Model Railroader January 2026

David Popp introduces our new project railroad, the East Troy Industrial Park.

Other Can’t Miss Stories:

• 70-year Model Railroader subscriber Bob Sanford shares his operations-oriented HO scale layout based on C&O and NYC operations in Ontario in the 1950s.
• The world of L gauge railroading: leveraging LEGO as a viable way of approaching model railroading.
• Jerry Dziedzic gets back to his roots building a wood craftsman freight car kit, but updated with some modern details, inspired by previous On Operation columns.
• Take a photo tour of a section of Don Janes’ HO scale Green Mountain Division layout, which was originally featured in the How to Build Railroads of the 1950s special issue.
• Howard Andrews shows how he scratchbuilt a stone bridge. He made a master from modeling clay, carved stone detail, made a mold from silicon rubber, then cast the bridge in resin. He also describes how he painted and installed the bridge.
• Pelle Søeborg shares his wisdom on how to make photo backdrops.
• And more!