New products for September 2014

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 SWOON FOR MAROON: Lehigh Valley F3s return to the MTH Premier line with the no. 20-20401 F3 A-B-A set. The O gauge outfit features can-style motors, coil couplers, directional lighting, a smoke unit, and ProtoSound 3.0. The set will operate on O-31 curves. The current MTH catalog also lists the nos. 20402-1 Great Northern, 20403-1 […]

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Atlas O gauge Burlington F3 diesel

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Price: no. 1640 powered A unit (two road numbers) $499.95, unpowered B units (two road numbers) $219.95 Features: O-36 operation (A unit), O-45 operation (B unit); two can-style motors; Lionel TrainMaster and RailSounds; speed control; coil coupler; smoke unit Current-production road names: Burlington Route, Chicago & North Western, Great Northern, Jersey Central, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, and Union […]

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MTH locomotive comparison

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O gauge Premier line SD70ACe diesel by MTH Price: no. 20-20273 powered: $459.95, unpowered $269.95 Features: See review. O gauge RailKing line SD70ACe diesel by MTH Price: no. 30-20136-1 powered: $329.95 Features: See review. Current Premier and RailKing line Heritage road names (SD70ACe): Erie, Illinois Terminal, Jersey Central, Lackawanna, New York Central, Penn Central, Reading, […]

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Whatever happened to the anthracite roads?

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The Northeast was laced with anthracite roads — those carriers that made a name for themselves hauling hard coal out of the mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania. With its high heat value, clean-burning anthracite was far superior to wood for warming homes and offices, and moving this coal by rail fueled the growth of the East’s […]

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Corn City classic

CSX GE ES44DC No. 5251 leads a southbound ethanol train at Deshler, Ohio, on June 14, 2014. For now, the classic Baltimore & Ohio color position light bracket signal remains. Photo by Dale A. DeVene Jr. […]

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Waiting game

CSX train Q216 waits, with a Canadian Pacific leader, while a Norfolk Southern train heads west through the Vickers interlocking in Northwood, Ohio, on Jan. 18, 2014. The CSX crew spent a lot of time waiting this morning while NS ran its traffic first through this suburban Toledo crossing. Photo by Michael D. Harding […]

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SoundTraxx DCC decoder for Atlas GenSet

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Soundtraxx DCC decoder for Atlas GenSet TSU-AT1000 decoder Price: $99.95 Manufacturer: SoundTraxx 210 Rock Point Drive Durango, CO 81301 www.soundtraxx.com Comments: With two of its three 700 hp Cummins diesel engines cycling on and off, the NRE GenSet has a sound unlike any other locomotive. SoundTraxx provides a straightforward way to add realistic sound, as […]

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Walthers HO scale Budd Big Dome

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Walthers HO scale Budd Big Dome Full-length dome cars, like this new HO scale model from Walthers, were popular upgrades to the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe’s top name trains in 1954. Each of Santa Fe’s original Big Domes had 57 angled coach seats and 18 lounge seats on the upper deck, with a lower […]

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Walthers HO scale ranch-style house

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Walthers HO scale ranch-style house Price: $24.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. P.O. Box 3039 Milwaukee, WI 53201 www.walthers.com Era: 1920s to present Comments: A classic brick ranch-style house is one of the latest additions to the Walthers Cornerstone Series. The easy-to-build, injection-molded plastic HO scale kit features a one-piece base, roof, and soffit; separate […]

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Well-worn

  New York & Atlantic Railway SW1001 No. 105 rests outside the enginehouse at Fresh Pond Yard in Queens, N.Y., on Aug. 15, 2009. Photo by Thomas Mik […]

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