Modeling streets and highwaysby Pelle SøeborgStreets and roads have always played big roles on my layouts. They're wonderful scenic elements. Now that I'm working on a new model railroad, it's time to consider them again. My new layout will still feature the Union Pacific, but now I'm focusing on operations and scenery in the Midwest instead of the Southwest.Scratchbuild an 1870s water towerby Ron ForemanA short while back in an effort to break out of a modeling “slump,” I picked up a long neglected HO scale model and sat appraising its sad, broken state. By coercing myself to repair and rebuild it. I was hoping in the process to awaken and channel some of the zest and enthusiasm for modeling I once felt on a certain, long-ago day. The model before me was a water tank, but not just any water tank. I first discovered this water tank at my hometown hobby shop in Reading, Pa., in 1956. It was on the cover of the September issue of Railroad Model Craftsman. I was strangely attracted to its unusual look and simple open-top design. It instantly called out to me and said, “Build”! 11 ways to make peel-and-stick partsby Brooks StoverWhen I started working for General Motors Styling Center more than 30 years ago, I learned about 3M Adhesive Transfer Tape. I started using it in my modeling, beginning with my first scratchbuilt structure. Since then I’ve found it to be an indispensable addition to my modeling supplies.In today’s world of specialized adhesives like cyanoacrylate “super glue” and liquid solvents for plastics, this low-tech product has some unique and beneficial attributes. I’ve found many uses for adhesive transfer tape on my S scale Buffalo Creek & Gauley RR.N scale Tehachapi sub in 11 x 13 feetby Dave NennaGrowing up in California, I’ve visited many railfanning hot spots in the Golden State, including Donner Pass, the Sierra RR, the San Francisco Bay area, and Cajon Pass. However, Tehachapi Pass, with its single track, passing sidings, tunnels, bridges, and the famous Tehachapi Loop, remains my favorite spot.Installing a layout skirt on straight and curved fasciaby Jeff SargeantJeff Sargeant needed to find a way to make a skirt for his layout that would follow the irregular contour of the fascia. Using PVC pipe and cup hooks, he came up with a solution.Railfanning coast to coastby Lou SassiBorn in 1929, Bob Spalding was a Depression baby, and money in his family was very short. Bob’s first electric train didn’t come along until he was 14. As much as Command Control, and in Bob’s words, “never had so much fun.” He had to have more room for his railroad. Tearing out a wall between two back bedrooms gave him 12 x 20 feet. But this was still not enough, so Bob called in a contractor to add eight more feet to the back of the house. Six months later, he had a room 20 x 24 feet that would become home to his present layout, which he called “All American Railroads.”
