The Hills Line is an eight-mile industrial spur of the Iowa Interstate Railroad serving the eastern Iowa towns of Iowa City and Hills. This HO Scale version replicates the practices, policies, and procedures found on the prototype to provide guests and operators a flavor of real-life railroading.
Recent Posts
Crossing Protection
By far, the one railroad element we interact with most must be grade crossings. Doesn’t matter if we’re the most devoted prototype railfan or if we’re only vaguely aware that flanged-wheel transportation exists somewhere in the world. At some point, we all stopped behind a gate, a flasher, or crossbuck and waited for a train … Continue reading Crossing Protection
Freight Cars and the Art of Chess
I don’t know how to play chess. To be fair, I’ve never really tried. I knew guys in high school and college who did; one was even ranked among players in the state. But my knowledge of gambits and grandmasters doesn’t extend beyond being able to name the pieces and a vague understanding of how … Continue reading Freight Cars and the Art of Chess
Over The River
“The easiest way to leave this world without leaving this world is to stand in the middle of a bridge and watch the surroundings” -Mehmet Murat ildan- As much as I hate to have to do something I’ve already done over again, my second attempt at modeling the lattice-truss bridge over the Iowa River on … Continue reading Over The River
Do Over, Part Two
Despite a tendency to “break every bone in its body” when attempting to build something for The Hills Line, even I occasionally have moments of mild success in constructing something from scratch. For the lattice-truss bridge over the Iowa River I have the advantage of having done it once before. I left the deck in … Continue reading Do Over, Part Two
The Hills Line 