A New Generation of Model Railroaders

A 24 year old Airman at the Elmendorf Air Force Base In Alaska proves the future of model railroading is in good hands.

When not working on jet planes he's working on model trains.

Find the story here: Arctic Airman

Also check out Trains O Scale if you want to get started in model railroading.

This Is No Ordinary Model Train Layout

"Holy S__t." That might be your reaction to the model train display being built by Peter Hambling.

In a word it is 'BIG'. In fact, upon completion this March it will rank in the top 10% of the largest model train layouts in the entire country.

So where is he building this massive layout? It's in his basement which was only a crawl space a few years back.
The layout includes 4,000 feet of track, 80 locomotives, 470 train cars and 40,000 trees.

So why is he building it?  "Because it's interesting."

Check out the full story here: Model Train Layout

If this story has gotten you thinking about building your own layout check out how it's done here: Trains O Scale

Model Train Layouts – Making the Grade

"One thing that railroaders have a difficult time with when creating their model train layouts are track grades. Everybody knows that grade refers to a train going up or down a slope,  but calculating the proper grade and putting it into their layouts is what confuses many people."

Adding grades to your layout need not be complicated.

Check out the following article for some useful advice. Model Train Layouts

Chicago Botanic Gardens Model Railroad Garden Prepares for 12th Season

If you are in the Chicago area this spring and summer, why not check out the model railroad garden at the Chicago Botanic Gardens which opens May 7.

The exhibit has garden trains running past nearly 50 miniature handcrafted American landmarks and beautiful landscaping. This year they have added a new train line the "Southern Pacific Daylight Special."

Check out the full story here:  Model Railroad Garden.

Then find out how to build you own model train layout at Trains O Scale.

Model train set to be auctioned on Discovery Channel!

If you're a fan of the TV show "Auction Kings" on the Discovery Channel, or even if your not, you may want to take a peak at it on Sunday, Feb. 13 starting at 11am EST. They will be auctioning off a model train set built in the 70s. Here's the whole story:

"This train set was built in the 1970's by Georgia Pacific at a cost of $75,000 for the exhibition at Atlanta's Festival of Trees, a yearly celebration of Christmas that benefits the local Children's hospital. This set was exhibited and played with every year at the Festival for nearly three decades. It has been in storage for several years in a warehouse north of the city and now, for the first time ever it will be placed on the open market."

"The set depicts an American town and includes a quarry, farmhouses, depots, tunnels, stations and various lumber yards. It is, quite simply, the best train set on the market anywhere. It has also been technologically updated to a digital platform that is capable of running a number of trains simultaneously. 21' x 12'



$75k seems like a lot of money to spend building a train display back in the 70s. Damn, I bought a brand new house for $50k in 1978. It should be interesting to see what it actually goes for. I doubt they expect to get anywhere near the original cost.

Check out Trains O Scale to find out how to build your own layout for a lot, lot less.

Model Train Scenery Tips - Add the Illusion of Movement

Your model train layouts all set up the way you envisioned it. Your trains are running perfectly and they look great as does your scenery with the lake, mountains, villages and industries you built.

You have added those plastic replicas of people, vehicles and perhaps a boat and maybe some animals. There they stand scattered throughout your scenery, but something is wrong. They're just sitting or standing around staring at each other. They look like they're... dare I say it... plastic people, and so they are.

But that doesn't mean you can't add a sense of motion to the miniature figures in your scenery. I'm not talking about animatronics here, but you can display your figures and vehicles so they appear to be in motion and that will add a greater sense of realism to your layout.

Check out some tips here: Model Train Layouts

Twin City Model Railroad Museum O scale layout

"On May 1, 1934, a group of modelers met to form the St. Paul Craftsman Club and begin building an O-gauge model railroad. From these humble beginnings, and through several location and name changes, the Twin City Model Railroad Museum has grown to a world-class museum. Now located in historic Bandana Square, the Twin City Model Railroad Museum is an exquisitely detailed model panorama of railroads of the Twin Cities during the 1930′s, 1940′s and 1950′s. This was a time when both steam and diesel engines shared the rails."

Model train shows are a great place to go to buy some merchandise, check out some displays and learn something about model railroading. The problem is they only last a weekend and then they are gone.

But across America you can also find permanent model train displays like the one at the Twin City Model Railroad Museum.

Here are some other photos of the museums O scale layout which are not from their site.

Besides O scale they also have a Toy Train Division (weekends only) to satisfy trains lovers of other scales.

If you're in the St. Paul, Mn. area check it out. 

If you want to know more about model railroading check out Trains O Scale.