A SUPPLEMENT TO MODEL RAILROADER MAGAZINE 2009...

Introduction to

A SUPPLEMENT TO MODEL RAILROADER MAGAZINE

MAGAZINE

The world’s

greatest hobby!

www.greatesthobby.com

6182142009

The creative hobby forlearning, family fun,and railroad action!

2 Welcome to Model Railroading

MODEL RAILROADING is a fascinatinghobby shared by a quarter-million Ameri-cans and at least a million more train loversthroughout the world.

At the heart of model railroading lies our fasci-nation with the train models themselves. We lovethose delicate miniatures that reproduce everydetail on the real thing, right down to the rivetsand the bolt heads. A precision model of a rail-road locomotive is an intriguing object in its ownright, to be prized like a fine watch or a music box.

Those entering the hobby come through manydoors. For those railfans among us models aremementos of the world of real railroading, whichthey thoroughly enjoy observing. Railroad modelsare souvenirs of railroading, just as aircraft models

represent the romance of flight or ship modelsinvoke the adventure of seafaring.

Some model railroaders like to collect, build,and run models of the trains they saw in theiryouth. They build working layouts featuring thestations, the scenery, the vehicles, the sidings – inshort, everything as it was during their childhood.

Others have a historical bent and enjoy reachingback into the nation’s past, to the fascinating daysof steam locomotives and the opening of the West.

A big attraction is simply that our modelsmove. No other hobby combines the fascinationof miniatures with movement the way that modelrailroading does. If we want we can make uptrains in a yard, switch them in and out of indus-tries along the way, and run our trains just like

a great hobbyWelcome to

� George Sellios’HO scale Franklin &South Manchestercan take your breathaway. Many considerit today’s ultimatemodel railroad.

By Jim Kelly

Dave Frary

Welcome to Model Railroading 3

the real ones. Or we can simply relax and watchthem go around the layout in lazy loops. It’s ourrailroad, run our way.

A Hobby All Your OwnLots of model railroaders build layouts, but lots

don’t. Many build and paint models of railroadcars, many don’t. Some prefer steam engines;some diesels. Ultimately there are so many ways toenjoy the hobby that each model railroader inventshis own. No two model railroaders could build lay-outs that were exactly alike, even if they tried. Wemay buy the same models and kits, but we expressour own creativity and imagination in the wayswe use them.

For some, model railroading is a casual affairthat involves buying a railroad model now andthen and reading about the hobby. These are thearmchair modelers.

Others go a little further, perhaps building asmall model railroad complete with some build-ings and scenery and going to local train showsand meets when the opportunity arises.

For others model railroading becomes a pas-sion. They dedicate years to building a basement-or garage-sized layout. They join organizations,travel cross-country to attend model railroadingactivities, and call on friends to help them buildand run their model railroads like the real thing.

Model railroading isn’t hard, and there are lotsof magazines, books, and videotapes to help. In

the course of having fun you’ll also learn aboutwoodworking, electricity (even electronics andcomputers if you care to), and working with plas-ter and art materials. You’ll learn about how realrailroads work and the role they’ve played in ourculture and economy.

In becoming model railroaders we becomemore observant of the world around us – not justtrains, but industry, nature, geography – in short,everything. Model railroading involves us in anintriguing paradox. Working on the model railroadis a great way to escape the pressures of our every-day lives, yet in so doing we find ourselves learningmore and more about our world. Our daily livesare enriched and we take more pleasure in every-thing around us.

� Most model rail-roaders get startedon a standard-size4 x 8-foot sheet ofplywood. Here’s anice example donein HO scale. TheRock Ridge Centralis a fictional or “free-lanced”railroad.

� Our fascinationwith beautifullydetailed miniaturesdates to the begin-nings of civilization.This N scale diesel-electric locomotiveis made by Kato.

William Zuback

A. L. Schmidt


BACK IN THE DARK AGES of model railroad-ing, the 1920s and ’30s, only a few hundredmodel railroaders roamed the land. Very fewkits and parts were available and these hardy

souls had to make almost everything themselves.Much as we admire their machine tool skills andrugged individualism, we find ourselves much bet-ter off today. The engines, the cars, the track, thepower pack – even the grass and the rocks – justabout everything we need to build a model rail-road we can buy.

