• 2:36

    Overview of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville

    This is the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville model railroad, commonly called the Monon. The N scale railroad is owned by Lance Mindheim who is also a custom layout builder. The railroad runs through Monroe County, Indiana in 1955. Online industries are limited, yet Lance and his friends can have full timetable operating sessions that last…

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  • 6:40

    Touring the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville

    The tour of Lance Mindheim’s Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville model railroad with Train Number 6, the Thoroughbred with two F3s leaving the Louisville Staging Yard and heading North. This kind of wide open scenery is what gives the Monon its down home appeal. At Bridge E-8, F Unit Number 81-A encounters the first of many…

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  • 8:35

    Operations on the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville

    Operations on Lance Mindheim’s Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville model railroad start with a pair of Alcos entering at milepost 213. Lead Unit Number 29 pulls past the limestone siding. Extra South 1 will drop the Monon boxcar here on the team track. The extra caboose is called a rider car and is a result of…

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  • 3:51

    Owner Inspiration and Techniques: Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville

    Lance’s Mindheim’s Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville model railroad runs through Monroe County, Indiana in 1955. Allen Keller asks Lance why he selected that railroad to model. Since this area is where Lance grew up, he has very fond memories of home there. He also believes it is a lot easier to model an area that…

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  • 4:42

    Weathering Washes with Lance Mindheim

    Lance Mindheim, modeler of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville likes to have a dead flat black finish on most of his structures and rolling stock. He came up with simple model railroad weathering techniques. He starts with a bottle of ordinary rubbing alcohol, either 70 or 91 proof, and Polly scale steam power black, which…

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  • 7:00

    Painting Model Railroad Backdrops with Lance Mindheim

    Modeler of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Lance Mindheim believes it’s very important that model railroad backdrops aren’t too stark, since they cover such a large surface area. For the basecoat, he uses a very light blue and stays away from the sapphire colors. The next step is to paint a very distant horizon. Objects…

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  • 4:36

    Creating Undergrowth with Lance Mindheim

    Lance Minheim, modeler of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville shows his model railroad scenery techniques. He makes his shrubs and undergrowth from poly-fil, using large bags of uncolored material. He pulls the fibers apart for a light, flat, puffy layer, tugging to make it thinner and thinner. The poly is then colored with a brown…

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  • 6:36

    Casting Shale Rip Rap with Lance Mindheim

    As modeler of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville model railroad Lance Mindheim reminds us, one common geologic feature of southern Indiana is shale, a thin stratified rock. Lance had to figure out how to install rip rap effectively. He uses plaster of paris mixed very thin and watery. After putting the plaster in a mixing…

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  • 9:45

    Building a Creek Bank with Lance Mindheim

    In this video, Lance Mindheim, modeler of the Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville model railroad builds up a realistic model creek bank. The essential foundation of making the creek is a two layer level of styrofoam, usually ¾ inches of thickness. There is a base and two sides that make up the creek banks. Most banks…

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