Peter's Model Railroading | My Library | Magazine Authors
Magazine Articles By Robert Nicholson

2015 S Fest St. Louis, MO

Photos of some well-known S-scale people, products for sale, and the local layout.

A Glimpse of the "S" Roster of Iowan Bob Nicholson

Photos, and a brief description with each, of the models found on the author's layout.

A Railroader's Christmas

Christmas Eve 1965, and railroad call boys.

A Track Plan for the Keokuk Junction Ry.

The author presents his track plan for modeling the Keokuk Junction in a 14' x 22' space in S-scale.

Bashing Atlas HO Switches to S

A couple of photos of how the author cuts award a commercial turnout and adjusts the gauge to fit S-scale.

Closing the Gap: Modifying Coupler Mounts

The author shows how to modify the mounting plate for an FP-7 to allow for closing coupling. Also shown are how to make similar adjustments to passenger cars. Automatic uncoupling is still possible after the adjustments.

Convert Atlas HO Scale Customline Switches to S

The author describes his process of taking Atlas HO-scale commercial turnouts and converting them to work in S-scale.

EMD's SW-1 Switch Engine

After a brief prototype description of this engine, the author goes into the kit construction manufactured by Locomotive Workshop. Includes model and construction photos, and several scaled drawings of the model.

Illinois Central's Iowa Division Type "C" Depots

Type C depots were for communities that no longer had an assigned railroad agent. They were only slightly bigger than a shed. Includes several prototype photos and drawings.

Improving Kit Built Switches

This article covers how to correct some issues with the Old Pullman, Inc. turnouts, especially if reuse between layouts is desired.

Keokuk Junction Ry

The 38-mile-long Keokuk Junction Ry. is a short line connecting Keokuk, Iowa, with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe at La Harpe, Illinois. The author describes the history of the line and where it stands at the time of this article. Included are lots of prototype photos and an equipment roster.

Meet an S Gauger

Bob introduces himself as a real railroader, model press author, and owner of the well-known (fictitious) SHABBONA railroad.

Minor Adjustments: Fixing the American Models Passenger Trucks

The early-production streamlined passenger car trucks from AM showed a tendency to fall apart. This article describes how to fix that.

More on Re-gauging Atlas HO Switches

The author does a follow-up article to his 1994 article, answering questions, and showing more detailed photos.

Proto-View

Photos and a description of the grain elevators of Linn County Co-op in Alburnett, IA.

Replacing Coupler Springs

The author describes how he replaces the springs in Kadee and Walthers Protomax couplers, with replacement springs from Kadee, and tricks on how to safely install them without flying off somewhere.

Shabbona Railroad Gets A Turntable

Drawing on his experience dealing with real-world turntables, the author modifies his HO-scale Heljan turntable kit to operate smoothly on his S-scale layout. Includes many close-up photos of the work done to the table.

Tales From The Rails

"Willie's New Boots". A story about Willie having bought boots too small, but too proud to admit it to his co-workers.

Tales from the Rails

A story about the M.O.W. ballast train of which the author was the conductor.

Tales from the Rails

The author tells the story of the Great Blizzard of 1978.

Tales from the Rails

Stories about Harry Roland, a locomotive engineer for the AT&SF.

The Lowell & Southern Railroad

The idea and trackplan for the S-scale layout is based on a slightly-modified version of the real 5-mile shortline near Lowell, Illinois. Using a GE 44-tonner as the locomotive, the author describes operation, and the types of equipment that could be used on such a layout.

The New Man

The author describes his first day on the job at the Santa Fe Railroad in Illinois.