Category: Raildig Build Projects
Getting Kato Unitrack Grungy
It’s time now to get our sectional track attached, weathered and ballasted on our layout base. On a layout this small I find just a single pair of feeder wires is sufficient to provide even power across the whole layout. I could use Kato’s own Terminal UniJoiner for the job but I really do prefer […]
Wireless Ambient Sound For The Pizza Layout
On our N scale pizza layout I wanted to add some fun, interesting elements beyond what we’ll be doing with scenery. The first two things that popped in to my head were lighting and sound. We’ll get to the lighting as we build the scene so for now I decided to start with the sound […]
N Scale Pizza Layout Base
After weighing the size options for our pizza layout, the decision was helped along by a Google search for “round, galvanized tray”. As this is going to be something of an industrial scene, I thought a galvanized metal base would be a nice compliment to the scene above. I came across this 18” wide galvanized […]
Our First Pizza Layout
EDIT | April 2025: Years after this post was originally written, I’m starting a new website called, appropriately enough… www.pizzalayout.com I really do love these little things!!! In our previous article, I talked about some of the benefits of building small model railroad layouts, very small layouts, which include the pizza and micro varieties. We […]
Micro Layouts and Pizza Layouts
EDIT | April 2025: Years after this post was originally written, I’m starting a new website called, appropriately enough… www.pizzalayout.com I really do love these little things!!! I’ve always been a fan of micro layouts and pizza layouts; they’re exciting to build and a lot of fun to watch as the builder’s creativity is really […]
Showcase Miniatures Intermodal Container Trailers
Showcase Miniatures has recently introduced a pair of new models that should find their way on to any Z scale layout that has even a passing reference to intermodal transit, the 40’ and 53’ ISO (International Shipping Organization) Container Trailers. Made of white metal, these models continue the Showcase Miniatures trend of models that are […]
Civil War Era Car Float
In this article, we’ll build the Micro-Trains Line N scale Civil War Car Float (MTL #499 90 960), this car float is the companion piece to the Micro-Trains N scale Transfer Dock (MTL #499 90 961) we built in a previous article. A car float is an unpowered barge with rails on its deck, used […]
Civil War Era Transfer Dock
Here’s our new kit build from the Micro-Trains Line of US Civil War era laser kits, the Civil War Transfer Dock (MTL #499 90 961). Like the ventilated shed kit we built last time, I like this transfer dock because it’s not a structure you see every day on a layout. This kit absolutely does […]
Civil War Era Ventilated Shed Kit
Micro-Trains Line has a new series of N scale trains and laser cut kits based on the US Civil War era of 1861 to 1865 and I thought I’d take a look at a recent kit in the series, the Ventilated Shed (MTL #499 90 959). With a footprint of just 2” x 3.75” and […]
