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Magazine: Model-Railroader
City of San Francisco is the latest WalthersProto name train
City of San Francisco The City of San Francisco will be the next train in Walthers’ line of name trains. This offering will feature equipment from the various railroads that jointly operated this streamliner from Chicago to San Francisco, including Southern Pacific, Milwaukee Road, Union Pacific, and Texas & New Orleans. Electro-Motive Division E9A and […]
In Memoriam: Iain Rice
In Memoriam: Iain Rice. The hobby lost one of its most creative and prolific track planners with the passing of U.K.’s Iain Rice on October 8, 2022. Iain was a frequent contributor to Kalmbach Media’s Model Railroad Planning as well as to Model Railroader. He also wrote four books for Kalmbach: Small, Smart & Practical […]
Building under construction from Custom Model Railroads
Building under construction Scale: HO (1:87.1) and N (1:160) Price: HO, $249; N, $127 Era: 1970s+ Manufacturer: Custom Model Railroads, 3937 Keswick Road, Baltimore, MD 21211; 410-889-0010; cmrtrain.com Building under construction features: Laser cut acrylic and 3-D printed parts Based on a high rise building under construction HO scale measures 8” x 6” x 17”; […]
Kitbashing a Disney steam locomotive
By Sam Towler Disneyland is one of the few places in the world where one is guaranteed to see an operating steam locomotive the day they visit. These trains have been hauling happy guests around the park since 1955. One particular engine, No. 4, the Ernest S. Marsh, has always interested me due to its unique […]
What’s happening in Southern California model railroad operations
Model railroad operations weekends offer a fun way to learn about others’ layouts, meet new people, and if you’re a magazine editor, find new model railroads to feature in the magazine. At the beginning of summer 2022, I headed west to SoCalOps, an operating weekend centered around the Simi Valley in suburban Los Angeles. I […]
Toxic chemicals on model railroads throughout history
Can you believe hobbyists used to use toxic chemicals on model railroads? In the days before hobby shops sold premade scenery and wiring products, hobbyists made their own. Unfortunately, some of the materials weren’t very safe. Note: We’re providing this article for information and entertainment only. We are definitely not endorsing any of these substances […]
Is it possible to replace my model’s couplers with Micro-Trains Magne-Matic couplers?
Replacing the couplers Need to replace the couplers on your scale model? Cody answers this question in this video of Ask Trains. Are you looking to learn more about your model railroad, or do you have questions about full-size trains? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… Ask Trains is a regular video feature of Trains.com […]
48-foot intermodal container and chassis sets from Athearn
48-foot intermodal container and chassis Scale: HO (1:87:1) Price: $39.99 Era: 1990s+ Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com Features: Injection-molded plastic construction Chassis feature mudflaps and rolling wheels Release date: November 2023 Road names: Conrail (Conrail Mercury container on black BNZ chassis); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (white container with […]
Designing a Free Mo module
A while ago, I wrote about the Free-Mo modular standard. This month I thought I would share my thought processes while designing a Free Mo module. I’ll let you in on a secret: We’re planning on building our 2024 project layout as a series of Free-Mo modules. So my goal here is designing a Free […]
What regulations govern hauling steel?
Q: I was wondering, what regulations govern hauling steel? What are the rules for hauling steel beams, sheet metal, and rolled steel? With steel beams, do they go by the weight of the beam or the thickness? What about sheet metal loads; do they go by thickness or quantity of the load? With rolled steel, […]
Is there an easy way to reproduce Athearn’s Primed for Grime look on locomotives and freight cars?
Creating your own weathered models that look great? Cody answers this question in this video of Ask Trains. Are you looking to learn more about your model railroad, or do you have questions about full-size trains? Send us an email at: AskTrains@trains.com ………………………………… Ask Trains is a regular video feature of Trains.com for magazine subscribers and […]
