Model Railroading Blog and News

The role of transfer yards. Some of the loads and empties received will not be forwarded to another city. In any train there will be cars which have reached their final destination. Some of these cars must be delivered to other roads for final delivery, some are empties being returned...

A major yard facility looks very confusing but there is a purpose behind each and every track within the yard limits and that purpose helps to determine location, access and size for each track....

How prototype operations can influence what we do as model railroad operators by examining the operations of prototype yard crews in the time period from 1957 through 1961....

The Harriman Dispatch Center is within an 1891 Union Pacific freight depot that was converted in the early 1990s to the dispatch center and administrative office housing around 800 employees. Union Pacific dispatchers work in a steel-reinforced concrete bunker within the building. The...

...

Gateway Central VI HO scale project railroad was designed around two logging industry scenes (one on each side of the layout). One side features a paper and kraft mills with a chip unloading area. The other side is a sawmill scene. The layouts was designed as two pieces that stack for...

1999 contest results. NMRA conventions and train show events feature a model and photo contest where entries are displayed to be viewed and enjoyed by other model railroaders and the general public. Any NMRA member may enter models and photos into these contests....

You can download and print these building exteriors for your layout backdrop. The Fulton Bags warehouse fits in almost any industrial scene....

One way to add operating pleasure to your railroad, and hopefully prevent these types of mistakes, is to copy the actions of the prototype. Real railroads have documents known as a train procedures directory, click book and yard book. These different books were used by the train crews...