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Name: Reading Co. Layout designer: Sy Diamond Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 13′-6″ x 22′-0″ Prototype: Reading Co. Locale: eastern Pennsylvania Era: 1930s to early ’40s Style: walk-in with two liftout sections Mainline run: 80 feet Minimum radius: 36″ (main) Minimum turnout: no. 6 (main), no. 4 (yards and industries) Maximum grade: 2 percent Click on […]
Name: Central RR of New Jersey, Newark Branch Layout designer: Jonathan Jones Scale: N (1:160) Size: 6′-1¾” x 18′-9″ Prototype: Central RR of New Jersey Locale: Northern New Jersey Era: 1950s Style: shelf Mainline run: 15½ feet Minimum radius: 14″ (main), 12″ (industrial tracks) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Click on the link […]
Few would argue that Ted Benson is a great writer and photographer. His contributions to Trains over the years have been among our readers’ favorites. But did readers of our February 1977 issue realize Benson might also be prophetic? In “Andover Afterward,” he wrote of Southern Pacific 4449 returning to mainline rails after a 16-year […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader managing editor David Popp shows how to make a Plexiglass safety fence for your train layout. […]
A house, a car, and a layout all have something in common: they turn out better when they’re built on a solid framework. This is especially true of a helix. A helix – a spiral ramp meant to lift a model train from one level of a layout to another – may not be prototypical, […]
What can you build with $3.5 million in donations, two professional model-building companies, and thousands of hours put in by more than 40 artists and modelers, and a score of volunteers? How about The Great Train Story, a 3,500-square-foot HO scale model railroad that includes key features of Chicago, Seattle, and an impressive representation of […]
A great prototype photo can often be a wonderful source of inspiration for a model. This was the case for my Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic 50-foot double-door boxcar. When I saw the black-and-white inset photo of a well-worn DSS&A boxcar, I immediately decided to paint the car’s discolorations and markings on an HO model. […]
Atlas HO scale Alco C-424 diesel locomotive The Alco C-424 has been a part of the Atlas line since 1986, when the firm imported a model produced by Kato. Today, the C-424 is now part of the Atlas Classics line. The ready-to-run model uses an Atlas drive and features an eight-pin plug for a Digital […]
Digitrax SoundFX decoders A pair of HO and N scale Digital Command Control sound decoders from Digitrax offer steam and diesel sound effects in entry-level packages. The HO scale SDH164D and N scale SDN144PS come loaded with generic sound sets and wired with a speaker and capacitor. The SDN series are intended as basic sound […]
ExactRail N scale Trinity hi-cube 50-foot boxcar Price: $22.95 ManufacturerExactRail LLC1053 South 1675 WestOrem, Utah, 84058www.exactrail.com Era: 1995 to present Comments: A contemporary 52-foot Trinity hi-cube plug-door boxcar has been released in N scale by ExactRail. It represents a high capacity prototype built by TrinityRail Corp. to haul heavy rolls of printing paper. The model […]
Learn the basics of the hobby of model railroading Illustration by Theo Cobb If you’re new to model railroading, a hobby shop is probably where you’d get your first crash course in hobby terminology. However, spending an afternoon staring at trains in display cases trying to get answers to basic questions can be frustrating. Having […]
Model railroading scales are described by letters such as N, HO, S, and O. This alphabet soup may seem confusing at first, but the letters are simply shorthand to describe the ratio of the model’s size to its prototype, which is what model railroaders call the real thing a model is based on. The chart […]
