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 is designed to replicate the practices, policies, and procedures found on the prototype to provide guests and operators a flavor of real-life railroading.
Recent Posts
A Friend of Ours
I’ve been fortunate over the years to develop close relationships with a group of modelers that share my beliefs in how a model railroad should be designed, built, and operated. I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge them and share links to their respective layouts. It should go without saying, but the images you … Continue reading A Friend of Ours
Transitions
There are several phrases used in this hobby that have long been attributed to the leaders of this hobby. Allen McClelland coined Good Enough, Tony Koester defined Layout Design Elements, and David Barrow brought Dominos to our lexicon. I’m no leader, but I’m claiming Endless Horizons, at least in the realm of model railroading. The … Continue reading Transitions
McDonough Structures
Wrapping up the last building for the Maiden Lane portion of The Hills Line. McDonough Structures provides new construction and remodeling services for residential and commercial projects. Their warehouse sits between East Third Street and Highland Avenue south of the industrial spur. McDonough has had a variety of paint schemes over the years. During my … Continue reading McDonough Structures
Paw-sitive Progress
The sheer amount of structures on The Hills Line built from or including Rix Products components continues to climb. It’s almost as if the zoning board of eastern Iowa thumbed through a Pikestuff catalog when laying out the industrial areas around the railroad. My latest project involved the immensely simple Veterinary Associates structure on East … Continue reading Paw-sitive Progress
The Hills Line 