Model Railroader July 2020

FeaturesNarrow gauge switching actionby Lou SassiMike Tylick's fascination with model railroading started with his exposure to the real thing. His father, who worked for the Erie RR on tugboats in New York Harbor, would occasionally bring young Mike to work, exposing him to the bustling activity of the Erie yards around the city. Those childhood experiences led Mike to build numerous model railroads not only for himself, but also for others, while working for companies that built custom layouts. He still does layout design, railroad graphics, and custom model building under the name RailDesign Services.Make a mortar rubble wallby Steve MiazgaWhen I expanded my N scale Missabe Junction Ry. ["Missabe Junction revisited," September 2018 – Ed.], I wanted to add structures that were representative of rail-served industries in Northern Wisconsin. A little field research came up with a candidate: potato warehouses. The Starks, Wis., are used to be a producer of potatoes, and that's where I found a row of warehouses on a siding along the Soo Line. Several of the buildings were simple steel-sheathed structures, but one was unique, being constructed with mortar rubble walls.Pulling together at the Coshocton Model RR Clubby Lou SassiThe Coshocton Model Railroad Club began in 1972 when the Rev. Robert Kleesattel put his business card in all the model railroad magazines on the newsstands and store shelves of Coshocton, Ohio. The reverend also included a note about meeting with anyone interested in starting a model railroad club. Many people attended that initial meeting, with 26 of them becoming charter members.As of writing this, the club, also known as the Associated Model Railroad Engineers of Coshoction, Inc. (AMREC), has 52 members. The club's HO scale Toledo, Walhonding Valley & Ohio RR (TWV&O) fills a 50 x 150 foot space iside a dedicated building at the Coshocton County Fairgrounds.Enhance figures with decalsby V.S. RosemanPainting scale figures for your layout is a great way to make them different than those on other model railroads. Using a brush to add basic details like shirts, pants, and shoes is easy. But even if you have steady hands and a fine paintbrush, adding patterned clothes to figures would be difficult at best. To add greater variety and detail to figures, try using decals."Wait, you mean decals like you put on locomotives and freight cars?" Yes! Virtually any figure can be enhanced with decals. Follow along as I share my techniques.