Steel Mill Operation, Part One “The Coal Dumper Job”

Model locomotive near steel mill

Check out operations on Thomas Wilson’s Union Railroad, Clairton Coke Works layout. The layout was featured on page 69 in Bernie Kempinski’s book “The Model Railroader Guide to Steel Mills.” Information was taken from Thomas’ late uncle on the operation, who was a Union RR engineer for 38 years in the plant. This is part […]

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10 tips for beginner model railroaders

10tipsbeginners1

Model railroad scale comparison. These actual examples of model train locomotives show that each common scale is about half the size of the next larger scale. The locomotives shown here are in N (1:160), HO (1:87.1), and O (1:48) scales. Model railroad turnout angles. Scale turnouts diverge at an angle, rather than through a sharp […]

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Build Your Own Rolling Stock

Download this free PDF from Garden Railways magazine for full-size drawings of a generic skeleton log car (1:20.3 scale) and a pulp wood car (7/8”). Inside you will also find a handy conversion chart to help you scale these drawings up or down to suit your modeling needs. […]

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Servicing Steam Locomotives

Sign up for your FREE download and Model Railroader’s FREE weekly e-newsletter. Steam locomotives were usually serviced every 100 – 150 miles, making engine terminals as much a part of the railroad scene as crossties and creosote. These terminals offer a variety of structures and operations and they can be modeled in a compact space.  Download […]

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Olympia 2, The Log Blog: Summer Camp 5 Afternoon

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page David wraps up summer camp by painting figures and other details to complete his logging camp scene. Then he takes his finished stock car for a run on the layout. And finally, did he put that tree back into the scene or not? […]

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Olympia 2, The Log Blog: Summer Camp 5 Afternoon

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page David wraps up summer camp by painting figures and other details to complete his logging camp scene. Then he takes his finished stock car for a run on the layout. And finally, did he put that tree back into the scene or not? […]

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Locomotives of Minton Cronkhite

LocomotivesOfMintonCronkhite

Click on the link below to download a PDF of “The Locomotives of Minton Cronkhite” from the June 1966 Model Railroader. In his Heritage Fleet column in the October issue entitled “Minton Cronkhite, Q gauge, and the Santa Fe,” Keith Wills profiles Minton Cronkhite (1888-1971), a model railroading pioneer known for his exceptional model locomotive […]

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