Simple, affordable, straightforward the track plans in Basic Model Railroad Track Plans Vol. 2 have one thing in common they're eminently buildable. Perfect for small spaces and beginner layouts, this mix of HO and N scale track plans emphasizes simplicity, flexibility and interesting operation.

FasTrack is the leading track choice for Lionel train operators, and its track plans are in high demand. Featuring 25 mostly small and mid-sized plans designed specifically for FasTrack, this collection is gathered from the pages of Classic Toy Trains magazine and also includes several new plans, a brief overview of FasTrack, and track-planning tips.

Modern Freight Cars, a new book by Jeff Wilson, provides an overview of freight cars from the 1960s through today. This is an essential guide for model railroaders who model the 1960s through today, as well as railfans and freight train enthusiasts. The book features more than 200 photos and covers various types of cars, including boxcars, hoppers, and gondolas, and how they evolved, as well as new car types, including intermodal cars and 89-foot auto tracks. The book also gives a deeper look into how different industries use freight cars, when cars entered service, and the dates when rules and restrictions took place. Other topics include: Freight car evolution (size and weight increases; new car types) Car components (brake systems, trucks, and couplers) Hi-cube and specialty boxcars Intermodal cars (flat, spine, and well cars) Open and enclosed auto racks Mechanical and cryogenic refrigerator cars Center-beam flatcars And much more!

The technology for 3D printing has been around for many years but now has a rapidly expanding market among hobbyists and home users. 3D printing machines are now affordable for individuals or modelling societies and offer the opportunity to design and build bespoke parts of a model, or even create an entire carriage, wagon body or station building, through an automated process rather than construct them through traditional methods and materials or buy them off the shelf from a manufacturer. The authors take readers through the principles of 3D printing; the benefits to the railway modeller; the do's and don'ts of building structures in the materials available; an overview of the various CAD packages on offer and a simple entry-level tutorial; how to check your 3D printable file to ensure it contains no manifold errors and how to fix these prior to printing; troubleshooting; finishing your 3D printed component. A separate chapter introduces laser cutting for the modeller and includes a section on brass etching. The book contains how-to summaries for each section and is well illustrated with step by step techniques where appropriate, the various stages of 3D printing, the types of CAD packages and printers available to the modeller, and examples of models and components produced by 3D printing.

Planning, designing and laying the track for a model railway layout can be challenging, especially if you have never done it before. This book provides a step-by-step guide to the techniques required and methods used in track design and layout. With content suitable for those who are new to the hobby through to the more experienced modeller, and some 200 images, it includes: an overview of the various forces that act on prototype railways and which determine the design of trackwork. The planning and designing of layouts, including the pros and cons of different domestic locations are covered along with baseboard construction for both portable and permanent layouts. There is a review of the track systems available and how to lay tracks, the tools and skills required, and problem solving. Wiring up both analogue (DC) and digital layouts (DCC), with diagrams are given and scales and gauges are discussed. Finally, there are hints and tips on ballasting and weathering track.

It is hard to imagine a model railway layout without a signal box somewhere along the line. They were, after all, the most numerous of the steam-era buildings, and some were almost as old as the railways themselves, dating back to the mid-1800s. With the increased availability of signal box kits and ready-to-site versions, this book provides an invaluable and timely guide to just which box is right for your layout. More than twenty model signal boxes are featured in actual layout locations in the book along with forty kits and projects from Alphagraphix and Bilteezi to the latest in downloads and laser-cut kits, specially constructed with detailed and illustrated step-by-step instructions. Tips, hints and useful advice on tools and adhesives is offered along with how to scratch-build your own signal boxes using different methods and materials.

Any modeler interested in starting a DCC layout, converting an existing layout to DCC, or wanting more in-depth information to get the most from their system needs The DCC Guide, 2nd Edition.

This updated edition includes cutting-edge information on new control systems and upgrades as well as recent technological advances, especially in sound decoder products and features.

