Waterfront Project | Fast Tracks Turnouts
This week should be fun, as I’ll be building the turnouts for the Waterfront Project layout. I’ll be using what I feel is the best combination of Z scale track and turnouts, Micro-Trains flex track and Fast Tracks turnouts. Yes, the Fast Tracks turnouts do require a bit more work than an out-of-the-package turnout, but […]
OnDrew Hartigan | Model Railroad Benchwork
If you’re building a small switching layout or a full modular model railroad layout, it just makes sense to build it on a high quality foundation.
The LHS | Local Hobby Store
In the not too distant past, the local hobby store (LHS) was the go-to place for model railroading supplies. You could see new products in person, ideally talk to other model train enthusiasts and generally begin or reinforce the feeling of your model rail community. Then came the fairly sophisticated options of eBay, warehouse hobby […]
Desktop Layout | Red Rock 1
Following the last article in the Ztrains Build Corner, we have a very preliminary look at the basic rockwork and soil covering. Miles from completion of course, but I thought it might be interesting for you to have a look at this stage. The red soil used for the base coat comes to us from […]
Two Desktop Layouts In Z Scale
As I work on the MTL Waterfront Project track, I thought I’d also like to also get to work on a pair of desktop layouts for the upcoming holidays. I’ve previously built about a dozen of these pieces for customers, and this time out I decided to build a pair at the same time I’m […]
Digitrax | Z Scale DCC Decoders
Thanks to Digitrax for supplying Ztrains with the following release and images. The Digitrax DZ123Z0 is a 1 amp DCC board replacement mobile decoder. It is designed to easily replace the light board for solder free installation in an American Z Line GP-30 and GP38-2. It can also be used with the Budd RDC, which […]
Waterfront Project | Benchwork
We received our benchwork for the Waterfront Project this past week from Ondrew Hartigan at modelrailroadbenchwork.com and could not be happier with their work. I’d like to talk about benchwork, bases and Z scale stability for just a minute. Not stability as in the State Of The Scale, nothing that dramatic. Instead, I mean basic […]
Lights, Benchwork, Action!
I just got back from the world of eBay shopping this afternoon; on today’s shopping list was lighting. Not for a layout or diorama, well not exactly. Many of the pieces I build are small, even the custom desktop layouts I’ve built and sold are only about 16” square with a hand laid oval of […]
Waterfront Project | Second Track Plan
Here we have v.2 of the Waterfront Project track plan. It’s actually very similar to the initial version (both are shown below) except for section 4 where I tie the old main line track in with the industrial track section and by extension, the new main line. I’m really on the fence about this small, […]
SOO Memories From Greene, North Dakota
by Tom Gloger Someday the Internet is going to contain all there is to know about every possible subject. This is my contribution: fond recollections of relatives, railroads, and the place known as Greene, North Dakota. Greene is located in Renville County in the northwest quarter of North Dakota near where State Route 28 crosses the […]
