Benchmark Publications

A total of 25,220 pages with 1,828 plans and scale drawings are fully searchable by title, author, keywords and text entries. All pages are printable as PDF files. // Please note: this archive is now available on a Flash Drive.

The DVD set has been discontinued and is no longer available. /// /// This will be the last production run of this archive. No further archives after the year 2014 will be available. The company which produced the original archive is no longer doing this kind of work and it was very expensive to produce as is. /// Apple Mac users rejoice!

Windows users all is fine, but now a small Flash Drive is available. Apple changed the Mac operating system around 2019, and Mac users have been unable to use the Gazette 50-year DVD archive ever since.

Today's computers don't have DVD drives, so we've converted the archive to a 16 GB USB flash drive to make it compatible with most common operating systems. The flash drive works like a web site; any computer with a USB port can access it.

The contents can be downloaded to a hard drive for faster access. This Flash Drive contains a 50-year archive of: Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette - every page from the first issue in 1975 through the end of 2014 (239 issues) - and complete collections of the GAZETTE's predecessors: FINELINES (57 issues) SLIM GAUGE NEWS (18 issues) A total of 25,220 pages with 1,828 plans and scale drawings are fully searchable by title, author, keywords and text entries.

All pages are printable as PDF files. Insert the USB Drive into a USB port. Double click Start.html to begin.

For additional instructions, insert the USB Drive into a USB port, click on the NGSL icon, and double click on "help.html". Compatible browsers: Windows PC, Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. MAC, Chrome, Safari.

Chrome book, Chrome.

Benchmark Publications, softcover, 64 pages, B&W and Color photographs and illustrations.

25th Anniversary Benchmark Publications Edition. This project originally appeared as a series of articles in MODEL RAILROADER magazine and was first published as a book in 1984. That edition has been out for print for more than a decade.

In this Silver Anniversary Benchmark Publications' Edition, author and artist Malcolm Furlow again shows you how to build your own version of the HOn3 San Juan Central. A new chapter tells what has happened to the railroad and its builder in the past 25 years.

This book describes how its author, Malcolm Furlow, built the San Juan Central, an HOn3 model railroad. Malcolm described building this layout in a nine-part series of articles in MODEL RAILROADER magazine (November 1983 to August 1984).

These articles were re-published by Kalmbach Books in 1984-as the softbound HO Narrow Gauge Railroad You Can Build. The book went through three printings by Kalmbach over the next seven years. Now, 25 years after the first printing, this Silver Anniversary Edition has been produced by Benchmark Publications, Ltd., publishers of the NARROW GAUGE AND SHORT LINE GAZETTE magazine.

While the text, drawings, and photographs of the original book have been faithfully reproduced, the front and back covers are new, as is this introduction, and a chapter about the many activities of Malcolm after he built the San Juan Central-and what happened to it.

Contents:

• Ch. 1: Ride the San Juan Central, pp. 2–11, Ch. 2: Bench work for the San Juan Central, pp. 12–17, Ch. 3: Track for the San Juan Central, pp. 18–23, Ch. 4: Wiring for the San Juan Central, pp. 24–27, Ch. 5: Scenery for the San Juan Central, pp. 28–35, Ch. 6: Structures for the San Juan Central, pp. 36–43, Ch. 7: Bridges for the San Juan Central, pp. 44–49, Ch. 8: Locomotives and cars for the San Juan Central, pp. 50–53, Ch. 9: Operation on the San Juan Central, pp. 54–57, Acknowledgments, Dedication and Suppliers addresses, pp. 58–64.

More Up Clear Creek on the Narrow Gauge is a collection of 88 articles by Harry W. Brunk that originally appeared in the bi-monthly magazine, NARROW GAUGE & SHORT LINE GAZETTE. It continues the story told in the author's first book, Up Clear Creek on the Narrow Gauge, of his HOn3 scale model railroad.

He based his Union Central & Northern Layout on the Clear Creek District of the 3-foot-gauge Colorado & Southern Railroad that ran from Golden, Colorado, to just beyond Silver Plume. Although this book tells the story of the author's layout, it is not a how-to-do-it book. Rather it is a book of inspiration and motivation the author has an infectious enthusiasm for his modeling and his subject.

Thus, More Up Clear Creek on the Narrow Gauge is also a history book-modeling the C&S as it was in the late 1920s and early 1930s required a great deal of research. The history of the area is discussed in the text and reflected in the accurate modeling not only of the railroad and its equipment, but also of the houses, churches, mines, and businesses along the line.

Whether you are a model railroader, a railfan, or just curious about the intimate details of the Clear Creek Canyon area of Colorado, you will find something of interest in this book. Modelers will find inspiration and techniques that are applicable to whatever railroad they model, be it Eastern, Western, narrow or standard gauge, logging or mining.

Benchmark Publications, hardcover, 312 pages, standard portrait book 8 x 10 in., color and B&W photographs.

