Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale Alco RS-11 diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Alco RS-11 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes: Apache, California Western, Conrail (Penn Central patchout), Delaware & Hudson (large numbers), Nickel Plate Road (broad stripes), and Norfolk & Western (blue “half moon” scheme). New road numbers: Missouri Pacific (blue and gray) and Southern […]
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Northeast T-TRAK Group members Fay Chin (left) and Julia and Chris Saari-Franks stand with Fay’s eight T-TRAK modules at the Kato USA booth at the Amherst Railway Society 2018 Railroad Hobby Show. Chris runs a Kato USA N scale Olympian Hiawatha and a coal train on the T-TRAK modules using a Kato powerpack and Sound […]
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Athearn Ready To Roll HO scale SD40-2 Although it’s part of Athearn’s value-priced Ready-To-Roll series, this SD40-2 bristles with enough roadname-specific detail to satisfy most prototype-savvy modelers. The SD40-2 also marks a big upgrade for Athearn RTR locomotives. Instead of the SoundTraxx RTR decoder with limited functionality found in previous Athearn RTR releases, this new […]
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Truck shown with coupler removed Flashing rear-end devices, or FREDs, started taking the place of cabooses on trains starting in the 1970s. The small rectangular boxes are now a ubiquitous part of modern-era railroading. Bachmann Trains is offering a light-emitting-diode (LED) illuminated HO scale FRED that works on direct-current (DC) or Digital Command Control (DCC) […]
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Atlas HO scale General Electric U33B diesel locomotive The Rock Island was a mighty fine line, but by the time General Electric’s U33B locomotives were delivered in the late 1960s, the Rock was in a hard place. The 3,300hp diesels were designed for fast freight, but the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific was a granger […]
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Lowell Smith N scale sleepers Price: $54 each Manufacturer Lowell Smith Signature Series P.O. Box 219 Gresham, OR 97030 www.lowellsmith.net Car names: Death Valley and Grand Canyon Era: late 1940s to early 1950s Comments: The Lowell Smith Signature Series has launched a new line of N scale passenger cars, the Pullman Park Series. The first […]
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Woodland Scenics HO scale Double Decker Trailer Price: $74.99 Manufacturer Woodland Scenics P.O. Box 98 Linn Creek, MO 65052 www.woodlandscenics.com Versions: Sunny Days, Grillin’ & Chillin’, and Double Decker trailers Era: 1950s to present Comments: Modelers looking for downscale housing for their trackside towns should check out this Landmark Structures offering from Woodland Scenics. The […]
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50 Years-North American Railroads: Vol. 1-The Far West By Don Jocelyn Four Ways West, La Mirada, Calif.; 154 pages, hardcover, $69.95. fourwayswest.com Four Ways West has released the first volume in a new pictorial book series featuring a photographic retrospective of North American railroads during the past 50 years. Volume one looks at the railroads […]
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Guide to North American Diesel Locomotives By Jeff Wilson Kalmbach Books; 350 pages, 400+ photos, softcover, 8.25 x 10.75 inches; $27.99. www.kalmbachhobbystore.com Back in the late 1950s/early 1960s, many “old guard” railfans held the opinion that the hobby of train watching would gradually die out concurrently with the demise of steam. In 1963, Lucius Beebe, […]
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After a 2-10-2 and 4-8-4 stalled on MoPac’s Kirkwood Hill, an 0-8-0 and caboose couple up to render assistance. Joe Collias Heading west from St. Louis, Missouri Pacific trains faced the 6-mile-long, 1-percent grade known as Kirkwood Hill. Normal train length was 100 cars, powered by one of the rebuilt 2101-class 4-8-4s and led by […]
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HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD40 diesel locomotive. CSX (Norfolk Southern patchout), Pennsylvania RR (four road numbers), Southern Pacific (no. 7342 in orange and Daylight Red and orange), and Southern Ry. (as-delivered scheme and Norfolk Southern heritage unit no. 3170). Three numbers per scheme unless noted. Prototype-specific details, factory-installed and painted wire grab irons, and […]
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This video highlights how Thomas Klimoski built an operating gate and derail for his Georgia Northeastern model railroad. An article on building the lumber yard and gate appears in the March 2018 issue of Model Railroader. […]
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