloff, editor Scale: N (1:160) Size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: Milwaukee Road Locale: rural Wisconsin Era: 1950s Branchline run: 14 feet Minimum radius: 111⁄4″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Click on the link to download the PDF of this track plan. […]

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Rio Grande Southern

MRR-B0311_TP

Name: Rio Grande Southern Layout designer: Dan Sylvester Scale: HOn3 (1:87.1, narrow gauge) Size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: Rio Grande Southern RR Locale: western Colorado Era: 1930s Style: island Mainline run: 32 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: 18″ radius Maximum grade: 4 percent (main line), 8 percent (mine spur) Click on the link […]

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John Pestana takes over from retiring Chris Clune at Exactrail

Model railroad manufacturer Exactrail has announced a change at the top. Software entrepreneur John Pestana is taking charge of the company’s day-to-day operations as Exactrail’s president and chief executive officer. Previous company head Chris Clune is retiring and “will continue to be a continued source of inspiration and direction for Exactrail’s precision product development team,” […]

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Remembering Civil War rails

TRN-A0311_04

In addition to everything else the American Civil War might have been, it was also the first reliably documented major conflict. A combination of well-kept “Official Records” and preserved photographs give us a unique view into the first modern, industrialized, documented war. These images are only a sample of the rich documentary resources available from […]

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Building Bay Junction 19

Steve Otte next to layout

The final scenery and details are starting to take shape on the Model Railroader Bay Junction project layout. Associate editor Cody Grivno describes some of the scene that he’s been working on around the grain elevator, while associate editor Steve Otte adds the last road signs and other details to Williams Bay. You’ll also see […]

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