Video Step by Step: Build a water tank part 1

A water tank standing next to the tracks.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page   Associate editor Steven Otte needed several wood water tanks for his layout, so he decided to scratchbuild them using stripwood and common materials. In part one of this two-part video, Steve shows you how he built the tank and the roof. […]

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Cody’s Workshop: Episode 5 – Installing ditch lights

Cody Grivno sitting at his workbench with a scratchbuilt freight house

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Cody is back in the MR Workshop this month to install ditch light castings on a Rail America diesel engine. He also shares how his freighthouse scratchbuilding job is coming along, and you’ll get to see the finished Turtle Creek MR&T heritage locomotive. […]

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Drew’s Trackside Adventures: Episode 6 – Florida East Coast Railway

Drew Halverson poses with a vividly painted red-and-yellow Florida East Coast locomotive.

Drew models the Florida East Coast RR in N scale, and on this Trackside Adventure, he’s off to Florida to chase some of his favorite trains. Along the way, Drew shares photos of the construction of his N scale FEC photo diorama. […]

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Video Step by Step: Replacing turnouts

Cody Grivno working on the rails.

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Sometimes you need to replace a turnout or other trackwork on your model railroad. In this video Cody Grivno shares his technique for replacing turnouts on Model Railroader’s HO scale MR&T layout, walking you through the project from cutting out the old rails […]

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Modelers Spotlight Video–Inside Cody’s Office for May 2013

Inside Cody's Office for May 2013

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page A variety of new model railroading products arrived in Cody’s Office this week, including an HO scale Z-8 Challenger from Sunset Models and a DCC-equipped Hi-Rail truck from Bachmann Trains. Associate editor Cody Grivno gives you a first look at both in this […]

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Cody’s Workshop: Episode 4 – clear coat finish

Cody Grivno standing at his workbench

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page In this video installment of Cody’s Workshop, Cody shares his technique for applying a clear-coat finish on one of the MR&T’s heritage locomotives. Along the way, he also demonstrates a handy clamp for scratchbuilding structure models, and shows how to remove and adjust […]

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Drew’s Trackside Adventures Episode 5: Chasing INRD 9009

A red-and-gray diesel locomotive leads a freight train across flat territory in Wisconsin.

In this video, Drew is back in the Milwaukee area and is on the hunt for Indiana Railroad SD9043MAC no. 9009. The locomotive happened to be passing through town on a CP train, so Drew and Ben hopped in the car to give chase to this colorful locomotive. […]

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MR Insider: Chicago to Washington, DC aboard the Quad Graphics Silver Zephyr

David Popp inside Union Station in Chicago

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Quad Graphics, Kalmbach Publishing Company’s main printer, owns a set of private rail cars that it moves around the country for special events. MR’s David Popp and Classic Trains’ Rob McGonigal were guests on the train and share the fun with you in […]

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Cody’s Workshop: Episode 3 – April 2013

flatcar deck

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Welcome back to Cody’s Workshop. In episode 3, Cody shows you how to get a realistic weathered finish for your flatcar decks. He also gives you some tips on using punches to make drillbit starter holes, and answers a variety of viewer mail. […]

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Big South Fork Scenic Railway in action

The Big South Fork Scenic Railway is a tourist line in Stearns, Ky., and formerly the Kentucky & Tennessee Railway. Editor Jim Wrinn visited and spoke with railroad personnel, Becki Egnew and Bill Johnson. They told him about the steam engine their working to restore and the history of the K&T. Check out this exclusive video […]

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