For modeling steel cable, don't use sewing thread—it has stray fibers that look ratty, especially after painting. Instead, use beading thread. This material is thermally bonded, so there's no fraying. Example product: Beadalon WildFire .006 inch (0.5mm) thick, in black, light grey and other colors. Available at Michael's and most craft stores.

Passengers in MTL Empire Builder dome cars

By Mike Scully

June 2009

Step 1: paint passengers on sprue. 

This is my project to add passengers [ ... ]

Creation actually began in January of 2008 as part of a New Year's resolution to get my trains up and running. I had looked at book and magazines for [ ... ]

Here's video of my layout, first in near-total darkness, then in daylight. [video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLmc2DIJHkY 100x100]