Product news
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. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of September 30, 2021.
HO scale locomotives
Alco FA-1 and FB-1 diesel locomotives. Canadian National (green and yellow, four FA-1s); Canadian Pacific (Block and script schemes); Erie (yellow and black); Great Northern (Empire Builder scheme); Lehigh & New England (black and white); New York, New Haven & Hartford (as-delivered and McGinnis schemes); Pennsylvania (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel with single stripe); Reading Co. (green and black); and Union Pacific (Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Gray). Two FA-1s and two A-B sets per scheme unless noted. Five-pole motor with dual flywheels, die-cast metal chassis, and separate grab irons and handrails. Without sound: FA-1, $229.95; A-B set, $429.95. With dual-mode sound decoder: FA-1, $339.95; A-B set, $649.95. Release date to be announced. Rapido Trains, 905-474-3314, rapidotrains.com
HO scale freight cars
Assorted freight car kits. Archer Daniels Midland 40-foot insulated boxcar, $19.98. Denver & Rio Grande Western United States Railroad Administration two-bay hopper: single car, $18.98; three-pack, $55.98. Texas & Pacific 40-foot riveted-side boxcar, $19.98. Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Pullman-Standard 4,750-cubic-foot capacity three-bay covered hopper, $21.98. Union Pacific American Car & Foundry two-bay Center Flow covered hopper, $20.98. Injection-molded plastic kits with plastic wheelsets, trucks, and Accumate couplers. November 2021. Accurail, 630-365-1173, accurail.com
42-foot fish-belly flatcar. New paint schemes: Boston & Maine; Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic; St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco); and Rock Island. New road numbers: Chesapeake & Ohio, Chicago & North Western, Denver & Rio Grande, and New York Central. Six road numbers per scheme. Metal wheelsets and couplers. $39.95. Release date to be announced. InterMountain Railway Co., 303-772-1901, www.intermountain-railway.com
Bethlehem 3,737-cubic-foot capacity four-bay covered hopper. Soo Line (1967 as-delivered scheme, nine road numbers) and Inland Steel (1974 as-delivered scheme, 12 road numbers). Wire uncoupling levers, grab irons, brake rods, and lever hangers; Kadee no. 158 scale couplers; and 100-ton ASF Ride Control trucks with machined metal wheelsets. $48.99. Produced by ExactRail, available exclusively from TrainLife.com, 801-226-1909, trainlife.com
89-foot flatcar with bi-level auto rack. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Baltimore & Ohio; Erie Lackawanna; Norfolk & Western; Penn Central; Pennsylvania RR; and Union Pacific. Four road numbers per scheme. New die-cast metal underframe and swinging drawbar for operation on 24” radius curves, retooled underbody details, 70-ton roller-bearing trucks with 33” RP-25 contour turned-metal wheelsets, and Proto-max metal couplers. $39.98. October 2021. WalthersMainline. Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 414-527-0770, walthers.com
HO scale passenger cars
Budd Slumbercoach. Amtrak (Phase 1 and 3 schemes [latter with as-built underbody configuration]); Baltimore & Ohio (five road numbers); Burlington Northern (two numbers); Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (Northern Pacific scheme with CB&Q sublettering, two numbers); Missouri Pacific (one number); New York Central; and Northern Pacific. Four numbers per scheme unless noted; also available painted stainless steel but unlettered. Underbody detail with separate pipes and conduits, multi-color interior detail including roomette doors, Accurate GSC 41-NDO-11 trucks with disc brake detail, etched-metal end gates, and sprung diaphragms. $119.95. Release date to be announced. Rapido Trains, 905-474-3314, rapidotrains.com
N scale locomotives
Electro-Motive Division F7A diesel locomotive. Alaska RR (DOT scheme in one road number and blue and yellow with billboard lettering); Amtrak (red, silver, and black with “pointless arrow” logo); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (blue bonnet scheme); Burlington Northern (Cascade Green and black and Cascade Green and black with white stripe); Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (Colorado & Southern reporting marks); Electro-Motive Division demonstrator (red and white, one number); Great Northern (Big Sky Blue, three numbers); Missouri-Kansas-Texas (green and yellow, two numbers); National Rys. of Mexico (green and orange); Northern Pacific (Loewy two-tone green); Ohio Central (maroon and yellow, two numbers); Pennsylvania RR (Dark Green Locomotive Enamel with single stripe); St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco, Mandarin Orange and white); Union Pacific (Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist Gray); and Western Maryland (circus scheme). Four numbers per scheme unless noted. Separate, factory-applied wire grab irons; horizontal or vertical etched-metal grills; and light-emitting-diode headlights. Direct-current model, $169.95; with ESU LokPilot 5 Digital Command Control (DCC) motor and light decoder, $219.95; and with ESU LokSound 5 sound decoder, $279.95. Release date to be announced. InterMountain Railway Co., 303-772-1901, www.intermountain-railway.com
General Electric Dash 9-44CW and Dash 9-40C diesel locomotives. Dash 9-44CW: BNSF (Heritage II with Heritage I replacement hood section in two road numbers and Heritage II scheme). Dash 9-40C: Norfolk Southern (as-delivered scheme). Six numbers per scheme unless noted. Directional light-emitting-diode headlights, all-wheel drive and electrical pickup, and 5,000-gallon fuel tank. Direct-current model with Next18 connector, $139.99; with dual-mode ESU LokSound 5 sound decoder and dual cube-type speakers, $234.99. Rivet Counter line. ScaleTrains.com Inc., 423-299-3689, scaletrains.com
N scale freight cars
4,750-cubic-foot capacity three-bay covered hopper. New paint schemes: Rocky Mountain Brokerage (green and black, five road numbers), Canadian National (oxide red with Chicago Central reporting marks, “wet noodle” herald, and web address), Chicago & North Western (green with separate logo plate), North American Chemical Co. (DGHX reporting marks), St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco, pre-merger green scheme), Illinois Central Gulf (orange and black with reporting marks only), Missouri Pacific (gray with screaming eagle herald), and Morrison-Quirk Grain Corp. (gray). New road numbers: Terminal Grain, Sioux City, Iowa (white and black); and Rock Island (blue). Six numbers per scheme unless noted. Metal wheelsets, knuckle couplers, and etched metal running boards. $29.95. Release date to be announced. InterMountain Railway Co., 303-772-1901, www.intermountain-railway.com
Electronics/controls
Extension plate for Prodigy Advance and Tech 6. Allows user to extend the range of two handheld throttles by more than 9 feet. Includes plug-in port; mounting screws; and all cables, including RJ45 connectors. Can be surface-mounted for a clean look. $39.98. Model Rectifier Corp., 732-225-2100, modelrectifier.com
DVDs
EMD at 100. DVD presented by Trains magazine. Noted videographer Rich Luckin looks at EMD’s origins and development and its role today as an arm of Progress Rail. Includes exclusive footage from the Indiana plant and interviews with employees. 60 minutes. $24.99. Kalmbach Hobby Store, kalmbachhobbystore.com
Great Model Railroads 30-year archive. DVD-ROM features 283 full-length articles from GMR 1991 through 2020. Features large, detailed track plans in HO, N, and O scales; expert advice and how-to tips from well-known modelers like Lou Sassi, Lance Mindheim, Gerry Leone, and more; and modeling ideas. Easily search each issue, view, zoom in, and bookmark articles on your laptop or desktop computer. DVD-ROM disc will not play on stand-alone DVD players. For use in a computer DVD drive only. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 or later. $16.99. Kalmbach Hobby Store, kalmbachhobbystore.com
