RMC Extra Board
Welcome to Craftsman Extra Board! This section is updated periodically with short features contributed by our readers, as well as some recent favorites straight from the pages of Railroad Model Craftsman. Check back as we continue to add new articles!
February 20, 2018
The N Scale Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad
Jon Percy had considered modeling a fictional shortline based on my hometown. After receiving a tour of the compact and efficient facilities at Butler Yard, he decided to model the Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad in N scale.
February 7, 2018
Simple Techniques for Weathering Common Brick Buildings
While the façade of the model building calls for the look of polished brick and neatly painted wood trim, the common bricks of the sides and back need special attention. Here a modeler can draw upon boyhood memories of taking shortcuts down dingy alleys to get to the rail yard and its various late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century brick buildings.
January 22, 2018
EMD SD30C-ECO: Kitbashing a Prototype Rebuild in HO Scale
In 2012, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) began a program to take its existing SD40–2 locomotives and convert them into SD30C-ECO units. These units provide lower fuel consumption and improved reliability over the older 645-based EMD locomotives.
January 18, 2018
Consider the Commuter: An RMC Project Layout: Part 1
Whether you have an established model railroad or are just starting out; whether you model the steam era or modern diesels; whether you model the New Mexico desert or a bustling East Coast city, you can make commuter trains a part of your plans.
October 15, 2017
Mike McClain’s MKT Kansas City South in HO Scale
It was Missouri-Kansas-Texas’ John Deere green-and-yellow diesels that caught Mike McClain’s eye as he watched Katy trains working south out of Kansas City. Those experiences cemented his decision to build the MKT in the basement of his suburban Kansas City home.
October 1, 2017
The Devil in the Details
Even before I got into the part business, I was a detail hound. I became aware at a young age that it is better to know something about the real thing before you add details your model.
August 16, 2017
Models on Display at the 2017 SPHTS Convention
Associate Editor Harry K. Wong made the trek to attend the Southern Pacific Historical & Technical Society annual convention in Santa Rosa, Calif., on August 11, 2017. Here’s just a sample of some of the fine scale models that were on display…
August 9, 2017
Ladies and Gentlemen, This is N Scale
If your last encounter with N scale train involved crude structures and coarse details, think again! Enjoy this gallery of fine scale modeling by Chris Brimley.
July 14, 2017
Easy Masking Tape Scenery
Masking tape is easy to source, inexpensive, plus it is fast and simple to use. The result is a strong base that can support any scenic effect you choose to apply. Joseph Kreiss explains his technique step-by-step.
May 4, 2017
Modeling a Rock Island Commuter Diesel in N Scale
Although the venerable Rock Island railroad was thinly stretched in the late 1970s all the way up to its bankruptcy, it still ran commuter trains between downtown Chicago La Salle and Joliet Union Station until it was taken over by the Regional Transportation Agency (RTA), known today as Metra.
