USA Trains Hudson locomotive

Marc Horovitz 1:29 scale, gauge-1 NYC Hudson USA Trains PO Box 100 Malden MA 02148 Price: $2,299.95 w/o sound; $2,699.95 with Phoenix sound system installed Web site: www.usatrains.com All-metal model of New York Central’s J1e Hudson; die-cast boiler, cab, tender shell, and detail parts; smoke unit synchronized to axle rotation (four puffs per revolution); working […]

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Cheap tricks in timber

Scrap wood, like that pictured here, is readily available and free for the asking. Rene Schweitzer Trestles! Bridges! Cribbing! Wooden rolling stock! There are many applications of unpainted wood for an outdoor pike to challenge the beginner and veteran alike, all requiring tools, time, money, and skill. The most common choices of wood for outdoor […]

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Scratchbuilding large scale structures with foam board and plastic sheeting

This structure on the Greenbriar Cheat & Elk railway was made out of blue foam insulation board. Randy Mower I have been scratch building structures for my Greenbriar Cheat & Elk garden railroad since 1993. Although I have commercial structures on my railway, I wanted to have buildings that were unique to my railroad, so […]

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Aristo-Craft 2-8-8-2 Mallet locomotive

Marc Horovitz 1:29 scale, gauge 1 2-8-8-2 locomotiveAristo-Craft Trains698 South 21st St.Irvington NJ 07111Price: $945 ($993 for Union Pacific)Web site: www.aristocraft.com Plastic-and-metal model of a USRA 2-8-8-2 Mallet locomotive; USRA or Vanderbilt tender, depending upon road name; smoke unit; sound ready; DCC ready; battery ready; control switches under firebox; two motors with flywheels and fans; […]

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Tuscarora project railroad trackplan

Ten years on the Tuscarora

Download this free trackplan that accompanies our Tuscarora project railroad series. In the June 2006 issue: Determining a trackplan, surveying the land, and defining objectives In the August 2006 issue: Breaking ground and building a stone retaining wall In the October 2006 issue: Building a PVC-based trackbed In the December 2006 issue: Laying track In […]

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Micro-Trains to release GP9 in Z scale

Micro-Trains Line Co. announced that it will be releasing a Z scale Electro-Motive Division GP9. The model, scheduled for release in early 2007, will feature a Maxon 8 mm coreless motor with dual flywheels, golden-white light-emitting-diode headlights, etched-metal handrails, and Magne-Matic couplers. Road names and pricing information yet to be released. […]

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Designing a garden railway for live-steam locomotives

A Roundhouse “Fowler,” fitted with a coal-fired boiler by John Shawe, at work on the author’s garden railway near Toronto. Jeff Young photo When we acquire a small-scale live steamer, it is usually to run on an established garden railway. The selection of your live-steam locomotive was probably influenced by the physical characteristics of the […]

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Lillian “Curly” Lawrence and the history of live-steam locomotives

green and black model steam engine on track

Lillian “Curly” Lawrence and the history of live-steam locomotives Lillian “Curly” Lawrence was a British model engineer who lived from 1882 to 1967. He built his first live-steam locomotive at the age of 13 on a used treadle lathe. A curious and reclusive fellow, he wrote live-steam columns for British model-engineering magazines under the pen […]

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