Model Railroader managing editor David Popp used an Aztec Manufacturing Co. milled frame and a Digitrax SDN144K0A Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder to add sound to a Kato USA N scale E8 diesel lcocomotive. Watch the DCC-sound equipped model run on David’s N scale Naugatuck Valley model train layout. […]
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Postwar commuter surprises
“Deluxe” cars like these on New Haven train 365 at Darien, Conn., in July 1947 were not what author Paradis experienced on his commuter-train rides. NH The distant rumble warned that the mighty New York Central steam locomotive with its 12 steel coaches would soon round the curve on the Harlem Division and bear down […]
Railroad from “Breakheart Pass”
Q On which railroad was the 1975 movie “Breakheart Pass” filmed? — Klaus Schmidt, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. A “Breakheart Pass” was filmed on the Camas Prairie Railroad, a short line in Northern Idaho. Originally a cooperative building effort by predecessors of the Union Pacific and the BNSF in the early 20th century, as of 2004, […]
Running long hood forward
Southern Railway SD45 No. 3121 leads long hood forward on a unit coal train at Oreton, Va., in 1984. Such design enhanced bidirectional capability. Ron Flanary Q When did railroads such as the Norfolk & Western stop running their road engines “long hood first?” How effective was this practice for crew safety? Did it have […]
Steam engine sight glass
Steam engine gage glasses have prisms to improve water visibility. J. David Conrad Q What type of glass (or other material) was used for the sight glass on a steam locomotive boiler? Was it a special material, or just very thick?— William Johnson, Eagle, Mich.A Most (but not all) gage glasses on steam locomotive are […]
Why ‘mudhens?’
Q Why are some Rio Grande steam locomotives referred to as “Mudhens?”— Larry Beck, Susanville, Calif. A The term “Mudhen” refers to 15 Denver & Rio Grande Western class K-27 2-8-2s, Nos. 450-464, built by Baldwin in 1903. Two K-27 Mudhens are left: No. 463, under restoration at the C&TS and No. 464, in operation […]
Charge!
Virginia & Truckee 2-8-0 No. 29 charges past the depot in Gold Hill, Nev., in March 2010 on a portion of the rebuilt silver hauling railroad, high in the desert near Reno. Photo by Jim Wrinn […]
New products for September 29, 2011
Athearn HO scale Electro-Motive Division F7A and F7B diesel locomotives HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division F7A and F7B diesel locomotives. New paint scheme: Burlington Northern. Two differently numbered A-B sets available. Five-pole skew-wound motor with dual flywheels, prototype-specific details, and McHenry scale magnetic knuckle couplers. Direct-current models: A unit, $169.98; A-B set $309.98; with Digital […]
Mark Kunde’s O gauge layout video
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Mark Kunde’s O gauge layout video
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MTH O gauge ALCO RS-11 diesel
In the first and second generation of dieselization, Alco was the perennial odd man out. Although legendary for its steam locomotive designs and one of the first builders to dabble with diesel power, its diesel locomotives never really attained more than niche status with America’s railroads. The company quietly exited locomotive production in 1969. But […]
Bowser HO scale Alco C-630 diesel locomotive
Bowser HO scale Alco C-630 diesel locomotive All-wheel electrical pickup, newly tooled Alco Hi-Ad or Tri-Mount trucks, and many separate brass, wire, and photo-etched detail parts are some of the highlights of this HO scale Alco Century 630 from Bowser. The model is an upgraded version of the Stewart Alco C-630 reviewed in the March […]
