My series of model train videos includes tours of several private layouts… not normally open to the public. You’ll alsoget to visit some model train shows including one in Brisbane, Australia and one in Wanganui, New Zealand. You’re sure to get some ideasyou might not have seen before.

The videos of the New Zealand train show have proved very popular with many enthusiasts, including Matt from the USA. Here is what Matt had tosay in a recent email:

“I’m up to week 12 in your videos and am enjoying them. I’ve watched the 3 videos of the Wanganui train show about four times. They’re wonderful to watch.”Matt G, USA

This train show videos includes a Street Tram, a Z scale layout with buildings constructed from cereal packs, an N scale European layout, a quick look at some G scale trains and a busy HO layout with diesel and steam engines plus a operating gondola and more.

Continue your Train Show Tour with a close look at two amazing HO layouts. The first is the Rocky River Railroad with double-headed locos hauling coal, tankers and other freight through tunnels and climbing steep grades. This is rough terrain and spectacular to watch. By contrast the next layout is a busy European Railway packed with fascinating with scenery ideas and a wonderful mix of freight and passenger trains.

The scratch-built coal loading facility is one of the first things you’ll spot when you see the Bay Railway Modelers ‘Ironbridge Flats Railroad’ HO layout in operation. Watch an Amtrak passenger train power through a railroad crossing and disappear into a tunnel as a couple of Santa Fe locos haul freight through an industrial area.

Then there’s the UK Southern Railway layout to get even more ideas from. You’ll see a mix of steam and diesel locomotives operating and spot some excellent examples of brickwork, a water tower, character buildings including a church, railway station platform and cleverly designed countryside.The street scenes will certainly get the creative juices flowing.

If you haven’t already got the videos, then here’s where you can get them
http://www.model-train-help.com/member-only-videos.html

Enjoy!

If you are looking to buy a new locomotive for your layout there are some things you need to look out for.

Access 42 model railroad videos with detailed scenery and layouts. Watch step-by-step model railroad tutorials, quick model railroad tips and solutions to problems. Get lots of inspirational model railroading ideas. Here is what others have to say about the model railroad videos:

“I just wanted to say thank-you for the videos you send me each week. They have really come in handy over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been building my layout for almost a year and a half (I wish I had these videos and your book sooner!!). Thanks again, I’m going to recommend your videos to lots of people!”
Bill T.

“…your video lessons are excellent! They are just what I have been searching for, for a long time now – really good!”
Marty H

“I’m up to week 12 in your videos and am enjoying them. I’ve watched the 3 video of the Wanganui train show about four times. They’re wonderful to watch.”
Matt G

http://www.model-train-help.com/member-only-videos.html

Those new to the hobby (and some of us oldies) can get easily confused with the many railroad terms used. The use of a lower case letter and a number when referring to model railroad scales is type of thing that creates confusion.

An example is the model railroad term HOn3.

In the case of HOn3 it describes the modeling scale and also the track gauge used for a particular model pike. The “n” refers to narrow gauge and in the case of HOn3 the 3 represents three feet. (Standard gauge track has rails 4’8-1/2″ apart.)

Other variations include Gn3, On3, HOn2-1/2, and Nn3.

Regardless of whether you refer by the term Railroad Stations or Railway Stations they are still basically a place where trains load or unload passengers and/or goods.

In past years railroad stations handled a mix of passenger traffic and goods traffic, but these days they mainly serve passenger traffic. Goods on the railroads are now transported in containers which are handled at special container depots.

If you are planning on adding a railroad station to your model layout you could consider buying a ready built model, or buying a kitset model, or scratching building the railroad station yourself.
Some railroad stations, particularly in the United Kingdom, have NO station building or shelter on the platform. However, in most instances a railroad station has both a platform to allow the passengers to get on and off the trains safely, and a station building(s) or passenger shelter.

If you are adding a train station to your model railroad layout you could consider adding some of these common features:

• A Platform or Platforms
• A Ticket Office
• Waiting Rooms
• A Restaurant
• Restrooms (toilet block)
• A Station Footbridge
• Platform Lights
• Benches
• A Telephone Box
• Advertising Signs
• Platform Fencing
• Platform Steps
• Loading Bay Platforms
• A Signal Box

To add interest and realism you might also want to include:

• Sitting and standing People
• Station Directional Signs
• Passengers Luggage
• Trolleys etc.

More ideas on building train stations.

Many people get started with HO scale, but what you choose is over to you. If space is an issue, then N scale trains might be a better option than HO scale trains. N scale takes up less room than HO scale. As a comparison, you can fit as much detail into an N scale model train layout using a door as your platform, as you can on a 4 by 8 sheet of plywood with HO scale.

Model railroading has become a life-long hobby for tens of thousands of enthusiasts worldwide. Although many outside the hobby fail to understand the attraction, most people involved in with model railroading find it to be an absorbing and extremely satisfying pastime.

The reasons are many and varied. For those not already involved with the hobby here is a quick summary of what you might expect to gain from this wonderful hobby.

Along the way you’ll acquire valuable skills in carpentry, electrical wiring, problem solving and design.

You’ll discover creative opportunities that will bring to the fore your hidden talents when building scenery.

You’ll develop a hands-on knowledge of geography when making landscapes.

You’ll step back in time and learn how things operated in bygone days.

You’ll gain some engineering savvy when designing your benchwork so it won’t collapse, or examine how a level crossing operates, or a bridge is built.

You’ll enjoy the fun of creating realistic miniature replicas of life that can be enjoyed not only by yourself, but also by friends, family members, children and grandchildren to come.

To learn more about the hobby of model railroading simply visit http://www.model-train-help.com for lots of helpful tips, clever ideas as well as useful website links about model railroading.

Here is a short article about the history of Lionel Trains written by David Faulkner.

In post-Civil War America, trains were the only way to travel. The only other method commonly available was a horse and trap and that was most definitely not the way to travel in comfort. Joshua Lionel Cowen was amazed by the trains and their ability to transport people around the United States. He was fascinated by the technology and mechanisms associated with the locomotive and could not wait to pass his knowledge onto his children and other children at the same time. Old Lionel model trains were born as a result.

It has been over a hundred years since Cowen unveiled his vision and began producing toy trains and model railroad paraphernalia for people to buy. He meant them as educational tools as well as a forum for fathers to bond with their sons. He was based in NewYork at the time and managed to hire a few gifted craftsmen to help to create replicas of the locomotives that wound their way all over the United States. They believed that they were all investing in a limited business that would remain within the city. They never dreamed that the company’s popularity would span as far as it has, let alone the fact that children and adults alike would be clamouring to buy Old Lionel model trains now!

Every child from the turn of last century had a train. It was a standard to own one in the early 1900s because children actually had very few toys. Those they did have were precious. As a result, old Lionel model trains are now widely available in antique stores and old children’s toys stores all over the country, but they are also very valuable and you can end up spending over the odds for them. The reason that they are so popular is because they were highly detailed and proved to be of high quality over the years. Not only did old Lionel model trains stand the test of time, but also they can actually tell us a lot about the trains and the toys of the era.

Most train collectors, including those that have model railroads today will be happy to tell you the value of an old Lionel model train because they are usually very knowledgeable about them. They are actually pretty similar to gold dust where they are concerned. You can find old Lionel model trains on the Internet for extortionate prices these days but, not surprisingly, collectors are willing to pay well over the odds for them. You could also trawl around garage sales because there are usually one or two there, sold by people who have no idea of their value. That is the best way to pick up old Lionel model trains bargains!

You can also find more info on http://www.modelrailroadshelp.com a comprehensive resource to know more about model rail roads.