Category: Blog
Mobile Devices, New Article In Model Retailer Magazine
What’s the newest, old chestnut in model railroading? Sort of a vague question, but I’d suggest it’s the idea that younger people aren’t currently involved, or getting involved anytime soon, in model railroading. The biggest reason given for this seems to be the draw of mobile devices like our smartphones and the siren song of […]
A Visit With The PRR GG1 Locomotive
Several years ago I had the chance to visit the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, home to a pair of Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) Class GG1 electric locomotives. These GG1s were No. 4800 and No. 4935, nicknamed Old Rivets and Black Jack, respectively. Ryan C. Kunkle, Supervisor of Visitor Services at the Railroad Museum […]
A Planet Locomotive In Brooklyn, New York
I think the aspect of model railroading that appeals most to me is trying to recreate the history and archeological feel of the real thing. I find abandoned railroad tracks, trains and buildings fascinating, even long disused earthworks can tell a story. Compared to other countries, here in the US our historical and archeological timeline […]
Model Railroading Work Lights
I had written previously about buying a softbox lighting setup for taking our train and product photos, here’s that article. I’ve had this same setup now for a couple of years and for a very inexpensive rig, I’ve been surprised at how well it’s held up. This 3-piece set included 3 softboxes measuring 24” x […]
Modeling Safety Tip
I find model railroaders; most modelers in general really, are pretty big on safety. In my (occasionally) cavalier mindset, sometimes to a fault. Yes, don’t inhale toxic paint or glue fumes, don’t light fires around open chemicals, don’t sprinkle rail spikes on your morning cereal… got it. Kidding aside, I really am very careful around […]
Drawing For $25.00 Gift Certificate | Showcase Miniatures
We have our drawing winner… Congratulations to Gerd Kurz of Australia on winning this $25.00 Showcase Miniatures gift certificate! We just ran all our Showcase Miniatures drawing entries through a random number generator, each entry was given a sequential number as it arrived to us. I’ve been a big fan of Showcase Miniatures for sometime […]
Where Did The Summer Go?
With just a few days left until the unofficial, official end of summer, I’m now taking stock of what I did with my summer vacation. It’s a carryover notion, my summer vacation, from childhood, but I like it. First off, I’d say that I’m just a bit cheesed off that we never had a proper […]
It’s Finally Summer!
Summer seems to be the de facto time for model railroaders to find other things to do with their free time, mainly getting out in the sunshine and fresh air. Here in the Northeast, we had a particularly cold winter and a chilly spring but it looks like summer may finally be here. The temperature […]
Craftsman Manufacturers
It’s sometimes easy to forget just how good we have it in model railroading today, from the quality and detail of the trains themselves to all the accessories that breathe life in to our model rail scenes. After all, with no accessories, we’re all just playing with trains on plywood. I was again reminded of […]
Micro Layouts In Model Railroading
I had the idea of talking about micro layouts in this post. I find it interesting that these small model train layouts can be so polarizing; you either love them or think they’re what’s wrong with model railroading. I have to admit, maybe naively, but I’ve never understood this divide in the model rail community. […]
