Model Railroading on the Cheap

The town of Yardley got into the passenger train business long after I had my freight-handling layout built and well into operation. I then realized that there was no place for a passenger station at the town of Yardley. However after acquiring a complete B&O heavy weight passenger train with 2 matching F7 A units,…

There are several requirements to making a good operating turntable. Among them are a good center support bearing, a good motor gear reduction unit, and a properly mounted and aligned rotatable bridge. This sounds simple enough at first glance, but requires precisions not easily acquired when working primarily with wood as used in model layout…

My double-ended staging yard is over 7 feet long and 5 tracks wide with an overhead clearance of just 8 inches. It has always been a bit dark to see what cars were under there. Finally after years of wondering how to get some light on it, without having it shine in your own eyes,…

Hopefully this post will help your understanding of how this scheme may work elsewhere. Remember, on the backs of the tall buildings at Holden City (lower level) shown above, are the single story businesses of Hillton on the upper level. Now we move the camera to outside the operation pit to see the other side…

Here are a couple photos of my paper and cardboard wall hiding the supporting frame work for Hillton Junction on the upper level and the view block at Holden City on the lower level. When looking at this picture, also see the photos later in this post for a finished view for reference.    The…

Yardley and Hillton Railroad Track Schematic Diagrams Explained This sheet helps explain the Track Schematic Diagrams of each town as shown on the previous page.  It is intended to support and add detail to the overall track plan. By using this straight-line scheme it makes labeling with a typewriter easier. Most curves are not shown. …