Common name: Brass buttons, creeping gold buttons Latin name: Cotula fallax, C. hispida, or C. lineariloba Plant type: Perennial Plant size: 2″ high x 10″ wide USDA Hardiness Zones: 5-10 Cultural needs: Somewhat xeric, sun or part shade Renamed Cotula fallax, this semi-evergreen groundcover is not to be confused with other popular fern-like Cotulas, […]
Facts & features Name: MR&T State Line Scale: N (160:1) Size: 4 x 12 feet Prototype: Freelanced; Milwaukee, Racine & Troy Era: 1980s Style: island Mainline run: 28 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 1 percent Benchwork: plywood subroadbed on L-girder Height: 49″ Roadbed: cork Track: Micro Engineering code 55 Scenery: […]
In this episode, David demonstrates how to paint a gradient blue-sky backdrop for the State Line Route N scale layout. Then he enlists Rene to help create horizon lines using sections from various SceniKing photo backdrops. Watch how the backdrop comes together using these techniques! […]
Facts & features Name: Rhode Haven Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 13 x 13, 12 x 14, and 14 x 16 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by New York, New Haven & Hartford Locale: New England Era: 1930s”40s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 230 feet Minimum radius: 32″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 2.5 percent Benchwork: L-girder […]
Budget work train for DIY’ers A budget work train made its way into my life since I needed a project to work on to de-stress from the rigors of graduate school — for a price a grad student can afford. Wrecking crane I wanted my budget work train to center around two main cars, a 250- […]
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There is probably no other aspect of our hobby that creates more anxiety and confusion for newcomers than wiring. When you’re starting at absolute ground zero on the learning curve it can be daunting at times. However, at the most basic level, what we’re trying to do is get electricity from a power source to […]
If you want a structure for your outdoor layout that will hold up to the elements, consider using clay. I’m an art teacher and when I began my outdoor railroad it was my first choice of materials for my buildings. You can buy clay from local sources or online. Most catalogs sell it in 50-pound […]
Model train scales come in a handful of commercial sizes. Among the most popular model train scales in North America are HO, N, O and G. However, these letters stand in for very specific ratios that tell modelers what fraction they are using to scale, or model, reality. What is a model train scale? Scales […]
On a railroad, a switch usually refers to the moving parts of a turnout that routes a train between two possible routes. This time, though, we’re talking about an electrical switch: specifically, a double-pole double-throw switch (DPDT). It’s easy to understand a single-pole single-throw switch: it only has two states, open or closed, off or […]
Structures for our State Line Route N scale layout keep rolling in! In this episode, David gives a peek at the kits built by Seth Puffer and Sammi DiVito. Then, learn how Steve Brown, host of “It’s My Railroad” and “Scale It Down” on trains.com, kitbashed a packaging plant and modernized a tank farm to […]
Structures for our State Line Route N scale layout keep rolling in! In this episode, David gives a peek at the kits built by Seth Puffer and Sammi DiVito. Then, learn how Steve Brown, host of “It’s My Railroad” and “Scale It Down” on trains.com, kitbashed a packaging plant and modernized a tank farm to […]
