Model Railroader November 2015

Showing off Colorado narrow gauge
by David Rickaby
The sight of a steam train snaking through breathtaking Rocky Mountain scenery draws many railfans and modelers to narrow gauge railroading in Colorado. Such was the case for Bob Smoczynski and Jim Zeren. The two friends built a 2 x 15-foot modular display layout to showcase slim gauge rails in the Rockies and introduce the public to the hobby of model railroading.

Track plan for an industrial corridor
by Christian Javier
Living only an hour away from Tampa, Fla., I’ve long been fascinated with the railroad scene in the Sunshine State. When I picked up a copy of Model Railroad Planning 2009 and read Lance Mindheim’s article about the Miami Downtown Spur, I was completely sold. I knew for certain I wanted to model an industrial switching layout. Now all that was left was to find a prototype.

Model fall forests
by Marty McGuirk
Autumn represents one of the most appealing and challenging seasons to depict on a model railroad. The author shares his approach to modeling realistic fall scenery.

Legacy of the Berkshire Lines
by Lou Sassi
For almost 70 years the focus of the Rensselaer Model Railroad Club has been to provide a creative outlet for an ever-changing group of college students. The club also includes a core group of experienced modelers who remain a driving force behind the club’s long-lived layout, the HO scale New England, Berkshire & Western.

How to model a rebuilt diesel locomotive
by M.R. Snell
Imagine you’re the motive power director of a railroad. You have a large group of locomotives that are technologically outdated yet still have the correct power requirements for both yard and local service. Why not rebuild them and give them a second life?

In January 2005, Norfolk Southern did just that when it pulled 73 Electro-Motive Division GP38 diesel locomotives from the dead line and rebuilt them to GP38-2 standards at the railroad’s Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pa. These units, rebuilt as NS 5601 through 5673, were inherited from predecessors Southern Ry., Norfolk & Western, Lehigh Valley, and Penn Central.

Building a model railroad telephone system
by Don Ball
Don Ball wanted period telephones for the operators on his HO scale 1890s Stockton & Copperopolis RR, so he combined vintage equipment like the headset and scissor phone Minnie is using with modern wiring.

Improved hands-free uncoupler control
by Jean C. Piquette
In the November 2011 Model Railroader I presented a circuit designed for hands-free control of a Kadee 309 electromagnetic uncoupler. The circuit provided 20 to 25 seconds of activation of the electromagnet after only a 2- to 3-second press of a pushbutton.