I needed a way to drill a 3/8″ to 1/2″ diameter hole in 2″ thick rigid foam. Traditional drill bits wander too much and leave a terribly ragged hole. So do spade bits. A hole saw works great, but the smallest I could find was 3/4″. So… I tried a Grain Belt Models 36″ HO-scale culvert. I think the results speak for themselves!

Calling all scale model civil engineers… 25% off all culvert pipe, now through Feb 26! Multiple sizes available in HO, S, and O-Scale: https://www.iascaled.com/store/GBM/CulvertPipe

Use coupon code CIVE25.

We will be at the St. Louis Railroad Prototype Modelers (RPM) Meet this coming Friday and Saturday (July 30-31, 2021).  Stop by our tables, say hi, and see our line of products, including some new ones this year!

• ProtoThrottle – Realistic Control Stand Throttle
• Trainspotter – Rock Solid Train Detection
• New!Read More...

Spring Creek Model Trains will be at the Lincoln Area Railway Historical Society Show at the Lancaster Event Center in Lincoln, NE, this coming weekend, February 15 & 16, 2020. Stop by their booth for a chance to try out the ProtoThrottle and see our Grain Belt Models grain bins and culverts in person!

Spring Creek will be on the road throughout the year.  For the latest show schedule, please check the Spring Creek Model Trains calendar.

Spring Creek Model Trains will be at the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show at the Eastern States Exposition Fairgrounds in West Springfield, MA, this coming weekend, January 25 & 26, 2020. Stop by their booth for a chance to try out the ProtoThrottle, Realistic Control Stand Throttle and see our Grain Belt Models grain bins and culverts in person!

Spring Creek will be on the road throughout the year.  For the latest show schedule, please check the Spring Creek Model Trains calendar.

Spring Creek Model Trains will be at the Dallas Area Train Show in Plano, TX,  this coming weekend, January 18-19, 2020. Stop by their booth for a chance to try out the ProtoThrottle, Realistic Control Stand Throttle and see our Grain Belt Models grain bins and culverts in person!

Spring Creek will be on the road throughout the year.  For the latest show schedule, please check the Spring Creek Model Trains calendar.

We will be at the Spring Creek Model Trains train show this coming weekend, June 29th and 30th, in Deshler, NE. Please stop by and say hi! We will have the ProtoThrottle available to try, along with our new line of Grain Belt Models culvert pipes and grain bins.  We hope to see you there!

What is Grain Belt Models? While not “officially” launching for another couple weeks, here’s a sneak peak at a new line of N- and HO-scale models.

How does this fit with Iowa Scaled Engineering’s traditionally all-electronic product line? 3D printing. We have been using 3D printing to make faceplates and brackets for our other products (including the ProtoThrottle) for some time now. Almost by accident one day, after experimenting with some special filaments, we realized we could make some very realistic items that, for a change, go on top the model railroad! Thus was born our line of culvert pipes and (coming soon) corrugated steel grain bins.  
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Nelson Moyer recently completed a very nice gondola load using some of our HO-scale Grain Belt Models culvert pipes.

Nelson’s description of the work:

“The CB&Q GM-4 gondola is a Walthers P2K 52 ft. mill gondola kit. I added the reinforcing strap on the top of the sill per CB&Q practice, painted the car with Tru Color CB&Q Freight Car Red, and used decals from Jerry Hamsmith. The Culverts are from Iowa Scaled Engineering. The cribbing is Northeastern Lumber Co. strip wood, and the tie-downs are 1/32 in. wide ChartPak vinyl tape. [The load is] not removable because the cribbing is too fragile. I would just stack the culverts, and wrap the tape around them if I intended for them to be removable. I used canopy glue to spot glue the culverts and spacers and CA for the wood and tape ends.” 
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