The Kato Sound Box provides an easy way to add realistic sound effects to a direct-current (DC) layout without having to install Digital Command Control (DCC). Senior editor Dana Kawala demonstrates the Sound Box connected to a Kato power pack on the Model Railroader staff’s N scale Red Oak project model train layout. […]
Kevin Strong 1:24 scale, false-front building kit House of Balsa 10101 Yucca Rd. Adelanto CA 92301 Price: $39.95 Website: www.houseofbalsa.com 1:24 scale, plywood and balsa building-flat kit for wood-frame storefront. Dimensions: length, 9½”; depth: 1¾; height: 9½” Pros: Good instructions; easy construction; laser-cut parts fit well together Cons: Not suitable for outdoor use; smaller parts […]
Kevin Strong Replacement wheels for USA Trains diesel locomotives Northwest Short Line PO Box 1349 Hamilton MT 59840 Price: $36.95 for 8 wheels Website: www.nwsl.com Nickel-silver replacement wheels for USA Trains diesel locomotives (#2662-6); 40″ diameter at 1:29 scale Pros: Smooth finish, easy to install Cons: None Kevin Strong Kevin Strong I’m modifying a USA […]
Marc Horovitz 1:22.5-scale police figures Preiser Available in the US from: Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. 5601 W. Florist Avenue Milwaukee WI 53218 Price: $38.99 per set Website: www.walthers.com 1:22.5 scale, plastic, hand-painted figures; two per set, one male and one female; each figure around 3″ tall over peak of hat. In 1:22.5 scale, this works […]
Crews clear the last debris from the depot site on Wednesday. The trackage belongs to Indiana & Ohio. Eric Davis LIMA, Ohio – Northwest Ohio has lost a piece of its railroad history this month. Crews recently razed the former Detroit, Toledo & Ironton freight depot in Lima, completing the job on April 15. The […]
NEW BRIGHTON, Minn. – The Coalition for Sustainable Rail has launched an online repository dedicated to former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway 4-6-4 No. 3463. The website, www.santafe3463.org, provides detail on the history of the engine, its service, and the planned overhaul of the locomotive. The nonprofit Coalition is attempting to reconstruct No. 3463 […]
Kato analog sound controller Sound brings a new level of fun to a model railroad, but what’s a modeler to do if he doesn’t want to convert to Digital Command Control? Kato USA offers one solution with its Sound Box analog sound controller. With this device attached to a direct-current power pack, a modeler at […]
Bachmann N scale 2-8-4 steam locomotive A late-era Super Power steamer joins the Bachmann Sound Value line with this N scale 2-8-4. All the models feature roadname-specific detailing; our review sample is decorated and detailed as Chesapeake & Ohio no. 2760. Developed with SoundTraxx, the Sound Value decoder installed in the model operates on direct-current […]
Rapido Trains HO scale 52′-6″ mill gondola Price: $44.95; six-pack, $269.70 Manufacturer Rapido Trains, in association with MLW 500 Alden Rd., Unit 16 Markham, ON L3R 5H5 www.rapidotrains.com Era: 1965 to 1999 (as decorated) Road names: Canadian Pacific; CP Rail; Canadian National (two schemes); and Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Comments: A new run of Canadian-specific […]
Tangent Scale Models HO scale 8,000-gallon acid tank car Price: $44.95 (R-T-R, decorated or undecorated), $37.95 (undecorated kit) Manufacturer: Tangent Scale Models P.O. Box 6514 Asheville, NC 28816 www.tangentscalemodels.com Era: 1949 into the 1980s Paint schemes: (4 road numbers each, all GATX reporting marks) DOW Chemical Co. (1953 black scheme with bright yellow graphics), 1952+ […]
FEC GP40-2 No. 427 pulls the two NASA Railroad switchers from the property on Friday. NASA/Kim Shiflett CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The locomotives that once helped NASA’s space shuttles on their journeys into space have departed the Kennedy Space Center in Florida after being sold under NASA’s Excess Program. The two EMD SW1500 locomotives, which […]
No. 611 on a 1993 excursion near Arrowhead, Va. Alex Mayes ROANOKE, Va. – Legendary Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 will shake off 20 years of inactivity to pull its first mainline passenger train May 30 from its restoration site in Spencer, N.C., to its hometown of Roanoke where a gala celebration awaits […]
