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Scenery - Trackside Articles

1908 Handcar

One photo and scaled drawings accompany the brief description of a handcar.

A Simple Roundhouse Detail

Discusses how the author built a turntable track that stores freight car wheel sets. There is a lot of detail in this little project.

A Trio of S Scale Baggage Cart Kits

The author reviews three different manufacturer's S-scale baggage cart kits.

Adding Overhead Wire to Our Traction Layout

Provides a lot of detail about how to do overhead traction wiring, including the nomenclature. Includes prototype, detail, and model photos.

Along the Line

Rio Grande Southern's "Galloping Goose" motor car no. 4, as modeled by Joe Brooke.

Baggage Wagons

The article has photos and diagrams for a steel-wheeled baggage wagon, two-wheeler with ramp, two-wheeler with rollers, and a "modern" baggage wagon. Includes prototype photos and a description of how to build them.

Build a Steam Shovel

Using parts for military tank kits in other scales, the author describes how he make an HO- and an O-scale model of the steam shovels. Includes lots of model photos and drawings.

Build a Train Order Delivery Stand

The author describes how he built the train order delivery stand out of brass material. Includes a model and a prototype photo, detail drawings, and a parts list.

Building a Repurposed Boxcar

Taking a leftover box car bodies, the author builds a B&M Carman's yard shanty, and a Central Vermont Ry line side tool house. Includes prototype and model photos.

Building Better Abutments

Using a plywood mold, build 1920s-looking bridge abutments from plaster. Includes how to build the abutment wings and piers using plaster also.

Building Pennsy Stone Walls - With Lego Bricks

The author describes how he uses Lego bricks to build a long Pennsy stone block style retaining wall. The bricks are covered with joint compound to hide their smooth sides.

Building Semaphores in 14 Easy Steps

14 steps to building a working semaphore. Detailed photos accompany the text. Instructions support both upper quadrant and lower quadrant type of semaphores.

By The Tracks

Building a small scene that might be used as a play area for city kids.

Canadian Pacific Railway Stand Plan Bridge Warning

Scale drawings of CPR telltales circa 1919.

Cattle Crossing Guards

The author describes the purpose of these devices, how they are designed, and how to model them.

Dean Odiorne's Ground Throw / High-level Switchstand

Build your own ground-throw, high-level switchstand. Includes construction photos and a diagram.

Detailing With Markers

Using magic markers can make some scenery and structure painting jobs easier and quicker.

Diesel Locomotive Servicing

This article has many prototype photos and a full design diagram of what can be found at a diesel servicing facility.

Dress Up Those Naked Power Poles

The author describes how he uses nylon thread to model power wires, and solder to mimic phone lines. Includes details on how model the various pole details.

Easy Trackside Details

The author shows how to build rail racks, rail fences, and how to model used ties.

Erie RR Telltales

A brief article with prototype and scale drawings of these telltales.

Fast and Fun Foam Mounds

Model the mounds of coal or ballast using pieces of foam insulation.

Fences on the Rutland

How to model metal wire "sheep" fences and barbed wire fences.

Flanger Signs

The author explains the purpose of a flanger sign (to announce track impediments for snowplow crews), describes what they look like, and how to model them.

George's Old Railroad Ties

This brief article describes how George Selios models old ties that are thrown or stacked along side the right-of-way.

Glass Telegraph Insulators

Information about prototype insulators.

Layout Billboards

Three colored examples that could be used to make billboards.

Line Phone Box

The article shows how to build one of these pole-mounted phone boxes using cardboard.

Low Cost Rock Walls

Using grocery store meat or produce trays to model track-side retaining walls.

Manual Crossing Gates

Prototype photos and scale drawings accompany this article on the manually-operated crossing gates, some of which still exist.

Modeling Junk

Various ideas and several photos on how to model junk.

Modeling PRR Mileposts

Has lots of example mile posts, most made out of cast iron. Includes scale diagrams.

Modeling PRR Telegraph & Signal Department Relay Cases and Battery Boxes in HO Scale Part 1

The series starts off by covering battery boxes, which housed the batteries to power nearby signals, crossing gates, flashers, and other electrical devices. Includes many model and prototype photos, scaled drawings, and instructions for how to model them in HO-scale.

Modeling the Prairie

The author describes how he builds North America's Gree Plains scenery from ground cover, to sand, to sparse grasses, high grasses, and bushes, weeds, and flowers.

