About the MFR


The Metaline Falls Railroad (MFR) is a proto-freelanced model railroad based on the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad located in northern Idaho and north eastern Washington State. For the very latest on the layout, please visit my YouTube channel and follow along with my Instagram account and Facebook Group.

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Moving to Facebook

It seems that pretty much everyone has moved their "blog-style' documentation of their layouts over to the Facebook platform. It's not a bad idea as it is a really easy way to find and discuss good hobby-related content. Please head on over there to join the group and see the latest updates related to my layout!

facebook.com/groups/metalinefallsrailroad



Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Wordless Wednesday #23

 

It is 5:41 AM on June 23. A westbound grainer comes off the bridge crossing Lake Pend Oreille just south of Sandpoint, ID. The train is pulled by BNSF 4781and 4651 (GE Dash 9-44CW) and pushed by an unknown unit and the BNSF 7871 (GE ES 44DC). Photo by Bob Wilcox.


Monday, May 3, 2021

Friday, March 5, 2021

How-To: Terrific Trackwork!

A video I've been promising I'd have up "soon" for a year now! Now that my trackwork is 95% complete on my 4th(-ish) layout, I've finally figured out how to do it well!

 

Monday, February 22, 2021

Movie Mondays #14

 Youtube User "Boomer Dioramas" has a whole host of really fantastic videos showing off the fun that can be had with a very limited amount of space. His modeling and insights must not be missed!


Additionally, a good friend in the hobby who has shared a TON of information with me concerning the POVA over the years has shared a really great video with us showing off his own efforts at modeling the little railroad along the Pend Orelle.  Check out the rest of his videos on the day-to-day operations of his dairy farm as well! Fascinating stuff!

Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Monday, February 1, 2021

Just Trains! - Episode 1

 People seem to really respond to any video that I put out showing trains running on the layout. (probably because it is proof that I am ACTUALLY making forward progress, slow though it may be.)

So I decided to put out a video of just trains.  This first one is a learning experience, but one of the more enjoyable videos I've produced so far, so be ready for many more in the future!

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Reflections and Resolutions

 It's still January so it is still ok to post one of those "resolutions" videos right?

Lot's of plans this year.  Mainly I want to get my layout completely operational and to a "base layer" of "scenery" over the entire railroad.  This is mainly so I can begin to have REAL operating sessions on the layout and comfortably run trains without the risk of loosing expensive equipment due to an unexpected plummet into carpet canyon.

More resolutions and reflections in the video below. 2021, here I come!


Tuesday, January 12, 2021

How I spent my Christmas vacation

 I took two weeks off this past Christmas to try to get some significant work done on the model railroad and I am pretty happy with the progress I made.  I got all of the track laid down in the Usk Washington portion of the layout and I completed the mainline run on the MFR portion of the layout as well.  I also re-laid the track across my larger swing gate to take advantage of some better techniques I discovered for aligning the track across the gap.

Along with good layout progress, I also made some significant purchases for the layout which includes (among many other items) a bunch of Tam Valley Frog Juicers, Exactrail bulkhead and centerbeam cars, and a Protothrottle as well.