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O Scale Brass Steam Locomotive Drives: Part 1

O Scale Brass Steam Locomotive Drives: Part 1

Understanding how certain O scale brass steam locomotive models are geared can help you improve performance and make your own repairs.

Upgrading Erie Bay Window Caboose C300

Upgrading Erie Bay Window Caboose C300

Upgrading an MTH 3-rail release into a more accurate representation of a postwar Erie Railroad bay-window caboose.

Gateway to the Cumberland Valley: PRR/N&W Southern Division, Part 2

Gateway to the Cumberland Valley: PRR/N&W Southern Division, Part 2

In the prototype world, Cumberland Valley Railroad was one of Pennsylvania’s earliest railroads, connecting the rich agricultural region around Chambersburg and Hagerstown with Harrisburg.

Gateway to the Cumberland Valley: PRR/N&W Southern Division, Part 1

Gateway to the Cumberland Valley: PRR/N&W Southern Division, Part 1

Visit an O scale model railroad combining Pennsylvania Railroad and Norfolk & Western operations between Harrisburg, Pa., and Roanoke, Va.

Building a Coal Shed

Building a Coal Shed

Based on the prototype located at Chama, N.M., this small shed housed coal supplies for stoves used for heating in the depot, bunk house, and on the trains.

Backdating a Lionel 40-Foot TOFC Trailer

Backdating a Lionel 40-Foot TOFC Trailer

Lionel has released an excellent 40’ trailer model appropriate for late 1950s through the 1960s, which can easily be shortened and backdated to the 1940s.

Pour Me a River, Part 6: The Completed Scene

Pour Me a River, Part 6: The Completed Scene

In Part 6, we complete construction of the Pennsylvania Railroad Ohio River Bridge and place it into our finished scene.

Pour Me a River, Part 5: Returning to the River

Pour Me a River, Part 5: Returning to the River

After careful preparation of the base, it’s now time to pour the river. But what scenic product to choose, and how much?

3-D Printing: Our First Project

3-D Printing: Our First Project

Three dimensional (3-D) printing is a cutting-edge technology, so for our first project it seems fitting to build something that was cutting-edge a little more than a century ago, a McKeen Car Co. all-steel boxcar.

Building Your Layout: Part 1

Building Your Layout: Part 1

This is the first of four articles on how to construct a large O scale model railroad, like my own freelanced Buckeye Railroad.