Model Railroader February 2015

The Denver & Rio Grande Western in Gn3
by Gerald Upton
What's a garden railway without a garden? More fun year-round. This 20 x 55 foot indoor Gn3 (1:22.5 proportion) large scale model railroad depicts the Denver & Rio Grande Western through Colorado in the 1950s.

Three easy car detailing projects
by Mont Switzer
These techniques show how to get ready-to-run freight car model's to fit into a train layout's roster with the least amount of fuss. From the running boards and roofs to the underbodies and trucks, along with some painting and weathering, the author shows how to make model railroad freight cars more realistic.

Build a working interlocking plant: part 2
by Don Ball
Last month Don Ball wrote about the concept of mechanical interlocking machines and explained how he built one following Model Railroader articles by Paul Larson and Gordon Odegard published in 1961. This month he explains how he built the lower-quadrant semaphore signals and how they fit into the operations of his model railroad.

Western inspiration in HO scale
by Rolf Malmborg
Vacations to Colorado and Utah inspired this 13 x 24 foot HO scale model railroad in Sweden. The Grand Junction RR depicts modern-era Union Pacific freight traffic on former Denver & Rio Grande Western track.

Build the 3 x 7 Red Oak layout: Part 2
by Neil Besougloff
Learn about the benchwork, track, and terrain of the Model Railroader staff's N scale project layout. The tabletop for the train layout is a hollow-core door and the scenery base is extruded foam insulation board.

How to use foam insulation board for structure cores
by Maynard Mitchell
When you think of extruded-foam insulation board in model railroading, scenery probably comes to mind. The material, designed for home insulation, is easy to cut and shape; it takes paint well; and can be sanded, drilled, and filed. It was while using the foam for scenery that the author discovered that the material would also work well for model railroad structure cores.