Track wiring for beginners

Pair of wires seen alongside track attached to a power bus.

Track wiring your model railroad layout can be daunting, especially for beginners to the hobby. In order to help those looking to start, here’s a review of the bare-bones basics of wiring your layout that will help you get your trains up and running as quickly as possible. Run the wire bus roughly beneath the […]

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Resuscitating a lifeless locomotive

A stethoscope is used to listen to a model locomotive being held upside down in a foam cradle

Good news! If your lifeless locomotive has ever run under Digital Command Control (DCC), chances are good that you can get it running again without having to send it off for repair. The solution is easy, too! More good news! If you have a new steam locomotive that doesn’t run or only partially works, maybe […]

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State Line Route in N scale: Wiring a layout for DC power, Episode 8

David Popp holding a meter

After a quick update with Jenny to see how her Walther’s bungalow kit is coming along, David gets to work on electrical projects. Follow along, and you’ll see how he installed feeder wires and added a power bus line under the State Line Route N scale layout. […]

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State Line Route in N scale: Wiring a layout for DC power, Episode 8

David Popp holding a meter

After a quick update with Jenny to see how her Walther’s bungalow kit is coming along, David gets to work on electrical projects. Follow along, and you’ll see how he installed feeder wires and added a power bus line under the State Line Route N scale layout. […]

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CTT’s fall 2021 special: Toy train layouts for small spaces

the magazine cover next to a tablet showing the cover featuring toy train diesel train on a layout

The latest special issue from Classic Toy Trains! If you’re looking to build your first toy train layout, or maybe just something more manageable, Toy Train Layouts for Small Spaces has you covered! It’s full of plans for layouts under 100 square feet that will fit in a spare room, including island and around the […]

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DCC wiring for a shelf layout

Track on board being soldered with pencil-type soldering iron

My little shelf layout is made from track and lumber salvaged from a small model railroad I was building in my apartment living room back in Pennsylvania before I moved to Wisconsin to work for Model Railroader. In my current living room, I only have room for a shelf layout, which is built into an […]

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Walthers HO Scale turnouts debut with DCC friendly features

A Walthers HO scale turnout with parts labeled

HO Scale Walthers turnouts introduction Like their predecessors, the latest generation of turnouts is DCC friendly. Turnouts that are DCC friendly minimize the possibility of a short shutting down part of a model railroad due to metal wheels contacting adjacent rails that are at a different polarity. The new Walthers Track line turnouts are available […]

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Advanced automatic reversing controllers

The PSX-ARFB

In the April 2021 issue of Model Railroader, I wrote about DCC reversing sections. I briefly touched on some automatic reversing section controllers (ARSC) that are available. This month I will focus on ARSCs that do more than just the basic reversing functions. Have no fear, because all ARSCs still work with as few as […]

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DCC Currents: Controlling your Walthers turntable with DCC

Canadian Pacific maroon and gray Royal Hudson sits on Walthers turntable in field of track

By Allan Gartner The Advanced Control Module from Walthers will work with DCC systems capable of controlling accessories, such as turnouts. Your system will need at least one throttle that you can set thrown/closed, on/off, 1/2, or whatever your system calls it, as needed. Systems where the throttle only allows you to toggle from the […]

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