Many years ago I read an article about railroad roundhouses in North Dakota. The article made the point that they were located about every 100 miles because steam locomotives continually shook themselves apart and needed to have maintenance before they could be reused. Well, that made sense of a sort. And since even smaller engine […]
How do you put down ballast on your O gauge railroad? Depending on the scope of the project, I may use either a plastic cup – or a cut-open one-gallon water jug filled with ballast. I pour it down on the track and then use a paintbrush for general shaping and tamping, and maybe an […]
Not long ago, businesses that received or generated moderate levels of rail traffic called the local railroad for switching duties. Others had their own switcher. Other firms with less, though steady traffic had another recourse for motive power: the Trackmobile.First developed in the late 1940s, the Trackmobile was a dream come true for firms with […]
You know I’m not sure if I ever saw a General Electric U25B diesel locomotive operating in revenue service. Oh, back in the day, I have a hazy memory of perhaps seeing one in a backshop deadline, although that may have been another four-axle GE model. But during my prime railfanning period (1978-85), I believe […]
Ballast King’s O gauge ballast spreading car is an interesting and really fun way to ballast your railroad’s right-of-way. […]
Atlas HO scale turntable This product is a good, inexpensive direct-current powered turntable for the modelers who don’t a lot of money to spend. It features a handwheel to control by hand. The roundhouse slots have As and Bs to show how to install track. The table itself has no pit, but looks fine and […]
This HO scale Alco HH-660 from Atlas Model Railroad Co. includes a QSI Quantum Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoder. Listen to this HO diesel locomotive as it switches freight cars on this model train layout. […]
The MTH Electric Trains HO scale bipolar features pantographs that raise and lower, remote opening couplers, and sound effects. Equipped with the MTH Digital Command System (DCS), the locomotive runs on direct-current (DC), Digital Command Control (DCC), and DCS layouts. Watch us run the locomotive on the Model Railroader club layout. […]
MTH Electric Trains HO scale General Electric bipolar The General Electric bipolar 1B+D+D+1B is the latest heavy electric locomotive modeled by MTH in HO scale. Like the firm’s EP-4 and EF-4 “Little Joe” electrics, this HO bipolar has an array of sound effects and metal pantographs that raise and lower automatically or by remote control. […]
Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale Alco HH600/HH660 diesel locomotive Atlas Model Railroad Co. is reissuing its HO scale Alco HH600/HH660 diesel switcher, this time equipped with Digital Command Control (DCC) and sound. The authentic sounds and powerful controls add a new dimension to an already impressive model. When we originally reviewed this locomotive in […]
Atlas HO scale 73-foot center-beam bulkhead flatcar Price: $46.95 (undecorated, $39.95) ManufacturerAtlas Model Railroad Co.378 Florence Ave.Hillside, NJ 07205www.atlasrr.com Era: 1986 to present Comments: A center-beam bulkhead flatcar based on a Gunderson prototype is now available from Atlas. The full-size flatcar, designed for carrying building products, was introduced in 1986 and is still in production […]
Piko America LLC BR199 German diesel locomotive With its new model of a German narrow-gauge diesel, Piko has entered the market for G narrow-gauge equipment in a big way – literally. The two-motor, 12-wheel locomotive is more than 21″ long. The prototype for Piko’s model is a B-B diesel-hydraulic that was developed for the East […]
