Senior Editor Cody Grivno reviews the new Atlas Trainman HO Electro-Motive Division (EMD) GP38-2 diesel locomotive. First, you’ll learn new insights about full-size EMD GP38-2 units, and specifics details about Helm Leasing no. 3805, which was originally built as Texas Mexican Railway no. 866. Then, as possible only through video demonstration, Cody highlights the model’s […]
News & Products for the week of September 2nd 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 2nd, […]
“TlMBER!” It was that cry ringing across West Virginia’s Appalachian slopes that put loads on the flat cars of the Cherry River Boom & Lumber Company’s Railroad, and cash in the company coffers. Once the Cherry River trundled 100 million board feet of lumber a year down to the mill at Richwood. But timber grows […]
Roanoke, Va., headquarters of the former Norfolk & Western Railway and once known as the “Alamo for Steam,” is home to the renowned East End Shops. This facility, still standing today, was where the bulk of the railroad’s steam fleet was built. Among these were three locomotive classes from the 1940s-50s, known as the “Big […]
Rapido HO Trains EMD GP40 Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Single unit — direct current, $239.95; with ESU LokSound V5 sound decoder, $349.95. Locomotive with slug — direct current, $449.95; with ESU LokSound V5 decoder, $669.95 Manufacturer: Rapido Trains, 382 High St, Buffalo, NY 14204; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Rapido Trains HO EMD GP40 diesel locomotive features: Ditch […]
In the 1910s, Lawson Billinton of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway was tasked with designing a successor to the E1 Class 0-6-0T steam locomotives, designed by William Stroudley in 1874. The “answer” became the E2 Class 0-6-0T that would go on to have a complicated legacy during its flawed career and after its […]
I found this manuscript from the late John Grams in our manuscript files. There was no date on the envelope but it’s likely from the early 1990s. The article discusses 12 Lionel products that, while great inventions, were fraught with problems or didn’t work exactly as advertised. He included the following disclaimer: Lionel trains were […]
News & Products for the week of August 25th 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 August 25th, […]
We’re changing things up for our latest product review video. Trains.com Director David Popp took the Rapido HO TurboTrain 2.0 on the road to run on Gerry Leone’s Bona Vista RR. Learn more about the full-size United Aircraft TurboTrain and our review sample, decorated in early Amtrak colors. Then watch the five-car train pass through […]
We’re changing things up for our latest product review video. Trains.com Director David Popp took the Rapido HO TurboTrain 2.0 on the road to run on Gerry Leone’s Bona Vista RR. Learn more about the full-size United Aircraft TurboTrain and our review sample, decorated in early Amtrak colors. Then watch the five-car train pass through […]
A Fairbanks-Morse H16-44 diesel locomotive, based on a Phase III prototype, is now available from Rapido Trains. The HO scale model features injection-molded plastic and die-cast metal construction, prototype-specific details, and body-mounted Macdonald-Cartier metal couplers. Prototype history Fairbanks-Morse, and its Canadian subsidiary Canadian Locomotive Co., produced the H16-44 from April 1950 until March 1963. During […]
Fairbanks-Morse, the Beloit, Wisconsin-based locomotive manufacturer, was celebrated for its powerful and innovative designs during the transition from steam to diesel. Nevertheless, not all of its creations achieved commercial success. The following examines three Fairbanks-Morse locomotive models that, despite their ambitious engineering, struggled to find a foothold in the market. Fairbanks-Morse H20-44 The H20-44, introduced […]
