N scale trains on HO curves: In 1968 Aurora and Revell gambled that N scale train sets would be a big hit in the toy market. Aurora struck a deal with Minitrix, a German company, to produce its Postage Stamp line, and Revell turned to Rapido (also German) to manufacture its offerings. I have no […]
Facts & features Name: Tygart Valley Division Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: Two rooms, 15′ x 18′ and 12′ x 20′ Prototypes: Proto-freelanced, Western Maryland Ry. Locale: West Virginia Era: Mid-1950s Style: Walkaround Mainline run: 160 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: No. 6 Maximum grade: 2.75% Benchwork: Open grid Height: 45″ to 63″ Roadbed: Cork […]
If you’ve ever tried to run a big locomotive around a small radius curve of track, you probably realized that the minimum recommended track radius is still too small for a lot of rolling stock. Long-wheelbase steam locomotives, in particular, have trouble staying on the rails when the curve is too sharp. Model railroad manufacturers […]
Q: I want to run six-axle power and trains of 15 cars or so around a return loop without any tight curves to it. What would be the recommended curve radius I should use, and how much space for a loop of track do I need? – Mike Bailey A: The flippant answer is, how […]
Modelers often compress industries to fit more of them on our model railroads. But doing the opposite – expanding a modeled industry to prototypical proportions – can create an intensely realistic operating experience that can’t be matched. Let’s explore that idea with a 4×8 HO scale paper mill layout. Some industries are just too large and […]
Choosing model rail sizes is one of the things modelers often spend time on when building their second layout. We often start with whatever came in the train set we began with, but then we start to hear about rail “codes,” and how they can differ. Regardless of scale, model rail sizes are specified […]
Three types of staging yards: Staging serves the role of representing a model railroad’s connections to the rest of the world. Different kinds of staging, though, perform differently. Using staging yards to represent “beyond the layout” connections is widely accepted among model railroad operators. There’s no better way to foster the illusion that a model […]
Basic parts of a gauge-1 switch: Switches are necessary any time one wants to send a train in an alternate direction. They’re what makes it possible to store one train on a siding and run another around it, or any other basic operation. They’re essential if you want your trains to do more than just […]
Facts & features Name: Adamsville Branchline Scale: N (1:160) Size: 3′-3″ x 3′-6″ Prototypes: Freelanced Locale: New England Era: Steam-to-diesel transition era Style: Island Mainline run: 13 feet Minimum radius: 9.5″ Minimum turnout: No. 4 Maximum grade: 2% Benchwork: 1 x 2 open grid Height: 8″ Roadbed: Cork Track: Atlas code 80 flextrack Scenery: Cardboard […]
Facts & features Name: Gulf & Pacific RR Scale: HO (1:87) and HOn3 (HO scale, 3-foot narrow gauge) Size: 20 x 24 feet Prototypes: Freelanced Locale: Generic Era: Early 1960s Style: Shelf Mainline run: 180 feet Minimum radius: 30″ (main), 24″ (branch and spurs) Minimum turnout: No. 6 (main), No. 4 (branch and spurs) Maximum […]
Q: I have a 5’-6” x 6’-0” HO scale layout modeling south-central Oregon in the years 1950 to 1979. I want to model the industries that I grew up around in that area – potatoes, wheat farming, cattle ranching, and logging. The members of the train club I’m in say that the railroads quit hauling […]
In some of my early “Sketching with Steve” articles – in particular, “What is a station?” and “Big industries for small spaces” – I admit to having an ulterior motive. I was building toward something. Specifically, I had been thinking for a while about building an L shaped N scale shelf layout in my basement office. […]
