Trains LIVE — The Mad City Model Railroad Show — 3-1-2024 — Operating model railroads, railroad historical societies, museums, garden railroads, restored motor cars — if it has something to do with trains — of any size — you can find it at the Mad City Model Railroad Show. For the 56th time the South […]
Section: Videos & Photos
PIKO America HO Krauss-Maffei ML-4000
The much-anticipated PIKO America HO Krauss-Maffei ML-4000 diesel-hydraulic locomotive recently toured our Milwaukee, Racine & Troy staff layout. Join Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he provides a brief history of the prototype, points out the various details on the model, and demonstrates some of the sound and light functions. He wraps up the […]
Olympia & Sand Creek, Sidetrack Ep. 2 | Horse Drawn Wagons
David moves from Episode 1 to the next steps of assembling wagons for the railroad town of his On30 Olympia & Sand Creek model railroad. This time, he starts in by making sure the parts to be assembled are well cleaned, all so the adhesive will properly adhere to the various white metal components. Then, […]
Mike Farrow’s N scale Norfolk & Western
Mike Farrow’s N scale Norfolk & Western Pocahontas Division layout is set in southern West Virginia during the 1970s and early 1980s. The 36 x 36-foot walk-in model railroad features a 290-foot mainline run, 18” minimum radius curves, and No. 6 turnouts. Among the items used to re-create the authentic Appalachian scenery were ground foam, […]
Doug Dederick’s N scale Great Northern
Doug Dederick’s N scale Great Northern Kalispell Division is set in Montana in the late 1950s. The 29 x 36-foot walk-in layout, featured in the April 2024 issue of Model Railroader, is set between Whitefish, Mont., and Shelby, Mont. The model railroad features several of GN’s name passenger and freight trains, including the Empire Builder, […]
ScaleTrains HO General Electric ES44AC
The ScaleTrains HO General Electric ES44AC diesel locomotive is the subject of our latest Product Review video. Join Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he shares a brief history of Norfolk Southern 8104, points out the details on the Rivet Counter line model, demonstrates the sound and light functions, and uses the contemporary six-axle […]
Repairing water-damaged locomotives
Model trains are often kept in spaces below grade, which are subject to dampness or worse, flood water! Fortunately, if your locomotives are left damaged from such flooding, it doesn’t necessarily equate to total loss. In this video, David Popp walks through the process of evaluating the damage through the steps required to get your […]
Trains LIVE — Inspecting Black River & Western No. 60
Trains LIVE — Inspecting Black River & Western No. 60 — 2-16-2024 — Tucked away in the Black River & Western Railroad shop in Ringoes, N.J., a group of Black River Railroad Historical Trust volunteers are working to complete the Federal Railroad Administration Form 4 inspection on No. 60, a 2-8-0 Consolidation built by Alco […]
Big Skies & Iron Rails, 24 Hours Down by the River
When a trek to Big Skies & Iron Rails is a tad too far to reach, railfan/videographer Tom Danneman opts to settle trackside at the very edge of the waterway that denotes the start of American’s western expanse. From his rental property (not a van!) down by the river, Tom and his crew take in the […]
Olympia & Sand Creek, Sidetrack Ep. 1 | Horse Drawn Wagons
Host David Popp departs from the On30 layout construction to tackle something he’s never done before. In the railroad town of Sand Creek, David works to build, paint, and install proper horses and horse drawn wagons that folks use to haul goods to and fro. Saddle up for the ride through the entire process…and Trains.com […]
One thousand ‘Trains’ Magazine covers down!
Trains Magazine covers Whether past or present — staff, correspondents, and contributors — were asked to submit one of their favorite covers since the magazine’s inception in November 1940 — 84 years of railroading history in the making. This is what they came up with and why. If there is a particular cover you like, […]
Greg Bird O gauge layout
I decided that the three-rail layout was going to have an industrial theme. I wanted lots of smokestacks, guys in hard hats and safety vests, and tall cranes. Because my full-time job takes me into many facilities associated with a wide variety of industries, I already had good ideas and firm plans for how the […]