Watch Episodes of The Hills Line with James McNab
Trains.com Video
Purchase the first season on DVD
Trains.com Store
"How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!" -Bill Hogan, 2004- It would be easy to look at all needed to build Eldon C. Stutsman, Inc. and become overwhelmed. It's a complex complex (pun intended) for any layout, but it's key to The Hills Line... both prototype and model. Therefore, the key … Continue reading Tank Farm, Part One
The three most important things a railroad right-of-way needs are drainage, drainage, and drainage. Excess water in the railroad infrastructure decreases, degrades, and ultimately destroys tracks, ties, and turnouts. On The Hills Line, I've not modeled lineside ditches. Instead, the track is laid directly on the foam board sub-roadbed to replicate the not-as-high-speed-as-the-main look present … Continue reading Drainage
Upon descending the steps into our basement, you're presented with the following vista as your first view of The Hills Line. Not exactly what I would call appealing, is it? However, even in this primitive state, this ultimately represents opportunity. This pile of parts will ultimately become the last section needed to complete the layout … Continue reading The Front Door
"WTF! The whole house is shaking" -My Better Half- Recently I hosted a series of op sessions on The Hills Line. To a person, every single guest present commented on my under-layout sound setup. An update on my arrangement is therefore warranted. The original version of my Mindheim-inspired under-layout sound setup used an old Soundtraxx … Continue reading Mindheim Sound, Redux
The Hills Line 