Ask MRVP: Episode 27

David Popp and Cody Grivno standing in the MR&T layout room at Kalmbach Media.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page The questions keep coming to Ask MRVP (Thank YOU!), so this month host David Popp enlists help from none other than Cody Grivno. Together they address inquires related to our MR&T HO scale layout, diesel detailing, working with foam scenery, layout trackwork, wiring, […]

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The Roundhouse: Episode 7

Tony Koester and Neil Besougloff

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Classic Trains editor Rob McGonigal and former Trains magazine publisher Kevin Keefe join Hal Miller for episode 7 of The Roundhouse. Topics for discussion include bankrupt railroads, best railroad photographers, and whether or not Amtrak can ever be considered cool. […]

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The Roundhouse: Episode 25

Hal Miller and Tony Koester

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Hal Miller hosts a single-stall edition of his show with Model Railroader magazine contributing editor Tony Koester. This time the conversation centers on Tony’s Allegheny Midland HO scale layout and its various iterations that appeared in numerous Model Railroader magazine features and Kalmbach […]

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Canadian Canyons Series: Part 15 – Building the panel

Ban Lake holding a piece of paper next to a layout

For part two of this mini-series, MRVP’s Ben Lake moves forward with the staging yard turnout control installation on our Canadian Canyons N scale project layout. Now that the switch motors are installed, wired, and programmed, Ben shows how to make a stylized, fascia-mounted control panel to house the associated pushbuttons and LED indicators. […]

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Off The Rails: Episode 15

Off the Rails with Gerry Leone Episode 15

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Show host Gerry Leone (and his sidekick Loretta) makes the most of the clutter and junk that seem to occupy space on nearly every modeler’s workbench. True to form, Gerry has clever uses for plastic packaging, dirty micro-brushes, and even dried paint spills […]

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Canadian Canyons Series: Part 14 – Wiring staging yard turnouts to a stationary DCC decoder

wiring underneath a model railroad

In this installment of our Canadian Canyons N scale project layout series, MRVP’s Ben Lake lends his Digital Command Control (DCC) expertise to the effort of connecting the staging yard turnouts to a stationary decoder. Follow along as Ben shares his techniques for installing, wiring, and programming Digitrax components used to activate the previously installed […]

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Olympia 2, The Log Blog: Part 6 – Track deliberations

David Popp and the Olympia layout

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page David is eager to get out of the basement and enjoy the summer weather! But before heading into the great outdoors, he’s bound and determined to sort out a few track, scenery, and benchwork issues on the expanding Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout. […]

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Canadian Canyons Series: Part 12 – Installing Tortoise switch motors

David Popp next to benchwork with measuring tape

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Popp. David Popp. That’s who we’ve got (Mr. Bond wasn’t up to the task) to demonstrate how to position, align, and connect the Tortoise switch machines used with the turnouts of our N scale Canadian Canyons project layout. Don’t miss his not-so-secret agent […]

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Canadian Canyons Series: Part 13 – Tortoise switch motors in tight spaces

David Popp holding next to benchwork

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page When essential framework under our Canadian Canyons N scale project layout prevented us from installing a Tortoise motor in the standard configuration, David opted for a nifty alternative solution. In this video David shows how to use a Remote Tortoise Mount to situate […]

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Ask MRVP: Episode 26

David Popp wearing a Hawaiian shirt and standing next to a model railroad.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Thanks to an abundance of inquiries last month, host David Popp had plenty to address in this extended-length June 2017 episode of Ask MRVP! David, along with help from Cody Grivno, Kent Johnson, and Ben Lake, tackles hobby questions regarding layout operation, turnouts, […]

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Olympia 2, The Log Blog: Part 5 – Wide open spaces

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page David is back to the basement for more work on the Olympia Logging Co. On30 layout. In this blog entry, he first joins the two layout sections, and then makes changes to the hardboard fascia and styrene backdrop, giving the display an amazing […]

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