#model rail

Thomas fans may recognize the shape.

While looking at historical maps on the old canals that once crossed Toledo Ohio, I came across a unique little railroad. What caught my eye was the name, “Swan Creek RR”, which I found on a Sanborn Insurance map. This appeared on the 1905 map and showed that the…

In Episode 47 of the Cartel Conversations Podcast, the hosts, Ian Holmes and Tom Conboy, introduced the 2024 Micro Model Railway Cartel Challenge. For 2024 the challenge is to build a shoebox layout. For those who are in the dark, the late Carl Arendt featured this type of layout in several articles (links below). Layouts in Boxes – includes original article of Carl’s Imports Shoebox Madness –…

While doing research on older prototype railroad scenes from the 1970s and before, it is hard not to notice how green many of the old photos look and how overgrown some of the tracks appear to be. Since about 1980 there has been regular use of the herbicide Roundup®. This has changed the way the tracks look and many modelers may have forgotten or never knew how the lines used to look. The Boat…

Huron Bay Terminus Railway – Slate Mining in Michigan

There is some question if the “Huron Bay Terminus Railway” actually existed as an entity. For sure there was a 36″ tramway which served the slate mining efforts around Arvon in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The tramway had a dock which jutted out into Huron Bay and there was a slate mining operation named “Huron Bay Slate Company”. Even so the only mention that this tramway was named the “Huron Bay…

2020 SmallMR.com Micro Layout Design Challenge Update

It is amazing how some ideas take on a life of their own! When I posted the original article on the challenge, I was hopeful a couple people might take interest. Although I have personally been too busy to work on my own display case layout, others are moving full steam ahead. Let’s look at what some people have done and where they are headed!

Facebook has been very active with several people…