Model Railroader's favorite products of 2023

Model Railroader’s favorite products of 2023: As 2023 draws to a close, and we look forward to a new year, Model Railroader‘s Cody Grivno and Bryson Sleppy take a look back at some of their favorite model railroad products of 2023.

Tangent Scale Models HO scale Burlington Northern International Car Co. wide-vision cabooses

For many years, if you modeled the Burlington Northern in HO scale, you had to settle for “close enough” injection-molded plastic wide-vision cabooses. Tangent Scale Models took care of that problem in 2023 with its line of cabooses painted for the Burlington Northern; Northern Pacific; and Spokane, Portland & Seattle. The BN offerings cover the history of the car, including the September 1970 as-delivered scheme, 1981-plus version with the running boards removed and windows blanked over, and the Western Fruit Express 1990 rebuild. Of course, the cars are loaded with era-specific details, a painted and detailed interior, and wire grab irons. — Cody Grivno

Rapido Amtrak Turboliner

By now, I don’t think it’s a secret that I’m a big fan of Amtrak – both riding the trains in real life and modeling the railroad’s equipment. When I was told that I was going to review the new Turboliner by Rapido, I was ecstatic. I knew Rapido made beautiful models and after seeing this train run for the first time, it was no exception. A great runner with wonderful sound and details, it stays on the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy staff layout, and I can be caught occasionally taking it for a spin while on lunch. That is, until I start to weather the train and add figures inside. Cody and Eric reviewed the train for our website, and you can read my review in the October 2023 issue of MR. — Bryson Sleppy

Otter Valley Railroad HO scale FreightCar America 52-foot, 100-ton bulkhead flatcar

Color photo showing two HO scale models. — While spending a Saturday trackside with my family in 2014, I caught a northbound Canadian National train heading towards Fond du Lac, Wis. In the train was a small cut of bulkhead flatcars that I’d never seen before. The cars, just over a year old when I photographed them, were all loaded with pipe.

Fast forward to 2023. Otter Valley Railroad releases an HO scale version of the car lettered for CN and International Railcar Services. You can read my review of the bulkhead flatcar and see a prototype photo from my railfan trip in the News & Reviews section on Trains.com. — Cody Grivno

Micro-Trains DODX flatcar with mystery balloon

News & Products for the week of February 20th 2023: an image of a model flat car with mystery balloon load — Speaking of secrets, another product that I just love from 2023 is the Micro-Trains mystery balloon car. I studied national security in college and have always been intrigued by anything espionage and spy related. Needless to say the events that transpired between January and February 2023 and this car have my interest. Even more impressive than the real-world operation to take down the balloon was the fact that Micro-Trains was able to produce the model within 3 months of the event. The second this was announced, I knew it would be a hit. Senior editor Cody Grivno interviewed Micro-Trains president Eric Smith shortly after the car was announced in February. — *Bryson Sleppy*

Bachmann Trains N scale Siemens SC-44 Charger

This modern four-axle passenger unit looked right at home on our Milwaukee, Racine & Troy State Line Route layout. Features on the Bachmann model include a TCS WOWSound decoder with voice-guided audio assist, a Keep-Alive capacitor, and illuminated corridors in the engine cooling compartment. You can check out the Product Review video I co-hosted with Editor Eric White on Trains.com. I thought it was pretty cool that our sample, decorated for Amtrak Midwest, had “Milwaukee” in the destination board. — Cody Grivno

Athearn F59PHI diesel locomotive

Metra Electro-Motive Division F59PHI diesel locomotive — The weekend after I graduated college, my friend Luke and I took a trip to Chicago to celebrate and do some railfanning. This was my first time in Metra territory, and I fell in love with commuter operations. One of the workhorses of the fleet is the Electro-Motive Division F59PHI, a passenger locomotive built by the company from 1994 to 2001. 21 locomotives ended up on Amtrak rails but were later sold to Metra, where they run today. I’ve seen Metra No. 90 a handful of times and always love seeing a different paint scheme on my many trips to Chicago. There’s something about the CNW paint scheme that makes me understand the affinity many have toward that particular fallen flag. The Athearn model is a faithful representation of the real life locomotive, and you can read Cody’s review of the model in the November 2023 issue of MR. — *Bryson Sleppy*

Rapido Trains HO scale CP Rail RS18u and Bowser Trains HO scale SD30C-ECO

OK, I know I was only supposed to pick two to four models for the 2023 MR product roundup. But what can I say? I have a soft spot for rebuilt diesel locomotives, and this year we received two models based on Canadian Pacific prototypes that deserve to be included in this list. The Rapido Trains RS18u depicts a four-axle unit rebuilt by the railroad at its Angus Shops in Montreal. You can learn more about the prototype and see the Rapido Trains model in action in this video.

The Bowser Trains SD30C-ECO is based on a modern Canadian Pacific rebuild. These units were constructed, in part, from components salvaged from General Motors Diesel Division and Electro-Motive Division SD40-2 diesel locomotives. Eric and I hosted a Product Review video on the SD30C-ECO in April. My review of the six-axle unit, used in helper duty and on road trains, transfer runs, and locals, was published on page 12 of the July 2023 issue. — Cody Grivno

WalthersProto Electro-Motive Division GP9 and SW9 diesel locomotives

Cody picked five models, so I’m going to pick five models, too! Did I mention that there are certain paint schemes that I love? Grand Trunk Western is of those. Though I was born 8 years too late to witness GTW power in regular service and not under the CN brand, the blue, red, and white paint scheme always stood out to me on models. However, once I moved to Waukesha in 2021, I found that the scheme wasn’t entirely dead. Occasionally a GTW Geep is on the point of the CN local power set that is based out of Waukesha. It was quite ironic that the WalthersProto GP9 and SW9 models released around the same time earlier this year, both in the iconic GTW paint scheme. When Cody was taking pictures of each, I asked for a picture with the two consisted together for the lead picture of the News & Reviews section of the November 2023 issue. I thought they looked perfect together. — Bryson Sleppy