Peter's Model Railroading | My Library | Model Railroader 2000-04
Articles Listing

S scale SW1 Diesel Switcher Looks Good and Runs Smoothly

The author gave glowing reviews of the SW1 switcher engine model by S-Helper Service.

Despruing Nippers

PBL product review.

Superliner Marker Lights

Battery operated marker lights for the last car in a train.

Boxcar Questions

When were running boards banned? Did boxcars haul grain?

Doodlebugs

Working the Mill Job

Instead of a bunch of small industries consider one big one.

Modeling an Old-time Feed Mill

Prototype and model photos of a feed mill. Includes scale drawing and construction photos.

Bonus Building: A Box Factory For Your Layout

Model photo and scale drawing of a simple structure.

White LED Headlights - a Brighter Idea

White LED's, driver circuit, and installation guide.

Modelers' Guide to EMD's F7

Prototype photos, drawings

Santa Fe Beer Cars

This article describes the 62-foot long insulated boxcars that are assigned to transporting beer for the Coors company. The article includes model and prototype photos and detailed construction photos of where the author took the Eel River Models car and converted it into one of these models.

Jack Verducci's Garden Layout

This layout encompasses an area of 65 by 100 feet in Jack's backyard. It models the California narrow gauge set in the 1930s. Although he started in N-scale, he quickly discovered G-scale and now runs live steam locomotives on his layout. The article includes many photos and a trackplan of this large layout.

Seaboard Air Line F3A

The author describes how he detailed and painted this Life-Like Proto 1000 model. Includes on prototype photo and several close-up model photos, as well as a parts list.

Steel Stud Benchwork

The author was looking for a lower-cost and lighter-weight solution than the typical wooden benchwork. He discovered that steel studs for home building worked just fine for him. The layout is covered with 2-inch thick foam as the layout subsurface.

Western Scenery

This article covers how to build arid-looking scenery.

The Dakota Northern Railroad

This around-the-wall with a peninsula layout has lots of space for staging, switching, and continuous loop operations. It fits in a 12 x 13 foot space in Fort Worth, Texas and models the Northern Dakota area set in 1975.

Making People Unique

The author describes how he takes the common Preiser figures and makes them more Americanized, changes their limbs, and paints them to look different.

Backdrops

This articles covers how to build a backdrop using 0.060" styrene and painting it with just some basic sky colors.

The Pertinent Pieces

Doing research and keeping track of data you've collected may come in handy later with modeling.

Model Railroad Club Tyrant

How NOT to behave in a model railroad club. Club layouts are always about compromising.