Rehab My Railroad: Rail recovery effort, Episode 2

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Reduce, reuse, recycle isn’t always a practical or common practice in model railroading. Even so, David and Cody are willing to put in a hardy, hands-on effort to reclaim the original trackwork from the Jones Island section of our HO scale Milwaukee, Racine, […]

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Rehab My Railroad: Rail recovery effort, Episode 2

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Reduce, reuse, recycle isn’t always a practical or common practice in model railroading. Even so, David and Cody are willing to put in a hardy, hands-on effort to reclaim the original trackwork from the Jones Island section of our HO scale Milwaukee, Racine, […]

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Twisting model trees from wire

WireModelRailroadTrees_01

When he needed a few deciduous trees for his HO scale layout, Robert Pethoud turned to a tried-and-true method – hand-twisting armatures from florist’s wire. Coating the trunks in a mix of plaster and glue realistically simulates bark. All photos by Robert Pethoud. Fig. 1 Big and small. Robert used 30AWG florist’s wire for the […]

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B&O 195 box cab lives again

Model locomotive on layout

Today we find B&O # 195 box cab delivering two tank cars to the Criswell Oil Company and picking up the empties. Model is a Roundhouse from which the internal mechanisms and trucks have been removed. They are replaced with Stanton power and non-powered trucks from North West Short Line. Added features include an ESU […]

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HO scale Norfolk & Western of the 1950s

HOscaleNorfolkWestern

Name: The Norfolk & Western of the 1950s Layout owner: Gary Hoover Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 24 x 49 feet Prototype: Norfolk & Western Ry. Locale: Virginia and West Virginia Era: 1954 to 1957 Style: multi-level walk-in Mainline run: 120 feet Minimum radius: 30″ (N&W), 27″ (Virginian Ry.) Minimum turnout: no.8 (main), no. 6 (yards) […]

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HO scale Virginia & Truckee RR

HOscaleVirginiaTruckee

Name: Virginia & Truckee RR Layout owner: Donn Tolley Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 21′-7″ x 21′-10″ Prototype: Virginia & Truckee RR Locale: northwestern Nevada Era: 1888 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 1541⁄2 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 3 stub-ended Maximum grade: 2 percent (V&T), 6 percent (Lake Tahoe RR) Benchwork: L-girder Height: 42″ to […]

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Easy project: Swapping loads on flatcar models

Model railroad flatcar false floor 1

Roger Kujawa and Bruce Brantner came up with the idea of using false floors to secure heavy equipment and other loads on their HO flatcars. This allows them to run properly loaded or empty flatcars during operating sessions on Roger’s Atlantic & Great Western RR. Jim Forbes Roger used the wood deck as a template […]

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