And we can buy it at more than a thousand wellstocked hobby shops of the sort that simply didn’texist until the modern era of model railroadingbegan after World War II. Enter a hobby shop forthe first time and you’ll likely be astounded by thevariety of products available. Truly it can be anadult’s candy store.

And usually your hobbyshop proprietor and hisstaff are your model railroading pros. They canadvise you on which models offer the best valueand answer your questions on layout building.Many hobby shops also offer special services, suchas model building, repair, and painting. The hobbyshop is a model railroading outpost where you’relikely to meet others who share your interests.

Model railroading has changed so much since itbegan. Now we’ve got the best of all possibleworlds – we can buy a gorgeous locomotive readyto set on the track and run, we can build a loco-motive from a kit, or we can build it from scratchjust like the old-timers did. There are more finecraftsmen in model railroading now than everbefore – the difference is that today you don’t haveto be one unless you want to.

Your First Layout One excellent, time-proven way to get started

is to build your first layout on a 4 x 6 or 4 x 8-footsheet of 1⁄2" plywood mounted to a simple framemade of 1 x 4 lumber. Your hobby dealer canshow you some books that include track plansfor small layouts. You’ll also find good basicinformation in Practical Guide to HO Model Rail-roading and Beginner’s Guide to N scale ModelRailroading. These two books – and many more –are published by Kalmbach Publishing Co.

Track is easy. Probably you’ve already seen thesectional track that comes with Christmas trainsets. Typically it takes six curve sections to make ahalf-circle, usually 36" across in HO scale or 191⁄2"in N. In HO scale straight sections are usually 9"

getting started

� Most hobbyshops have a wideselection of modelrailroad productsand also offer ser-vice on the linesthey sell.

� This HO Life-Likediesel locomotive isrepresentative ofthe fine modelsavailable today. Itfeatures bothauthentic paint andaccurate details forthe real Gulf, Mobile& Ohio RR.

A. L. Schmidt

Jim Forbes

It’s a breeze


long. Your dealer has more track sections –straights, curves, and switches in a variety of sizes– so just about any track configuration is possible,just by joining sections together.

There’s no better way to learn about model rail-roading than just doing it. The equipment is inex-pensive, the track can be re-used, and there are nomodel railroad laws to obey. It’s a hobby, not amatter of life and death, and great layouts are builtone simple step at a time. By doing you’ll learnwhat parts of the hobby you like best. Who knows?Maybe one day you’ll build a fine layout like thosefeatured in MODEL RAILROADER Magazine.

� Here’s a 4 x 8-foot starter layoutshown as both atrack plan and acomplete system.

� A scene on theAlkali Central showsthat even a smalllayout can capturethe feeling of wide-open spaces.

Chris Becker

Chris Becker

Il lustration by Steve Davis


THIS LITTLE BOOK is about scale model rail-roading, that is to say, about model railroad-ing with trains that are accurate scale replicasof real trains. An HO locomotive, for exam-

ple, is 1⁄87th the size of a real one. It’s 1⁄87th as long,1⁄87th as tall, and in every dimension its proportionsare 1:87. Going a step further, everything on anHO layout is built to that same proportion.

You are also likely to see trains that are notexact scale models and don’t purport to be. Lioneland K-Line are examples of trains aimed at the toytrain market. They’re made to be rugged, colorful,and fun to play with. Collecting and operating toytrains is a great hobby in its own right and the sub-ject of our sister magazine, Classic Toy Trains.

The distinction between scale and toy trains isoften blurred. Many Lionel O-27 trains are indeedscale, or close to it, and some very realistic model

railroads have been built for Lionel equipment.Scale trains aren’t better than toy trains, nor viceversa. They are just two different kinds of prod-ucts, intended for two different markets, and mostimportant, just two different ways of having fun.

