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*The CB&O: When we run. it's in circles!*

03/05/07

Model Railroading on the Web!

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the hobby of model railroading is all of the nice people you get to meet. My family and I are especially lucky that we live in Howard County, Maryland which is very well served by a number of model train specialty shops. I’ve listed below a number of web sites and local area retailers that have proven to be very helpful in our efforts.

Informational Web Sites:

Text Box: Rail Road Line Forums
This is the best model rail road forum I’ve found on the net. It has a vast amount of information, it’s well organized and the members are extremely friendly and helpful.
Beware—this web site is extremely addicting!

Text Box: NMRA Directory of Web Sites
If it’s model rail road related and on the web it’s probably listed here—great resource for those just starting out.

Text Box: The Baltimore & Ohio Rail Road Network
This site is maintained by Scott Dunlap and is an excellent source for research and background materials on the B&O.

Layout Websites:

Text Box: Britannia Creek
The Britannia Creek is a layout that is locate “down under” and is operated by Barry Pate. His site is very well done and I’m afraid once you go there you really will not want to come back here!

Text Box: The Bona Vista Railroad
This is a great web site with a ton of “how-it-was-done” photos. Gerry Leone is a very impressive modeler.

Text Box: Central Missouri and Southern Railroad
This is Mike Chamber’s web site and the modeling is top notch. Mr. Chambers is also one of the driving forces behind the quality of the rail road line forum mentioned above.

Text Box: Blood Sweat and Tears Railway
The BS&T Railway is a superb model railroad that depicts much of Eastern North America in the 1930's. The railway was created by Gary Courtemanche and the modeling is superb

Kit Manufacturer Web Sites:

Text Box: Bar Mills Scale Models
Bar Mills produces excellent laser cut wood kits and is a great place to start your expansion away from plastic. The firm is operated by a class gentlemen, Art Fahie—please see the modeling tips page for a comment on Bar Mills.

Text Box: Sierra West Scale Models
Sierra West manufactures what I consider to be the best kits available—they are a challenge to build but will likely become center-pieces of your layout. This is a small operation, so order completion times can be longish. Don’t worry, it’s worth the wait.

Text Box: Maritime Art
Maritime Arts is a small manufacturer of boat kits and is owned and operated by Art Johansen. Art’s kits are great to build and he includes a CD with photos of both the construction process and lots of prototype pictures. The CD is a great idea. I’ll be expanding my fleet with more of his kits.

Text Box: Rusty Stumps
Rusty Stumps Scale Models is a manufacturer of limited edition wooden kits as well as laser cut detail parts in HO, O and S scales. His tree stump castings are fantastic and I’ve just ordered his newest kit “Ships Chandler”. You should check out the “Ships Chandler kit, especially if you like waterfront scenes.

Text Box: KingMill Enterprises
KingMill makes a growing ranges of N through S scale kits, most of which tend to have a rural theme. KingMill has also recently introduced a software product called Kit-O-Mat, that allows a user to easily design a custom structure and then submit the plans for laser cutting - it's a really neat product

Local Hobby Shops:

Text Box: Purkey’s Toy Trains
This shop is located in Sykesville, MD and specializes in large scale items but does have HO, N and Z scale inventory. The shop is a few doors down from the Baldwin Station restaurant, which is located in an old B&O train station. A fun train store and a great lunch is a hard combination to beat!

Text Box: Ladd’s Hobby Shop
3570 St. John’s Lane, Ellicott City, MD (410) 750-7228
Ladd’s doesn’t have a web site, but it is the classic “LHS” with a very helpful staff and a wide range of products—if you need help in finding a hobby - this is the place to go.

Text Box: The Moose Caboose
This is a really nice model train shop in Carroll County, Maryland. It specializes in Maryland themed rail roads and is extremely kid friendly. It also offers free “how-to” classes once a month. The shop has recently expanded so it's even better!
This is my son’s favorite shop.

Text Box: Peach Creek Shops
A specialty model railroad retailer with very good prices and an extensive HO scale selection. The staff is very knowledgeable and patient. They’re also somewhat eccentric, but in an entertaining way.

Text Box: M.B. Kleins
This is the largest model train specialist I have ever seen. Located in downtown Baltimore, this shop has everything and a very knowledgeable staff—if they don’t know about an item it’s because it doesn’t exist. Beware—the aisles of their shop make a submarine’s look wide—it’s a hoot maneuvering during the holiday season!

Comments? Please Email us at:

Bosco@clarksville-balt-and-ohio.com

This site was last updated 03/05/07