Model Railroader

The world’s most popular model railroading magazine publishes the information you need to build your own railroad. Get Model Railroader digital magazine subscription today for step-by-step how-to projects; great model train layouts; and realistic track plans. You'll also get reviews of the latest locomotives, rolling stock, and accessories in HO, N, O, and other scales, expert tips, and more!

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Model Railroader

Hattons, Model Train Stuff names to live on

Athearn HO scale GE AC4400CW

PIKO America HO Krauss-Maffei ML-4000

Aurora Miniatures HO scale gondola

Diversifying a freight fleet

Make a timetable for your model railroad

Animating a steel water tower

Digging into the Big Apple • Adding subway operations to an HO scale layout

5 ways to clean track • From off-the-shelf to homemade solutions, how to keep your rails in tip-top shape

Bridge to the Pacific Northwest • The HO scale Canada, Spokane & Pacific joins Burlington Northern and Canadian Pacific in 1981

Dispatching with a CTC machine

TURNING ENGINES on a stub-end staging yard • A flip-up turntable sector plate makes a finicky task easier

CALIFORNIA logging lines in JAPAN • This 20 x 23-foot HO scale layout features standard and narrow gauge operations

Scratchbuilding demystified • How to construct a modular yard office

Compact turnout control panels • Push buttons and light-emitting diodes take the guesswork out of routing trains

MODEL RAILROADER HALL OF FAME NOMINEES • Manufacturers’ innovations shaped what the hobby would become

493’s Extra

Trackside Photos

By the YardⓇ

Coming up

Ultimate realism