2026 HOn3 ANNUAL: Now in its 18th year, the HOn3 Annual returns with 116 pages devoted to narrow gauge modeling and inspiration. Tour John R. Short’s Rio Grande Southern from Durango to Ridgway and explore Johnny Graybeal’s modeling of the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina during its golden age At the workbench, follow along as Paul Buhrke reconstructs a brass locomotive, Andrew MacRossie revives a classic C&S B3-C Mogul, and Thomas Engstrand builds a D&RGW-style turret depot. You’ll also find practical projects covering realistic rock scenery, easy drop-in gondola loads, small-space modeling, freight cars, trackside details, and troubleshooting Blackstone C-19s. Plus, explore HOn30 modeling, narrow gauge prototype information, new products, and much more. All this and more in the 2026 HOn3 Annual!
Growing Together
In addition to editing the HOn3, On30, and Garden Train Annuals, Chris Lane is now the new editor of Narrow Gauge & Short Line Gazette.
Easy Techniques for Turning Styrene into Wood
The character of the Westcliff & Alton I am trying to create, that of very well used and aged equipment and structures, is not the normal state of styrene as a material. With that in mind, I began to explore techniques to transform the styrene surface into a reasonable representation of the material often associated with narrow gauge steam railroading, aged and weathered wood.
Rico Station Kitbash in HO scale
I have been building a module of the town of Rico on the Rio Grande Southern for our Hon3 Free-Mo group for a few years now. I chose the 1900-1910 era for this, as it would (theoretically) allow the Blackstone K-27’s to be on the line, but still have the original wooden engine house. One of the centerpiece structures is the Rico depot with its unique tower.
Models That Move
Burton Maxwell’s “Buffalo Landing” logging railroad scene includes a spreader bar loader which picks logs off log trucks, carries them by cable to log cars where they are dropped into place for the train trip to the mill.
Alpine Scale Models Company Houses in HO
By the late 19th and early 20th century long term housing for workers close to the mines, mills and construction projects in the sparsely settled sections of North America led to the development of “company” towns. Alpine Scale Models “Chilao Flats” offers three small cabins and back yard conveniences representing these basic structures that would have housed either four single men or a single family unit.
MicroLux LaserKnife 2525 Laser Cutter
With only a few hours of practice, an amazing array of precise parts and models can be created in an almost limitless range of materials. Based on these attributes, Micro-Mark’s LaserKnife will allow the hobbyist to reach new levels with their models and may well prove to be “the ultimate tool” in anyone’s workshop.
More Up Clear Creek on the Narrow Gauge
More Up Clear Creek on the Narrow Gauge picks up at Part 55, and runs through Part 120, the last article in the series. The book also includes the 22 other Gazette articles that Harry wrote following the series’ conclusion. The book chronicles the final of 5 moves into the 12′ by 65′ mobile home that Harry calls “Little Colorado” and ends with the layout in its final (current) form.
Explore the world of White River Productions