The Popular ScalesAs the actual-size photo shows, scale model

trains range from tiny to large. The most popularscale is HO (say aitch-oh). About 68 percent ofMODEL RAILRAODER Magazine’s readers use thissize. Because it’s so popular an immense range ofproducts is available. HO is small enough that youcan build a satisfying layout in a small space, say 4 x 8 feet, but large enough to show off detail andbe easy to work with.

Next in popularity and product availability is Nscale, the choice of 16 percent of MR’s readers.

scales and gauges

Z N HO S

Your guide to

Illustrations by Rick Johnson


This scale is popular with modelers such as apart-ment dwellers who don’t have much space, andwith modelers who want to run long trains behindmultiple engines through wide expanses of scenery.

O scale (pronounced like the letter, not thenumber zero) was the most popular until HO tookoff like a rocket after World War II. Now O is usedby 8.5 percent of MR’s readers. These large trainsare great to watch run but require a lot of space,generally a good-sized basement.

Next comes large scale. Manufacturers makethese trains in several different proportions but allare designed to run on 13⁄4" gauge track. Most arerugged and designed to be run outdoors on gardenrailways. LGB introduced this size and calls its1:22.5 proportioned trains G scale, a term you’lloften hear applied to other brands as well.

Because Z and S scales have much smaller fol-lowings, the range of products available is con-siderably smaller. Both are healthy, though, andnew models continue to appear. Each of these

minority scales has its advantages and staunchsupporters, and who knows, one day you mightbe among them.

Most models are standard gauge, that is, theyhave wheels spaced to run on rails a scale 4'-81⁄2"apart. This track gauge is common throughoutNorth America and much of the rest of the worldand goes all the way back to the spacing betweenwheels on Roman chariots. Other gauges exist,though, and in America narrower gauges, three-foot in particular, were widespread before 1900.We represent models built to these sizes by statingthe scale followed by a lower case “n” then thetrack gauge in feet – HOn3 for example.

� Here are loco-motives in themost popularmodel railroadingsizes. HO is thepopularity leader.

O Gn3A. L. Schmidt


OFTEN FOLKS look at photos of beautifulmodel railroads and assume right away thatit’s just too hard, they could never do it. Well,that just isn’t so.

Take buildings for example. Today you can buyeasy-to-assemble kits for everything from a hum-ble lineside shack to a grand factory or station.And if you do decide to build from scratch youhave a wealth of materials and parts to choosefrom. You can buy plastic sheeting to representbrick, stone, sheet metal, or wood clapboards. Nolonger do you have to scratchbuild such detailsas doors and windows. There are dozens of plasticand metal castings to choose from.

Scenery is yet another area where hobbyshopproducts make the job easier. Grass is usually rep-

resented with ground-up and dyed foam rubberthat you can buy in a wide range of colors and tex-tures. If you’re so inclined you can carve a rock inplaster, but you’ll probably get even better resultsby casting plaster rocks in rubber molds you canbuy or make yourself.

You can get great results without much skilljust by substituting know-how. And the know-how is easy to come by in books like How toBuild Realistic Model Railroad Scenery andScenery Tips and Techniques, both published byKalmbach Publishing Co.

Certainly model railroading is a creative hobbyand great model railroads approach works of art,but with today’s materials and techniques youdon’t have to be an artist to be a model railroader.

model railroadBuilding your own

LAYING TRACKSectional track and cork, rubber or foamroadbed make laying track fun and easy.

SCENERY TECHNIQUES

Scenery support1" cardboard strips gluedor stapled into latticework

Scenery shellPlaster cloth or papertowels dipped in plaster

GroundTan latex paint


� The rock outcropping was cast in a rubber mold and painted, andnow it’s being highlighted by drybrushing, using a brush dipped inwhite paint and then wiped almost clean of color.

� These two HO stations were built from International Hobby Corp.kits that snap together in only a few minutes. What a difference a lit-tle painting and weathering can make!

Finish coatPlaster or Sculptamold

RocksPlaster cast in rubbermolds or hand-carved

Ground coverGround foam bondedwith dilute matte medium

TreesReady-built, kit-built,or scratchbuilt

BushesLichen or polyfiber, sprayedwith dilute matte medium,sprinkled with ground foam

StreambedSurface painted black,blended into banks with tan

WaterGloss medium,2-part epoxy,or casting resin

WeedsTwine, yarn, etc.

