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!

Gateway to the Yukon: The White Pass & Yukon Route in HOn3

January 20, 2025

Gateway to the Yukon: The White Pass & Yukon Route in HOn3

Modeling an alternate history where the venerable narrow gauge railway is still going strong in 1983.

Car Routing for Smaller Layouts

January 20, 2025

Car Routing for Smaller Layouts

Brooks Stover has employed a system of car routing for short trains on a small railroad, just like the prototype Buffalo Creek & Gauley.

Mike Confalone’s Allagash Railway: Part 1

December 15, 2024

Mike Confalone’s Allagash Railway: Part 1

It’s 1982 in Western Maine on Mike Confalone’s proto-freelanced HO layout that captures scenes of northern New England in early spring.

Realistic Kansas Street Running

December 15, 2024

Realistic Kansas Street Running

How to model asphalt streets so textured you can almost smell them on a hot day.

Make Detailed Cypress Tree Stumps

November 14, 2024

Make Detailed Cypress Tree Stumps

An easily adaptable technique to create massive cypress stumps for swampy scenes in O scale (or any scale you wish).

Return to the Barchester Branch

November 13, 2024

Return to the Barchester Branch

A proto-freelanced approach to a rural Pennsylvania branch line terminal in HO scale, based on a track plan by Robert Chant.

Operations on the C&O Ryder Gap Sub

October 20, 2024

Operations on the C&O Ryder Gap Sub

Adopting prototype Chesapeake & Ohio practices for fun and engaging operating sessions on the freelanced Ryder Gap Sub.

Lehigh Valley’s Final Chapter in N Scale

October 20, 2024

Lehigh Valley’s Final Chapter in N Scale

Ron Papiercavich’s beautiful proto-freelanced take on the Route of the Black Diamond in N scale.

Soo Line in Southern Indiana

September 25, 2024

Soo Line in Southern Indiana

Rural scenery dominates this HO scale Soo Line secondary set in mid-1990s southern Indiana.

Making a Scene at CP 294

September 25, 2024

Making a Scene at CP 294

An old New York Central tower solves a scenery dilemma on Dave Abeles’ HO scale Conrail Onandaga Cutoff.