The Rip Track

Modeling ideas and inspirations can come from worldwide prototypes. For example, in this photo of Japan Railway's Senzan Line, notice the heights of the foreground foliage and how the colors and heights all even out as they recede into the background. Also notice that even though the track is at the bottom of a cut in the terrain, it's still raised slightly forming drainage troughs along each side of the roadbed.

Remember how your math teacher always told you to "show your work"? Well, the same thing applies for NMRA merit judging. Show off the mold that you made to create copies for your contest model; you're more likely to get extra points by showing your work. This model (and the mold for its truck sideframes) was at the national convention in Seattle.

When you install a turntable on your outdoor layout, don't forget to provide for drainage. This G scale turntable's drain is covered with a small section of screen to prevent clogs.

Railroads had signs for just about everything. Seen here in this private collection are signs that indicate locations where an engineer needs to blow the horn, vehicle traffic warning signs, a hazardous materials placard, and a few safety awareness signs.

It was 137 years ago today that a telegraph operator clicked his key in time with a spike hammer to signal the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States. The famed Golden Spike was driven on May 10, 1869, at Promontory, Utah, after which, Andrew J. Russell took this well known photo.

When ties have reached the end of their usefulness, they are often marked with brightly colored paint. Using a bright orange or yellow marking, the maintenance of way crew can easily spot which ties to replace. This section of track, with three ties to be replaced, is along the Mississippi River in Wisconsin.

It's a busy day on the Soo Line as 2-6-0 number 123 takes a local past some small industries loading their wares onto another car. This scene is on the HO scale layout of a friend of mine here in Madison.

Here's an interesting open load that I found heading westbound at Rochelle in 2005. Each of the coils is held in place by a strap that wraps around the top of each coil. Now if only the load was considered part of the car for NMRA Achievement Program judging...

There is a plethora of different model building scales out there, and if you like scratchbuilding, you're not limited to those that have kits available. Here's a quick roundup of the most popular scales in model railroading and how they compare to other model building hobbies.

Use those undetailed cheap plastic automobiles as loads for your covered autoracks. The rack's perforated side panels will prevent the viewer from seeing any details on the cars within it, so all you really need on the load is the general shape and color. This autorack is an HO scale model.