Curb Appeal, Part Two

My last post detailed the start of construction of US Highway 6, a major arterial road in Iowa City and over The Hills Line. As with any scenic element that covers or crowds the rails, I spent time testing numerous trains over the crossing to make sure I wouldn't have electrical or mechanical issues when … Continue reading Curb Appeal, Part Two

Curb Appeal, Part One

Roads and grade crossings on a model railroad are two things that every visitor to our layouts can quickly identify and relate with. That comes from the simple fact that we interact with roads on a regular and ongoing basis. On The Hills Line I've begun construction of US Highway 6, a major arterial road … Continue reading Curb Appeal, Part One

Fahrvergnügen

From my phenomenally-limited and biased research, it seems that I may have one of the few active and functional integrations of Iowa Scaled Engineering's ProtoThrottle with CVP's EasyDCC system. Recently I received an email asking if I could detail my setup on The Hills Line. First and foremost, my CVP/ProtoThrottle arrangement is like a fine … Continue reading Fahrvergnügen

Something Borrowed

My grand plan of using Google Streetview images for photo backdrops on The Hills Line has, so far, been somewhat successful. To date I've been able to use or modify existing photos from in and around Iowa City, saving me the hassle and issue of traveling east to get what I need... which considering the … Continue reading Something Borrowed