Modeling Tight Lock Fence Wire

This article describes how the author builds HO-scale tight lock fences. Includes prototype photos and photos of the construction of the fence (including a jig).

Modeling Track Scale

After a very detailed description of how weighing a freight car works, the author describes how he built his model. Includes a prototype photo and several model photos, and scaled drawings.

More What's On Your Workbench?

Building a pedestrian walkway.

New Haven Rail Fences

This article shows how to model track fences made from old rail, as still found along the Amtrak Northeast Corridor. These were used to keep people from accidentally wandering onto the high-speed track.

Operational Large-scale Switch Stands

The author scratchbuilt a number of large-scale-like switch stands to actually control the turnouts on his layout. They operate like the real thing. The author cautions that these only work on hing-type turnouts, and not on continuous-rail turnouts. Includes many construction diagrams, including jigs.

Period Crossing Signal

Building a freelanced crossing signal intended for a turn-of-the-century layout.

Quick, Easy, and Inexpensive Switch Stands

The author describes how he scratchbuilds his turnout stands. Various types are described.

Realistic N Scale Pole Lines

Using Atlas telephone poles as the basis for a six-arm telegraph pole.

Relay Box

The author describes the purpose of relay boxes, and describes how to make your own. A collection of scaled drawings are included.

Rock-fill Crib Walls

The author describes how to model crib walls as an alternative to sheer rock faces or brick retaining walls.

S Gauge One Evening Project

Drawing of how to build a track-side coal elevator.

Scratchbuild a Water Tank

The author describes how he built a water tank from styrene. Includes construction photos, a scale diagram, and a parts list.

Scratchbuilding Tunnel Portals

The author describes how he built a tunnel portal out of air-drying clay.

Short & Easy

Scratchbuilding a hoist and jib crane. Includes drawings.

Short 'n' Easy

Scratchbuilding pallets, and a pallet jack. Includes drawings.

Short 'n' Easy

The author describes how he scratchbuilt a capstan-style car puller, used for moving cars on a siding without the use of motive power. Includes drawings.

Short and Easy

How to build a handcar. Includes a photo of the completed model, and drawings.

Signs of Life

Photos of completed junk pile, pump-house, and abandoned site.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There's Signs

The author encourages all the add billboards to your layouts. He provides typical prototype dimensions. He then provides examples of how to make them. Includes prototype and model photos.

Slow-action Crossing Gates Part 1

This installment covers the design and construction of the modern-day highway crossing gate. Detailed parts drawing, construction photos, and wiring diagrams are included.

Stringing Telephone Wires

The describes how he added telephone wire to his modular diorama using "invisible thread". The article also covers his method for construction the poles and a handy tool for unrolling the thread spool.

Talus Rock for Scenery Detailing

The author describes how he built a small quarry to produce realistic talus.

Telegraph Poles - One Last Time

This article delves deeply into the design and construction of telegraph poles and how to make detailed scale models.

Tell-tales

How to build tell-tales for single- and double-track. Includes prototype track diagrams.

Temporary Scenery

The author describes the tricks he uses to quickly make his modules be show worthy, despite the fact that much work still needs to be done on them.

The Belknap Monument

This model was inspired by the discovery of a cannon beside the Boston & Maine Hillsboro branch.

The Charisma of Trivia

Adding lots of left-over parts, fully painted and weathered, to the layout adds to the clutter that makes a scene more believable. The author describes how he uses paintbrush bristles for weeds.

The Joy of Kitbashing

The author shares a few kitbashed examples from other scales that he made into S-scale models.

The Scenery Clinic Part III

The author describes approaches to modeling ground that is far more common in the real world. The focus is the area under a trestle bridge. Includes are a good number of progress photos.

The Scenery Clinic Pt. VI

In this installment Paul covers how to ballast track. Included is a sidebar on how to model service roads.

The Scenery Clinic Pt. XIV

Using paver sand for ground cover and track ballast.

Through the Portals and Into the Darkness

Modeling the interior of tunnels.

Weathering Your Yards

Railroad yards are not pretty nor clean, so this article describes some things you can do to mimic the real world.

Wood Highway Crossings

The author followed the prototype information found in the "AT&SF Systems Standards" books for modeling a highway crossing. He used Northeastern stripwood. The articles covers installing wood crossings in curved track and in turnouts. In addition to staining and weathering information, the article also has HO-scale crossing signs. There is a diagram that lays out the locations of the various signs both for the road and the track.