In the February 2017 issue, you’ll learn how to make a lighted billboard. Download the drawings for this billboard here. Make a lighted billboard […]
Weekend workshop: Make a lighted billboard
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New toy train products from the February 2017 issue
SPECIAL VALUE CARS: Three new cars have been added to the Menards line of O gauge rolling stock. The nos. 279-3178 Chesapeake & Ohio flatcar with die-cast metal concrete mixer and 279-3476 Pennsylvania RR flatcar with excavator. The excavator has lights and sounds that activate with the press of a button. The latest addition to […]
Peco static grass products
Pro Grass Micro Applicator, $109.99; static grass, $6.99 (.7 ounce bag) to $22.99 (3.5 ounce bag); grass tufts, $8.99 to $10.99 Peco, a manufacturer long known for producing track in Z, N, HO, O, and large scales and structures in N, HO, and O, recently entered the scenery market. The initial offerings in the Peco […]
Kato HO scale GE C44-9W
Kato HO scale GE C44-9W For more than 20 years, the General Electric C44-9W, the most popular locomotive of GE’s Dash 9 series, has maintained a dominating presence on North American main lines. The prototypes were only a couple years old when Kato released its first HO scale Dash 9, reviewed in the September 1996 […]
Rapido N scale EMD FL9
Rapido’s N scale EMD FL9 A split die-cast metal frame surrounds the motor and flywheels. Driveshafts transfer power to the trucks, driving four of the five axles, just like the prototype. N scale modelers who want to model commuter operations on the New York, New Haven & Hartford don’t have to pine for the HO […]
Galvanic corrosion
This coal hopper, seen in Butler, Wis., has a main body built from aluminum and a center sill made of steel. Freight-car makers use non-conductive materials to separate the metals and prevent galvanic corrosion. Steve Sweeney Q There are aluminum-body Talgos and aluminum-body coal cars, both with steel center sills. High school chemistry teaches that […]
Quick Look: WalthersMainline HO 53-foot Thrall corrugated-side gondola
WalthersMainline HO 53-foot Thrall corrugated-side gondola Price: $24.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53218 www.walthers.com Road names: Great Northern; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Burlington Northern; Conrail; Southern Pacific; and Union Pacific Era: Late 1960s to 1990s Comments: Walthers is offering a ready-to-run version of the HO scale Thrall […]
Quick Look: Atlas N scale FMC boxcar
Atlas N scale FMC boxcar Price: $23.95 (undecorated, $18.95) Manufacturer Atlas Model Railroad Co. 378 Florence Ave. Hillside, NJ 07205 www.atlasrr.com Era: late 1980s to present (as painted) Road names: Burlington Northern; Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay; Atlantic & Western; Cadiz RR; Escanaba & Lake Superior; Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion; Port Huron & Detroit; […]
Trains under the Christmas tree
Name: Neal Mayer Forum User Name: NealM Railroad Name: Trains Under the Tree Location: Boston, MA Scale: Traditional O Gauge Theme: Christmas trains Description: My Dad’s childhood train from the ‘30s, a Lionel 259, became my childhood train in the ’60’s. During my kids’ childhood in the 90’s, It became the Christmas train. The kids […]
Trains under the Christmas tree
Name: Neal Mayer Forum User Name: NealM Railroad Name: Trains Under the Tree Location: Boston, MA Scale: Traditional O Gauge Theme: Christmas trains Description: My Dad’s childhood train from the ‘30s, a Lionel 259, became my childhood train in the ’60’s. During my kids’ childhood in the 90’s, It became the Christmas train. The kids […]
The time I got to run ‘my unit’
On June 15, 1972 — six years before author Olson’s ride on it — Illinois Central Gulf SD40 6000 pulls into Markham Yard at Homewood, Ill., with GP40 3011. J. David Ingles I have always had a thing for “class units,” that is, the first in a series, and “my engine” is Illinois Central 6000, […]
O gauge Alco RS-3 from MTH Electric Trains
O GAUGE ALCO RS-3 FROM MTH ELECTRIC TRAINS Price: $319.95 (no. 30-20295-1) Min Curve: O-27 Cmd Low: 2.1 smph Cnv Low: 5.2 smph High: 63 smph Drawbar pull: 1 lb., 4 oz. Features: Can-style motor, ProtoSound 3.0 command and sound system, smoke, coil couplers Current-production road names: CP Rail, New Haven, New York Central, Providence […]
