Peter's Model Railroading | My Library | Magazine Authors
Magazine Articles By Joe Fugate

21st Century Turnout Frog Wiring

The author shares his latest method of powering turnouts for DCC.

Andy Keeney's Nashville Road

An interview-style article with lots of photos and a track plan of this huge, three-level layout.

Bob Truax' Great Northern

This interview-style article covers how the owner got into model railroading, and how he built his 26'x30' layout. Includes photos and a track plan.

Bruce Chubb's Sunset Valley

An interview-style article with the owner of the layout, interspersed with many layout photos.

DCC Impulses

How to deal with locomotives stalling. Includes a listing of the various keep-alive supercapacitor boards offered by manufacturers.

DCC Plugs and Sockets

The article covers the various DCC decoder plugs in use.

Dean Ferris' Oregon Joint Line

In this interview-style article, the layout owner describes how he got started in the hobby, how he got into N-scale, what his visitors like about the layout, how he settled on a track plan (included), and things he didn't like about his layout.

Easy DCC Loco Speed Matching

Two approaches to speed-matching two locomotives.

Easy Spline Roadbed

Free-flowing roadbed made by laminating Masonite strips.

Electrical Impulses

The author shares his layout wiring tricks.

Finding Decoder Install Examples

The author reviews various resources (online) where you can find example DCC installations, focusing mostly on hard-wiring solutions, rather than plug-n-play ones.

First Look Column

Reviewed is the LogicRail Fusee PRO/M.

Going Beyond Simple Operations

This article covers what to do next once you have mastered simple operations on your layout. Includes information about his free software application for a fastclock. There is a chart for how to measure scale speed. Includes example paperwork.

Joe Fugate's Siskiyou Line 2 Progress Update

The author has torn down his layout and is building a new one using the "TOMA" approach. He also shares the lessons learned from the previous layout that he is addressing in the new one.

Joe Visinthine's East Bluff Terminal

This interview-style article covers how the owner got into the hobby, why he chose to model what he does, and the specifics about the layout. Includes photos and a track plan (available as an online bonus).

John Peluso's Frisco Eastern Division

This is an interview-style article about the owner and his 16'x30' double-deck layout. Includes many photos and track plans of the layout.

John Russell's Steam-era Rock Island

This interview-style article covers how this real-world railroader got into model railroading, why he models what he does, and how he built his layout. Includes photos and an online track plan.

Making Your Own Ballast

The author describes how he makes his own custom blend of ballast from fine sand. Includes information about what size prototype ballast is for a specific era, and how to color the ballast.

Mike Armstrong's Rock Island

An interview-style article where the layout owner covers everything about his layout. Includes many photos, and a track plan of this double-decked, 30' x 40' layout. There is a sidebar about what "negative space" means in a model railroad.

Mike Mackey's Texas & St. Louis

The author interviews the owner of this HO/HOn3. Includes many photos and a track plan of the 19' x 39', W-shaped layout.

MRH DCC Shortcuts Card

An explanation of the latest version of the magazine's DCC shortcuts document.

Pete Smith's Loon Lake Navigation & Railway Co.

An interview-style article about the owner of the layout, how he got into Sn3, and how he designed and built the layout. Includes many photos and a track plan.

Publisher's Musings

The author speculates on what he would do differently if he were starting a new layout.

Publisher's Musings

Joe is actually dismantling his Siskiyou Line layout.

Publisher's Musings

The author is considering not using any under-the-layout turnout throwing mechanisms for his new layout, but rather flicking the turnout by hand using an embedded spring. Power-routing will be done with frog juicers.

Publisher's Musings

The author has dismantled his large, basement-style layout, and is now taking the one-module-approach. He describes the differences between the two, and answers a few questions he has gotten about his new approach.

Publisher's Musings

How has this magazine (its 100th issue) fared on the advertiser-paid business model? A word about ad composition. They are introducing their Donate button, to help with the costs of the magazine. The embedded version will be no more, because it used Adobe Flash, and Adobe is getting ready to terminate that product.

