The Complete HO Scale Decoder Installation Guide From a Railroad Veteran
Posted by Gerald Hoffmann on 30th Dec 2025
I spent 35 years working for Burlington Northern Santa Fe before hanging up my lantern in 2019. In all that time running real trains, I never imagined I'd end up spending just as much energy wiring up the miniature versions in my Duluth basement. But here I am, and honestly? Installing DCC decoders
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HO Scale Decoder Installation Guide: Stop Killing Decoders and Start Running Trains
Posted by Tamara Brooks on 30th Dec 2025
I've killed exactly three decoders. The first two were my fault. Bad wiring, motor not isolated, the usual rookie mistakes. The third? That one still stings because I thought I knew what I was doing. Turns out, "DCC-Ready" on the box doesn't mean what you think it means.
This HO scale decoder insta
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The Complete HO Scale Track Planning Guide: Standards, Geometry, and Lessons from 35 Years of Mistakes
Posted by William Jeffries on 29th Dec 2025
I've been modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad since 1989, and my HO layout has been "almost finished" since 2014. If that timeline tells you anything, it's that I've had plenty of time to make mistakes and learn from them. Most of those mistakes happened during track planning, not scenery. A crooked
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HO Scale Train Set for Adults: The 2025 Buyer's Playbook for Building a Real Railroad
Posted by Benjamin Park on 29th Dec 2025
I got back into model railroading because I thought it would be relaxing. After twenty years managing freight logistics, I figured pushing tiny trains around a basement would be the perfect antidote to pushing real ones across spreadsheets. Then I discovered prototype operations, and now my Saturday
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