Features:

• New Hardcover Harry W. Brunk Benchmark Publications

Up Clear Creek on the Narrow Gauge is a collection of 54 articles by the same title that originally appeared in the bi-monthly magazine, NARROW GAUGE AND SHORT-LINE GAZETTE (also published by Benchmark Publications). It is the story of the author's H0n3 scale model railroad. He based his Union Central and Northern layout on the Clear Creek District of the 3-foot gauge Colorado & Southern Railroad that ran from Golden, Colorado, to just beyond Silver Plume.

Although this book tells the story of the author's layout, it is not a "how-to-do-it" book. Rather it is a book of inspiration and motivation - the author has an infectious enthusiasm for his modeling and his subject, thus Up Clear Creek is also a history book - modeling the C&S as it was in the late 1920s and early 1930s required a great deal of research. The history of the area is discussed in the text and reflected in the accurate modeling not only of the railroad and its equipment, but also of the houses, churches, mines, and businesses along the line.

Whether you are a model railroader, a railfan, or just curious about the intimate details of the Clear Creek Canyon area of Colorado, you will find something of interest in this book. Modelers will find inspiration and techniques that are applicable whatever railroad they model, be it Eastern, Western, narrow or standard gauge, logging or mining.

Charming stories about narrow gauge, with an emphasis on Maine 2-foot railroads by a writer who actually rode on some of them. The book is a great tribute to Dick Andrews and to the inspiration and counsel that he provided to us younger guys for close to 50 years - and a great read. A comprehensive index makes topics easy to find.

Benchmark Publications, hardcover, 232 pages, standard portrait book 8 x 10 in., color covers.

Features:

• New Hardcover Dick Andrews Benchmark Publications

This is the story of the Dolly Varden Mine and the Dolly Varden Mines Railway, 18 miles of improbable narrow gauge iron reaching north from the little community of Alice Arm to this rich silver property, now a legend in the annals of mining in British Columbia. In the years between 1916 and 1922, the Dolly Varden Mine was both the brightest hope and the greatest disappointment of the mining industry of Northwest Canada.

Benchmark Publications, hardcover with dust jacket, 184 pages, 8.5 x 11 x 1.5 in., B&W photographs and illustrations.

This is the story of the U.S. Army's 60-centimeter (1 foot, 11-5/8) gauge trench railways in France in World War One.

Heavily illustrated, with 214 photographs, scale drawings of the equipment, and locomotive rosters.

First published in 1990, this reprint edition is in response to numerous requests for a reissue.

Contents:
Ch. 1: The War, pp. 2-5;
Ch. 2: The Engineers, pp. 6-25;
Ch. 3: The Railways, pp. 26-85;
Ch. 4: The Equipment, pp. 86-133;
Ch. 5: After the Armistice, pp. 134-141;
Epilogue, pp. 142-145;
Appendices: Rosters and Disposition of Locomotives, pp. 146-161;
Locomotives in Military Use Postwar, pp. 162-183;
Notes, References, Maps, Index, pp. 184-203.

Benchmark Publications, hardcover with dust jacket, 212 pages, 8.5 x 11.25 x .75 in., B&W photographs, rosters, maps.

Benchmark Publications, hardcover with dust jacket, 296 pages, 8.5 x 11 x.75 in., B&W photographs and illustrations.

This book tells the story of the 3-foot-gauge Pacific Coast Railway. For some 66 years this line ran from the deep water harbor at Port Harford (later Port San Luis) on the Central California coast, north through San Luis Obispo, and then south to the sleepy little town of Los Olivos.

This book is an excellent reference work about this railway with station track plans, structure and equipment plans.

Contents:

• Ch. 1: The Story, pp. 1–84
• Ch. 2: Over the Line, pp. 85–199
• Ch. 3: Motive Power, 200-239
• Ch. 4: Rolling Stock, pp. 240–281
• Appendix A: Equipment and Fixtures in California, p. 282
• Appendix B: Length of the Electric Track, pp. 283–284
• References, pp. 285–288
• Index, pp. 289–296.

Benchmark Publications, hardcover, 192 pages, 8.5 x 11 x.5 in., color and black and white photographs and illustrations, includes 20-minute DVD.

The Degulbeef & Cradding Railroad is a fictitious US Pacific Northwest mining and logging system in the Roaring Twenties. With humor and wittiness, outstanding model railroader Alexander Zelkin tells about his layout, and his own life as well, while sharing with other model railroaders his techniques, in thirty lavishly illustrated tutorials.

Included is a 20-minute DVD, presented are with jesting spirit and fun, the particularities of such an achievement, as presented by the author.

Contents:

• Introduction, pp. 4–7
• My early modeling efforts, inspiration and roots of the Degulbeef & Cradding Railroad, pp. 8–19
• 1974-1984, My first five layouts in HO scale, pp. 20–33
• 1984-1990, The end of my stay in America, pp. 34–45
• 1991-1997, The early years of my return to France - my two dioramas, pp. 46–57
• 1998-2015, The present-day layout, pp. 58–115
• Tutorials and equipment: Opinion, my method, pp. 116–118
• Supporting structure and track, pp. 119–140
• Terrain and scenery, pp. 141–162
• Structures, pp. 163–173
• Building rolling stock, pp. 174–181
• Tools and supplies, pp. 182–187
• Photography the layout, pp. 188–190
• Conclusion, pp. 191–192.