Publisher's Musings

The magazine is looking for a new DCC columnist. Don't pay attention to the scale when reading articles in MRH.

Publisher's Musings

The DCC Impulses column is changing.

Publisher's Musings

The author shares his progress of dismantling his current layout.

Publisher's Musings

Layout design with the "shadowbox" look.

Publisher's Musings

The author describes his experience virtually attending and offering clinics at the NMRA 2021 virtual convention.

Publisher's Musings

The author discusses his TOMA approach to layout construction.

Publisher's Musings

The author suggests that we should operate our trains at a "selectively compressed" speed as well, to make the layout seem bigger.

Publisher's Musings

The author visited layous in the Dallas, Texas area for future TrainMasters TV episodes, and shares information about the 6 layouts they visited.

Publisher's Musings

The list of items that MRH offers for free or for a fee.

Publisher's Musings

The list of items that MRH offers for free or for a fee.

Publisher's Welcome

The magazine's guide to thinning acrylic paint needed to be changed, because Armor All Auto Glass Cleaner is now no longer compatible with acrylic paints, so the new thinner formula is offered in this article.

Publisher's Welcome

The author uses gun-cleaning cotton swabs to clean his track and equipment.

Publisher's Welcome

The author briefly mentions two relatively affordable spray booths.

Publisher's Welcome

Alternatives to the now obsolete Pledge furniture polish. It was used for applying decals, for making passenger window glass appear more shiny, and for glue window glass.

Publisher's Welcome

The author provides an update to his zip-texturing method, with regard to the dry pigments to use.

Publisher's Welcome

The author shares his experiment with painting handrails.

Publisher's Welcome

A look at inexpensive structure lighting options that still allow for individual LED control.

Remote Control with Reed Switches

Using a reed switch to magnetically turn on or off lights in cabooses, passenger cars, and structures.

Reverse Running

Studying modernday railroading for the upcoming TOMA project, the author admits to being drawn to switching to a modern era.

Reverse Running

It is better to have a smaller layout that runs well than a larger layout that runs poorly, is the theme of this article.

Rob Spangler's Western Pacific 8th Sub

Done in an interview style. The article includes a track plan, many photos, and the author's commentary sprinkle in as sidebars.

Siskiyou Line - 1 Retrospective

The author, having moved to a different state, reflects on his previous HO-scale, 1,100sqft layout. He covers his approach for dismantling this layout, over a period of many months, and how he stored everything in preparation for the move. Contains lots of photos of his now-former layout.

Sound Decoder Best Practices

Tips for getting better sound out of DCC sound decoders. His focus is on the feature-rich decoders from TCS (Train Control Systems), ESU, and SoundTraxx (Digitrax and MRC are too limited or dated).

The Ah-hah Moment

How to use fiber scratch brush pens.

The Ah-hah Moment

The author describes Nano Oil.

The Ah-hah Moment

Finding and resolving the issues related to destroyed DCC decoders.

The Ah-hah Moment

Blowing out dust from areas can be accomplished with canned air, but the author has bought a powered unit that does the same thing without having to keep buy the cans.

The Ah-hah Moment

Consider using the Harbor Freight hot knife for quick cutting and shaping of foam scenery.

The Ah-hah Moment

Superglue hacks.

The K10 Hobby Shop Layout

This interview-style article converses with the hobby shop owner, Ken Kroschwitz, and others involved in the project, about the history of the store and the layout. Includes photos and a track plan of this 60' x 81' layout.

The New Trainmasters TV Game Plan

The editor of the magazine explains how things have changed since the lockdowns.

What About Layout Crew Seniority?

The author considers using a seniority rule for regular operators on his layout.

Zip Ballasting

The author describes his latest methods for ballasting track. Includes many step-by-step photos and also covers weathering track.

Zip Texturing Weathering Powders

Using the zip texturing method to apply weathering powders to scenery, track, engines, rolling stock. river banks, and dirt areas.