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Model Railroading in Small Spaces
My focus is on building small and portable model railroads, usually in N scale. Come explore some of my recent projects.
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Kato Pacific Surfliner
It’s finally here! The Kato N Scale Pacific Surfliner! This is a beautiful new N scale passenger set from Kato. Note that the set does...

Stephen Strum
Mar 41 min read
185
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Lionel NW2
I bought another Burlington Northern NW2 locomotive, but this time a Lionel O Gauge version! This is a great looking locomotive I look...

Stephen Strum
Feb 41 min read
122
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This Big Lens will Improve my iPhone Video and Photos
I just bought some Neewer camera lenses that I can attach to my iPhone to help improve the photos and videos I take for YouTube. I picked...

Stephen Strum
Jan 141 min read
145
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Kato NW2 Locomotives…Good and Bad?
A look at the two Kato NW2 locomotives that just arrived. One runs amazing and one is very loud. What is going on? Apparently something...

Stephen Strum
Jan 71 min read
490
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Kato Christmas Train!
A look at the little Kato Christmas Train! This tiny train can run on Kato’s compact 4.5” and 6” radius curve track. So, if you want to...

Stephen Strum
Dec 17, 20241 min read
391
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N Scale Christmas Train Set!
A look at Micro Trains 2024 Christmas train set. A great locomotive and passenger car set decorated in a Christmas theme for the holiday...

Stephen Strum
Dec 10, 20241 min read
332
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Tiny Z Scale Steam!!
A look at the Rokuhan Z-scale 0-6-0 steam locomotive. It's a tiny marvel, but very delicate! I launched the tiny, delicate locomotive off...

Stephen Strum
Oct 29, 20241 min read
208
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Can You 3D Print Your Layout Terrain?
If you don’t like wood working, and don’t want to mess with foam, you might try 3D-printing the terrain for more model train layout. You...

Stephen Strum
Oct 1, 20241 min read
197
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Kato N Scale Amtrack Passenger Set and Expansion Track Packs
A look at a Kato N scale Passenger train set and three Kato expansion track sets. With Kato track sets, you can easily expand your layout...

Stephen Strum
Sep 24, 20241 min read
272
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Easy Layout Lighting with LED Strip Lights
I was struggling to get good lighting on my small 1'x5' N scale switching layout, so I used a roll of LED strip lights to add some needed...

Stephen Strum
Sep 10, 20241 min read
124
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Get Your Hobby Area Organized with a Label Maker!
I bought a label maker and it helped organize my hobby workshop! The label maker I have is a Dymo label maker that I picked up from...

Stephen Strum
Aug 13, 20241 min read
69
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Adding DC Control to a DCC only layout
I added an Apollo DC controller to my 1’x5’ N Scale switching layout, which previously had only DCC control. It is simple to add DC...

Stephen Strum
Jul 2, 20241 min read
190
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Choo Choo Vision Camera Improvements!
The ChooChoo Vision cameras have been improved with higher resolution sensors and better software! You can now view as many as six live...

Stephen Strum
Jun 25, 20241 min read
113
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Atlas N Scale GP15 with a TCS Keep Alive Capacitor!
I picked up a DC versio of an Atlas GP15 and then added a TCS drop in decoder along with one of their small Keep Alive capacitors and...

Stephen Strum
May 28, 20241 min read
247
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Cure Train Blindness // Choo Choo Vision Camera
Do you wish your model trains could see? Add a Choo Choo Vision camera and get live cab views from your locomotive. This week’s video...

Stephen Strum
Apr 30, 20241 min read
142
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Looking at a TT and an S Scale Locomotive
A look at a small Hornby TT scale locomotive as well as an American Flyer Baldwin Switcher S scale. These two scales are much less...

Stephen Strum
Mar 5, 20241 min read
62
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G Gauge Trains are Huge!
A Quick Look at a USA Trains G Gauge train set that I recently picked up. It is remarkable how much larger a G scale train is compared to...

Stephen Strum
Feb 19, 20241 min read
168
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Kato Silver Streak
A look at the Kato Silver Streak N Scale passenger train set. This is another great set from Kato that both looks and runs great. This...

Stephen Strum
Dec 26, 20231 min read
328
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My Top 5 Power Tools for Model Railroaders
The five power tools I think are most useful as a model railroader. There are dozens of power tools I use, but these get used the most...

Stephen Strum
Dec 19, 20231 min read
93
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Broadway Limited Conrail SW7 — A Great Running Small N Scale Diesel
This Broadway Limited SW7 with a Paragon 4 DCC board is a great small N scale locomotive that runs better than others thanks to an...

Stephen Strum
Dec 12, 20231 min read
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