The Model Rail Cast Show (Podcast)
Join Ryan Andersen and Will Ayerst on the Model Rail Cast podcast as they discuss all kinds of modeling and prototype subjects.
The man is a artist with scenery, and a great modeler too.
Lee has one of the best operating layouts in the country, be sure to check out his pages on scenery and Mole staging.
Rick's proto-freelance layout is a great operating railroad and features some very thoughtful and interesting design ideas, particularly about multi-level construction.
Tim is one of the most amazing people I know - he reminds me of what I would do if I I had a permanent caffeine drip and didn't have to sleep. His railroads are simply amazing, first the Port Kelsey (sadly, gone now) and now his Bronx Terminal. Tim is the inventor of the Fast Tracks turnout building jigs, and you can get an amazing idea of what's possible by looking over his sites. See Everything. Miss nothing. There will be a test!
Okay, so he's my friend and I work on his layout. That doesn't mean he's not doing some pretty spectacular things in the space he's got. Dave Ramos is a very innovative designer and is building a great operating railroad in a relatively tiny space.
These are the good folks we do business with on the Housatonic. Without them we'd be pushing Brio trains along on sawdust grass and using lego buildings.
Well Naturally this site is first - it's my own! Please visit and see the exciting early-period resn models you can buy in HO scale. Railcars, structures and more.
Makers of some of the best tracklaying tools you can get. Go see their site and learn that you too can learn to hand-lay track as we did, and save a lot of money over buying commercially made turnouts.
Special offer -- click the link below to see how you can save 10% on every order you make from Fast Tracks!
Tam Valley Depot - Electronics solutions for model railroads
Visit this website to find cutting edge electronic gadgets for your model railroad at competitive prices. Tam Valley Depot makes the Octopus servo motor controllers used on the Housatonic Railroad for actuating switch machines, and other products. Check them out!
The best place to look for and buy all kinds of scenic materials, from ballast to ground foam.
Alkem makes laser-cut and photo-etched kits and details in many scales. They have recently introduced a line of HO scale early period freight cars and trucks which reall helps out those of us from the American Civil War and beyond. Great service and high-quality products.
B.T.S. has a great line of structures and cars appropriate to the early railroad modeler. Please check out their wares!
MRPO is a good hobby store with fair prices, and always comes through for me when I need supplies. They have a helpful staff and a good inventory of models, parts and supplies.
NCE makes the most user-friendly and trouble-free command control systems, and are known for their customer service. I recommend them very highly.
Tichy Train Group is a part of nearly every structure on the Housatonic layout and nearly every freight or passenger car. I simply could not get by without them. High quality products you need to have if you scratchbuild or kitbash anything.
Operations Special Interest Group
Layout Design Special Interest Group
EarlyRail's Guide to Early Period Rolling Stock Kits
Go to the US Library of Congress Panoramic Maps page
Thomas J Dodd Railroads Collection at UConn
1934 Aerial Survey of Connecticut (Requires Internet Explorer)
Historic New England USGS Topographic Maps Online
Byron Henderson's Model Rail Services
Go to the World Cyberspace RR "Switch Track"
Go to Model Railroader Magazine's Web Page
The Unofficial Housatonic Railroad page
The New Haven Railroad Historical & Technical Association
CADRail -- Computer-aided layout design software for PC's
North Coast Engineering Digital Command Coltrol (DCC) products
(This is what the Flag of the United States of America looked like in 1892.)