Model Railroader 2008 08

During a recent expansion, Jim Gideon's HO railroad grew into a 25 x 43-foot empire. A 32-foot-long peninsula, 50" high, runs lengthwise through the middle of the room, and its supports include three steel columns. Jim used a trio of tall industries to divide the peninsula into two separate scenes. A sprawling steel mill and its accompanying industrial area occupy one side of the peninsula. The opposite side is home to a large grain elevator, a Hour mill, and a paper mill that screen the steel plant from view. Hiding the three columns was a major concern as Jim began kitbashing the various industries. In each case, the tall industrial structures conceal the posts until they're well above eye level. Jim painted the upper ends of the posts with the same sky color he used on the backdrop, so the posts tend to blend in under the normally bright layout room lighting. The largest industry is a paper mill kitbashed from a Walthers Tri State Power Authority kit. Jim assembled the 15" tall main building to fit around the first column and used the balance of the 40" x 40" plant to fill the end loop of the peninsula. This mill includes parts from several Walthers paper mill and tire plant kits supplemented with plenty of Evergreen and Plastruct structural materials and small detail kits.

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Model Railroader 2008 09

The Maine Central RR (MEC), like most New England railroads in the late 1940s, was primarily a boxcar railroad. That means the vast majority of the MEC's traffic, including its paper business, moved in 40-foot boxcars. As the photo shows, many of the war-weary older freight cars remained in regular service while their replacements were under construction. In 1947, the Maine Central's car roster in the Official Railway Equipment Register lists 4,619 cars, including 3,584 boxcars, which made up 77 percent of its fleet. The rest of the MEC's roster included 418 gondolas, 250 hoppers, 172 stock cars, 30 covered hoppers (for cement), 25 flatcars, and a handful of other types. Note that some cars were modified for special jobs like hauling pulpwood and wood chips. To represent a typical cross-section of this MEC car fleet, about half of the models should be 40-foot boxcars. Judging from the capacities listed in the car register, most of these were older single-sheathed composite boxcars (with visible steel side bracing), as only a few of the new all-steel boxcars had been delivered. You'll also need some flatcars and gondolas fitted with end racks to haul pulpwood; twin hoppers for coal, sand, and gravel; and one or more two-bay covered hoppers for cement.

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Model Railroader 2008 12

At one time, the meat industry played a major role in railroading. The trackside slaughterhouse was a busy, interesting place surrounded by a fascinating array of stock pens, loading ramps and gates. Meat would arrive on the hoof in dingy stockcars and depart on the hook in bright reefers. Most of these industries were very large, but we feel that the small single or double pen facilities that were usually located in rural areas and small towns make the most interesting and best models. Just about every small town in the U.S. had some kind of meat processing industry. Our latest HO kit is called "Butcher's Way". Livestock is processed at the slaughterhouse and is then picked up or delivered to meat packers and local butcher shops. The company also runs their own adjoining packing house, butcher shop and small luncheonette specializing in steaks, hot dogs and hamburgers and is run by "Ma Magdalina". Kit includes eight beef cattle. Figures and vehicles are not included. Only 700 kits will be made, so order from us now.

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Railroad Model Craftsman 2008 08

Mention two-foot gauge to most readers and they immediately think of Maine and the legendary Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes or the Wiscasset, Wa-terville & Farmington, but there were a few railroads out west that chose 24-inch as even more economical than the three foot width most railfans associate with western narrow gauge lines. Colorado's two-foot Gilpin Tram has been described by a number of writers and modelers and now the Silver City, Pinos Altos & Mogollon will enjoy better notoriety thanks to Duane Ericson. Author Ericson grew up in Southern Arizona where he spent many weekends with his parents exploring the ghost towns and abandoned mines scattered throughout the desert, relics of America's early mining history. He now resides in Silver City where he has spent the last several years carefully gleaning material from local libraries, area mining historians and the remains of the railway itself to compose this authoritative account of the Silver City, Pinos Altos & Mogollon Railroad. Ericson devotes his opening chapter to an overview of the region, describing the early Spanish discoveries of copper deposits that were significant enough to warrant the long haul into Mexico where the ores could be refined. Once the threat of Apache attacks eased, miners exploited the area with better equipment and better transportation when they became available after the opening of the Silver City, Deming & Pacific Railroad in 1883.

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