Unless your model railroad is at eye-level or higher, the first thing operators and visitors see when they look at your locomotives and freight cars is the roof (and on open-top cars, the interior). In recent years, some manufacturers have offered models with faded paint and light weathering. Other companies have released boxcars with paint […]
Most of us can agree that the gloom and doom surrounding today’s state of model railroading — due to the initial closing of Hattons and M.B. Klein/Model Train Stuff a year ago — went in like a lion and out like a lamb. Despite this over-exaggeration in 2024, I’d be lying if I said the […]
Structures help set the stage for a layout’s look and practicality. There are no bounds to the variety of buildings a modeler can bring to the table (or should we say benchwork). Yet there’s always that one particular building you’ll usually find on most layouts. With great insight from Model Railroader Editor Eric White, let’s […]
Original article published in Garden Railway’s Dec. 2019 issue by Bill Mefford; edited and updated for Trains.com by Lucas Iverson. For many model railroaders and garden railway enthusiasts, a trip to the Greater Cincinnati Tri-State area was on the bucket list. That’s because it was the home to EnterTRAINment Junction, which boasted the biggest indoor […]
Q: In the November Ask Trains video, you were standing in front of a display case filled with Milwaukee, Racine & Troy freight cars. Some featured the familiar square MR&T herald. Other models looked to be from an earlier era. What can you tell me about those cars? — Bert G. A: Alan Cerney, an […]
Whenever children visit my O gauge layout, the operating accessories attract their attention more than any other feature. To accommodate them, I locate the controls for these toys nearby in the molding around the edge of the table, rather than on a central control panel. I have several industrial sidings, all close to viewers. Each […]
Built by Others is an article series showcasing layouts constructed by modelers using plans and projects from the pages of Model Railroader and its related products. The HO scale Winston-Salem Southbound Tar Branch layout project layout first appeared in the pages of Model Railroader in January of 2018, as well as the 2017 issue of […]
If your garden railroad is set in the steam or steam-to-diesel transition era, it’s going to need a coal tower. When I started to gather rolling stock and build my railroad in 2013, there were no commercial coal towers on the market. The only existing product was from Pola, but I couldn’t find one on […]
Modelers have tried many different scenery methods. While each person has their own favorite techniques and preferences, there are several good, time-tested starting points for building scenery. The four most common include the cardboard strip method, the stacked foamboard system, the tape and stuffing option, and the time-honored wire screen and plaster technique. While all […]
Metal railroad heralds in cereal boxes offered boys and girls during the 1950s one more way to show their fascination with trains, whether full-size or miniature replicas. Kids, eager to discover the premiums packed inside boxes of their favorite breakfast food, had no hesitation about begging their parents to buy box after box of Sugar […]
An Erie Railroad 2-8-4 Berkshire type leads a train of refrigerator cars over Starrucca Viaduct, on the road’s main line east of Susquehanna, Pa. The stone-arch landmark, 1,200 feet long and 110 feet tall, was built in 1848 and remains in service today. Charles A. Elston photo […]
Price: $24.99 Manufacturer Menards 5106 Menard Dr. Eau Claire, WI 54703 menards.com/trains Era: 1930s to present Comments: Cripple Creek Seed & Feed joins the ever-growing lineup of HO scale structures from Menards. The factory-assembled model, which measures 4-⅜” wide x 3-¼” deep x 2-7/16” high, uses medium density fiberboard (MDF) construction and has a scenicked […]
