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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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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
Atlas DC and DCC N Scale GP40-2 // Easy DCC Install
A look at the Atlas N Scale GP40-2 locomotives in both DCC and DCC Ready (DC) versions along with how to upgrade the DC version to DCC....
Stephen Strum
Aug 6, 20241 min read
Easy Custom Structures
In this week's video I show how I used modular structure elements to create a custom structure for my small N scale switching layout. I...
Stephen Strum
Jul 30, 20241 min read
Complete On30 Layout Build
The video below shows the complete start-to-finish build of this small On30 train layout. This layout is only about 25” by 28” in size...
Stephen Strum
Jul 29, 20241 min read
Finishing Up the Big Pine Mine On30 Project Layout
I’ve wrapped up the On30 Project Layout. See how I finished up the scenery and wrapped up this project! I‘ll have a full start-to-finish...
Stephen Strum
Jul 23, 20241 min read
Ideas for an N Scale Layout on a Door
I’m considering building an N scale model railroad on a hollow core door sometime next year as one of my future projects. Here are some...
Stephen Strum
Jul 16, 20241 min read
The Mine for the Big Pine Mine Layout
The small On30 Big Pine Mine Railroad finally has a mine! I built the mine using the Little Creek Mining Company kit from Banta Model...
Stephen Strum
Jul 9, 20241 min read
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
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
Model Railroader Resources Update
A look at all the new model railroad related resources I’ve added to my resources page here: https://www.steves-trains.com/post/resources...
Stephen Strum
Jun 18, 20241 min read
Shipping the 2’x4’ N Scale Layout
I built a wood crate to ship the 2’x4’ N scale train layout across the country. In this week’s video I show how I built the crate and...
Stephen Strum
Jun 11, 20241 min read
Running Trains One Last Time
A collection of the final video and photos I took of the 2’x4’ N scale layout before packing it up in a shipping crate and sending it off...
Stephen Strum
Jun 7, 20241 min read
Model a Big Pine Tree
I built a pine tree for my Big Pine Mine On30 layout that is two feet tall! This tree is made from a piece of bass wood with holes...
Stephen Strum
Jun 4, 20241 min read
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
Operating Session on the 2’x4’ N Scale Layout
A look at an operating session with a switch list on the 2’x4’ N Scale project layout. This was a simple operating session that only took...
Stephen Strum
May 21, 20241 min read
Resources
UPDATED: 12/3/2024 I'm compiling a list of websites for people and companies providing a variety of helpful model railroad-related...
Stephen Strum
May 15, 20243 min read
On30 Project Layout Part 2: Building the Base Scenery
I’ve completed the base scenery on the On30 layout. I built a mountain out of sulptamold covered foam, built base areas for the...
Stephen Strum
May 13, 20241 min read
Start-to-Finish: Build a Small Z Scale Switching Layout
This is a compilation of the previous two posts on this layout build. This is an easy to build and fun to operate layout that you can...
Stephen Strum
May 10, 20248 min read
Z Scale Switching Layout Part 2
I finished my simple Z scale switching layout! In this week’s video I show how I added some simple scenery, a structure made from a...
Stephen Strum
May 1, 20244 min read
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
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