Creating the scene The examples shown here are from the backdrops on my O gauge layout, which is set against distant hills. I broke each sketch down to three levels of scenery: the foreground (tree line), the intermediate level (nearby hills), and the background (mountains). I needed to use only three colors, one for each […]
Tidy Track cleaning system by Woodland Scenics Price: $34.99 (No. TT4550) Features: Rail Tracker handle and cleaning head, cleaning and maintenance pads, bottle of track cleaning fluid You can clean track using just the Rail Tracker or the Rail Tracker handle. To illustrate how dirty our track was before we cleaned it, we used the […]
Common scales of large scale trains: Most of us have had this experience as we got started in garden railroading: You go to the hobby shop or look online, looking for equipment for your new railroad. It’s all large scale and it all looks good. But the more you look, the less comprehensible your choices […]
Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale Electro-Motive Division SD24 diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD24 and SD26 diesel locomotives. New paint schemes. SD24 (low short hood unless otherwise noted): Burlington Northern (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy patchout with high short hood), Southern Pacific (scarlet and gray, three road numbers), and Union Pacific (Armour Yellow […]
The Atlas Trainkids Acela Train Set has everything needed to get a youngster started in model railroading. Senior editor Dana Kawala shows you have to set up the track and get trains rolling. You can get the Atlas Trainkids Train Set and additional cars and track at KalmbachHobbyStore.com […]
The Atlas Trainkids Acela Train Set has everything needed to get a youngster started in model railroading. Senior editor Dana Kawala shows you have to set up the track and get trains rolling. You can get the Atlas Trainkids Train Set and additional cars and track at KalmbachHobbyStore.com […]
Lionel’s message to customers posted on its Facebook page as of March 27. Lionel via Facebook CONCORD, N.C. — Lionel, the famed toy train manufacturer, is closing its corporate headquarters and has employees working remotely. In an email sent to customers and read by Classic Toy Trains, Lionel CEO Howard Hitchcock writes that the company […]
First cataloged in the 2017 Lionel Christmas catalog, the no. 82982 LionChief Christmas Express train is a colorful and rugged modern starter set. Everything you need is included in the set box. Better yet, you can even operate this train from a smartphone! William Zuback A version of this article first appeared in the January […]
Our sister magazine, Classic Trains, named Boston & Maine the railroad of the month for October 2019. Please enjoy this photo gallery of images from the David P. Morgan Library archives at Kalmbach Media that include B&M steam-powered freight trains through time. […]
Question: I just purchased the Model Railroader animated sign [available from the Kalmbach Hobby Store at kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/ layout-accesory/84033 – Ed.]. I also have a resin kit of “The Birthplace of Model Railroader” sitting on the shelf. Not that the combination would be prototypical in any way, but I’m considering using the two together on a […]
Although I’m really an HO scale modeler at heart, I’ve always been intrigued with N scale trains and have more than once thought how neat it would be to “have a few.” Being without any other outlet for modeling, those very thoughts soon translated into construction of the Havaphew Central, my first N scale layout. […]
In N scale, oversized, truck-mounted couplers are still a de facto standard, but body-mounted scale-sized couplers aren’t exclusive to larger scales. Micro-Trains Line sells N scale freight cars with pads and mounting holes for easy installation of body-mounted couplers. For an even more in-scale appearance, I install Z scale couplers instead of N scale couplers. […]
