HO scale Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific River Subdivision

HOscaleChicagoMilwaukeeStPaulandPacificRiverSubdivision

Name: Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific River Subdivision Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 30 x 60 feet Locale: Eastern Minnesota along the Mississippi River Period: Early fall 1950 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 195 feet (per westbound and eastbound tracks) Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent (in helix) Benchwork: L girder, […]

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HO scale River City

HOscaleRiverCity

Name: River City Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 13 x 23 feet Prototype: Minneapolis & St. Louis Ry. Locale: Mason City, Iowa Period: first week of May 1954 Style: walkaround Mainline run: 90 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Benchwork: open frame Height: 42″ Roadbed: Homasote on plywood Track: Peco code […]

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HOn3 East Broad Top RR

HOn3EastBroadTop

Name: East Broad Top RR Scale: HOn3 (1:87, 3-foot-gauge track) Size: 15′-8″ x 19′-8″ Prototype: East Broad Top RR Locale: south-central Pennsylvania Period: 1926 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 110 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 4 percent Benchwork: L-girder Height: 48″ to 52″ Roadbed: Homasote on plywood Track: Micro Engineering code […]

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Build the Black River Junction – part 4

MRRB0407_01

People, cars, buildings, and trees are part of everyday life. We’ll add all of these important details to our HO scale project railroad. Model trains are a lot of fun, and having a layout to run them on is even better. However, trains and track in isolation don’t look very realistic. While the scenery we […]

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Winston-Salem Southbound Series: Kitbashing industrial structures – Part 4

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page For the final installment of this kitbashing mini-series, David shows you how to give industrial structures a gritty, weathered appearance. David keeps things simple by using little more than an array of modeling paints applied with a brush and a wash (diluted stain). […]

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Winston-Salem Southbound Series: Kitbashing industrial structures – Part 4

For the final installment of this kitbashing mini-series, David shows you how to give industrial structures a gritty, weathered appearance. David keeps things simple by using little more than an array of modeling paints applied with a brush and a wash (diluted stain). He even shares tips for adding a weather-beaten sign to the brick […]

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HO scale New England, Berkshire & Western RR

HOscalenewenglandberkshirewestern

Name: New England, Berkshire & Western RR Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 33 x 124 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by Delaware & Hudson and Rutland Locale: upstate New York and western Vermont Era: 1950 Style: linear walkaround Benchwork: L-girder Height: 51″ to 59″ Roadbed: 1⁄2″ Homasote with molded wood putty shoulders on 3⁄4″ plywood Track: handlaid […]

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SNEAK PEEK: Broadway Limited Imports HO scale Milwaukee Road S3 class 4-8-4 steam locomotive

BroadwayLimitedImportsHOscaleMilwaukeeRaodS3steamlocomotive

The Model Railroader staff reviewed the preproduction engineering sample of the Broadway Limited Imports Paragon3 HO scale Milwaukee Road S3 steam locomotive. The HO scale 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive is made primarily of die-cast metal with many plastic and brass detail parts. A famous Milwaukee Road steam locomotive made a stop, albeit in HO […]

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Bonus desktop wallpaper from Great Model Railroads 2016

GMR2016

Don’t miss the 10 inspiring layouts featured in Great Model Railroads 2016. This special issue of Model Railroader magazine features a wide variety of model train layouts in N, HO, S, and O scales. As a special online bonus, you can download computer desktop wallpaper from each of the featured layouts. Want to see more […]

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HO Wig Wag Crossing

HO Wig Wag Crossing

I completed the HO Wig-Wag crossing using an actual 3mm magnetic actuator on the pole made from a modified coreless motor inside a brass shim-stock enclosure. The 3-phases windings are driven by an Arduino. The wig-wag crossing was made from a kit from Showcase Miniatures and tools from the Small Shop. Yes, this was wired […]

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