News & Products for the week of September 15th 2025
Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of September 15th, 2025.
HO scale locomotives
Cardinal River Models Pere Marquette Class N-1 2-8-4 steam locomotive
Price: $699.99
Manufacturer: Cardinal River Models, 502-767-4716, cardinalrivermodels.com
Pere Marquette Class N-1 2-8-4 features:
- Die-cast metal construction featuring some plastic parts
- Five-pole motor
- ESU DCC sound decoder
- Smoke unit with steaming cylinders
Release date: Late Spring 2026
Road names: Pere Marquette and Chesapeake & Ohio.
HO scale passenger equipment
Kato CAF Viewliner II passenger cars
Price: Varies based on car type
Manufacturer: Kato USA Inc., 100 Remington Rd., Schaumburg, IL 60173; 847-781-9500; katousa.com
CAF Viewliner II passenger cars features:
- Available in sleeper, diner, and baggage-dorm configurations
- Optional kinematic couplers
- Detailed trucks with rotating bearing caps and shock absorber construction
- Designed for operation with Kato’s HO scale Superliners
Release date: Available now
Road names: Amtrak.
HO scale rolling stock
Conowingo bobber pickle car
Price: $58
Manufacturer: Conowingo Models; conowingomodels.com
Bobber pickle car features:
- Laser-cut wood components
- Custom decals and 3D printed parts
- Tichy Train Group details
- LaBelle siderails
- Kadee couplers
Release date: Available now
Kankakee Model Railroad Club David Bradley Manufacturing Works boxcar
Price: Kit, $30; assembled with Kadee couplers, $35
Manufacturer: Kankakee Model Railroad Club, 197 S. East Ave., Kankakee, IL 60901
David Bradley Manufacturing Works boxcar features:
- Accurail boxcar kit
- Available in two road numbers
Release date: Available now
Road names: David Bradley Manufacturing Works.
ScaleTrains Operator line Gunderson Multi-Max auto rack
Price: $46.99
Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 4901 Old Tasso Rd. NE, Cleveland, TN 37312; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com
Gunderson Multi-Max auto rack features:
- Fully assembled
- Late body type
- 28″ machined metal wheels
- Body-mounted semi-scale Type E knuckle couplers
Release date: January 2026
Road names: CPKC, CSX, Ferromex, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific.
Tangent Scale Models Norfolk & Western Roanoke Shops HC-71 4750 Covered Hopper
Price: $67.95
Manufacturer: Tangent Scale Models, P.O. Box 6514, Asheville, NC 28816; 828-412-3886; tangentscalemodels.com
Roanoke Shops HC-71 4750 Covered Hopper features:
- Road-specific details for each scheme
- N&W Roanoke side and end carbody details, including distinctive side post huck bolt rows
- Wire grab irons and uncoupling levers
- 100-ton Barber S-2 trucks with prototype-specific rotating bearing caps
- CNC-machined 36” wheels
- Kadee scale couplers
Release date: Available now
Road names: Norfolk & Western (delivery HC-71 1973, delivery HC-71 1979, and Claytor Repaint HC-71 1986+) and Norfolk Southern (NW HC-71 1989+ and conspicuity HC-71 2005+). Also available ready-to-run but unpainted (NW 1973-1974 HC-71 and NW 1979-1980 HC-71).
N scale locomotives
ScaleTrains Electro-Motive Division SD40T-2
Price: Direct-current model, $159.99; with DCC and sound, $269.99
Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 4901 Old Tasso Rd. NE, Cleveland, TN 37312; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com
Electro-Motive Division SD40T-2 features:
- Factory-applied details include wire grab irons, windshield wipers, and train line hoses with silver glad hands
- Underbody frame rail with separate plumbing and traction motor cables
- Etched-metal radiator exhaust grills with radiator shutters visible underneath
- See-through radiator intake compartment and standard 48” dynamic brake fan housings with visible fan blades
- Prototype-specific details
Release date: Available now
Road names: Denver & Rio Grande Western, Southern Pacific, and Union Pacific. Multiple versions per paint scheme.
News & Products is a regular feature of Trains.com for model railroad operators and builders to get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more. Model railroad product news may include HO, N, O, S, and Z scales. Product release dates and prices will vary according to each manufacturer. If you are a manufacturer and have new product releases, please e-mail Senior Editor Cody Grivno at cody.grivno@firecrown.com.
