Blog

When my husband passed in 2008 and I inherited his half-finished S scale layout, I had no idea what I was getting into. Sixteen years later, I'm still here, still building, and still convinced that S scale at 1:64 hits a sweet spot between the cramped details of HO and the space demands of O gauge. …

After building houses for four decades, I learned that foundations matter. A crooked foundation means a crooked house, no matter how fancy the trim work. The same principle applies to model railroading, and in N scale, your couplers are the foundation of every operation you'll ever run. I've conver …

After spending 40 years building houses, I've developed a pretty simple philosophy: buy quality tools from companies that stand behind their work, or you'll waste more time fixing problems than actually getting things done. That same logic applies to N scale model railroading. I've been running tra …

I spend my weekends wrestling with a garden railway in Golden, Colorado, where the altitude, UV exposure, and temperature swings actively conspire to destroy anything smaller than a breadbox. My background in wildlife biology taught me one thing that applies directly to model railroading: you have t …

I spent 28 years wrenching on CTA cars at the Skokie Shops, so when I tell you that understanding your rolling stock matters, I'm not just blowing smoke. Whether you're moving passengers on the L or coal on a model railroad, the fundamentals stay the same: know your equipment, respect the standards, …

I bought my first N scale locomotive in 1989, and I chose poorly. The thing stuttered at slow speeds, stalled on every turnout, and eventually developed that dreaded "clicking" noise that signals a cracked gear. Three months of frustration later, it sat in a box while I questioned whether this hobby …