From the basics of how DCC works, choosing a DCC system, and installing a DCC decoder in locomotives to more advanced features such as decoder programming and how to control trains with computers, tablets, and other devices, The DCC Guide, 2nd Edition is the modeler's all-inclusive guide to controlling trains.

The 00 gauge train set was the ultimate `boy's toy' of the 1950s and '60s. Electric 00 gauge trains were introduced by Trix and Hornby Dublo in the mid-1930s, but the Second World War quickly halted production. However, they burst back onto the post-war scene with great success, and 00 quickly became the dominant scale in Britain, and was taken up by other large manufacturers including Tri-ang. Whilst the components of the sets themselves were often basic, they could be transformed into astonishing landscapes in the hands of imaginative builders. The sheer number of box sets, locomotives, rolling stock, buildings and accessories gave everyone the ability to form a bespoke layout. This beautifully illustrated introduction to the heyday of clockwork and electric 00 gauge trains tells their story up until 1975, when finer detailing and changing trends led to them becoming enthusiasts' models rather than children's toys.

This book describes how to make two vertical and two horizontal copper boilers with a capacity of less than three-bar litres. All four boilers are heated with liquid petroleum gas (LPG) contained in small refillable or disposable tanks. With over 285 colour photographs and diagrams, it includes the tools and equipment required, together with important safety considerations; how to work the various materials to make the necessary parts; step-by-step instructions on the technique of silver solder; the testing regime; a review of various sizes and shapes of gas burners and how to connect them; instructions for building replacements for the well-known Verto boiler, a vertical boat boiler, a portable-engine boiler and a Cornish boiler with Galloway tubes. Finally, there is guidance on the efficient operation and essential maintenance of steam boilers and safety calculations and a list of useful contacts.

N gauge is the most rapidly expanding of all the model railway formats and if you want to take advantage of its huge potential, then this is the book for you. The author explains exactly what N gauge is, its history, its advantages and some of its possible disadvantages. He begins with a train set and progresses through choosing a prototype and designing a layout, to a practical demonstration of how to build a baseboard, to designs for open-topped baseboards and fiddle yards.

In railway modelling, getting the technical components correct is essential for a realistic-looking layout but, unfortunately, these often present the biggest challenges for the hobbyist. Using his own experience as a railway modeller and electronics engineer, Andrew Duckworth provides a guide suitable for all railway modellers, from beginners to the more experienced. With instructions on how and where to use specialist electronic circuits to enhance your layout, this book will help you to achieve a reasonably sophisticated layout. It provides: an overview of the geometry required for building successful model railways; clear explanations of electronics and electrical components; comparisons of direct control and digital command control (DCC); step-by-step instructions for wiring the track, signals, buildings and lighting; reviews of electrical systems, power supplies, wires and cable, control panels and switches and finally, it covers detection, testing and troubleshooting tips.

Steam locomotives dominated the landscapes across the world from the 1820's through the 1960's. Out of this came a new hobby, building and running miniature steam locomotives. These miniature steam locomotives operated under the same principles as their full size brethren as well make the same noises and smells. The steam locomotives are alive and "talks" to the engineer as the engine runs down the track through the sound of the exhaust/chuffing, look/sound of the fire and how the engine "feels". Unfortunately since we are so far removed from when steam locomotives ran, the knowledge of the how and why things were done can be hard to find. Through personal experience, trial and error, finding old steam locomotive books and talking with those who work with steam locomotives I have complied a lot of the hows and whys and have related them to the miniature steam locomotive as well as explaining the basics of how a steam locomotive works. When someone (child or adult) is asked to make the noise of a train, they will typically mimic the chuffing noise of a steam locomotive. This is a unique hobby where people can learn new skills (machining, welding, fabricating, building and running a steam locomotive, making track, making cars, etc.) outside of their every day life/job. People in the hobby come from a large variety of background ranging from auto mechanics, teachers, pharmaceutical reps, doctors, construction workers, lawyers, clergymen to railroaders. What I have written can be used by those who are interested in learning about steam locomotives and the hobby to those who are in the hobby and are wanting to learn more and continue to critique their locomotives.