Illustrations by Kellie Jaeger

A. L. SchmidtMR Staff photo

Over the next five pages you’ll tour a gallery of model railroad photos.Model railroading is such a rich hobby that we can only hint at itsvariety. Old-time steam, powerful new diesels, rugged mountains,

colorful deserts – any railroad possibility you can think of is the specialinterest of some modeler, somewhere.

model railroadingThe wide world of

Welcome to Model Railroading 1 1

The Glory of Steam� No other machinehas been so loved asthe railroad steamlocomotive. Seemingto live and breathe,it was king of therails for more than ahundred years. Oneof the last of thebreed was the UnionPacific’s Challenger.Here its spirit iscaptured in a beau-tiful Rivarossi HOscale modelsuperdetailed by AlKalbfleisch.

AppalachianStreet Scene� One of the placeswhere the worldlooks most like amodel railroad is thecoal-mining countryof Virginia and WestVirginia, with roads,towns, and railroadscompeting for scarceflat ground in the V-shaped valleys cutby rushing rivers.MODEL RAILROADERcolumnist TonyKoester has repli-cated that look atSunrise, Va., on hisHO scale AlleghenyMidland RR.

Tony Koester

Al Kalbfleisch

The Wild West� When the boom-ing mining camps ofColorado played out,the narrow gaugerailroads that servedthem fell into a stateof genteel decay.That made thosemountain streaks ofrust even moreattractive to latergenerations of mod-elers like MalcolmFurlow, creator andphotographer of thislarge scale scene.


Through theRockies� A westboundfreight on the Den-ver & Rio GrandeWestern is about tolive up to its corpo-rate slogan by div-ing into the six-mile-long MoffatTunnel in this HOscale winter sceneby Rand Hood.

2000-mile Dash� Modern railroadsare part of a globaltransportation sys-tem, carrying goodsmanufactured in theFar East to theAmerican heartland.Here a BurlingtonNorthern double-stack containertrain dashes alongthe MississippiRiver on an N scalelayout built by aMadison, Wis., club.

Welcome to Model Railroading 1 3

Andy Sperandeo

Jim Forbes

Jim Palm

A. L. Schmidt

Rand Hood

High Technology� Today’s modelrailroaders can enjoyflexible, independentoperation of trainsand accessoriesusing the latest inelectronics. Thiswireless EasyDCCDigital CommandControl system isjust one of severalthat are compatiblewith the standardsof the National ModelRailroad Association.

‘Neath the Wires� Traction model-ers re-create the erawhen all majorAmerican cities (andmany smaller ones)had electricallypowered street andinterurban railways.Bill Everett modeledthis O scalePasadena streetscene after Califor-nia’s pre-freewayPacific Electric Ry.

Modular Railroading� Members of theLauderdale ShoreLine RR Club enjoythe fun and socia-bility of modularmodel railroading.Small, interchange-able modules builtby individuals areassembled intolarge working lay-outs at model rail-road conventionsand public shows allacross the country.

Preservation� Jim and MarleneKorb collect andoperate colorful toytrains from theTwenties and Thir-ties. These standardgauge giants ran onrails spaced 21⁄8"apart. Thousands ofhobbyists share aninterest in the vin-tage toy trains andaccessories made byLionel and others.

Jim Forbes


Vertical Scenery� Like many otherhobbyists, DennisFerguson is underthe spell of the nar-row gauge railroadsthat steamedthrough the remotecorners of Coloradoand New Mexico.Their steep slopesand dramaticbridges offer model-ers the chance toachieve a highdegree of drama inrelatively little space,as seen here onDennis’ On3 layout.

Tabletop World� The staff ofMODEL RAILROADERMagazine built the Nscale Carolina Cen-tral RR on a 28" x80" hollow-core doorto show that almosteveryone has roomto build their ownmodel railroad.

Dennis Ferguson

Marty McGuirk

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