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This powerful Norfolk & Western class Y6b 2-8-8-2 is an HO scale late-steam-era articulated locomotive capable of operating on curve radii as sharp as 18″. The locomotive is the latest addition to Precision Craft Models’ line of steam locomotives. It’s available with an automatic Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder and the Electronic Solutions Ulm (ESU) […]
Micro-Trains Line Z scale EMD GP35 diesel This extremely accurate model of an Electro-Motive Division GP35 is detailed enough for even the most demanding modeler. Rivets are visible (with a magnifying glass, unless you have young eyes), dimensions are right on, and the delicate, etched-metal handrails are accurate down to the number of stanchions. Micro-Trains […]
Digitrax HO scale DCC sound decoders New to the ever-expanding market of Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoders is the Digitrax SoundFX. These decoders produce realistic sounds, come with a 28mm, 32O speaker, and are designed to fit newer Kato HO scale locomotives that feature fuel-tank speaker enclosures. The firm’s first three SoundFX decoder offerings […]
The 2006 National Train Show was held July 7-9 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in conjunction with the National Model Railroad Association National Convention in Philadelphia. We saw several new products at the show, so many that we had to split our report into two sections. Be sure to click on the link at the […]
Baldwin 2-4-4T Forney steam locomotive O scale locomotivesBaldwin 2-4-4T Forney steam locomotive. On2-1/2. Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes and painted black but unlettered. Digital Command Control-equipped, five-pole skew-wound motor, light-emitting-diode headlight, separately applied details, and vestibule cab with operating doors and interior detail. Inside- and outside-frame versions available. $275. Bachmann 0-6-0 and 2-6-0 saddle-tank steam […]
THE PENNSYLVANIA Railroad GG1-class locomotive would almost certainly win the title of best all-around North American electric-profile locomotive, both in terms of performance and popularity. But who would have thought that a rather Plain Jane New Haven Railroad boxcab was the progenitor of the Pennsy classic? The New Haven Railroad wasn’t a fan of motor-generator […]
WHO WOULD HAVE thought that oddball tooling from 50 years ago would ever become a hot product in the digital era? Not me. But that’s the case with the most recent rendering of the Budd Co.’s Rail Diesel Car, known in railroad slang as an RDC or a Budd car. Ready Made Toys first made […]
MORE THAN a decade ago, I bought a postwar Lionel no. 2056 Hudson. I paid close to $300 for the steam locomotive – on installments – at a local hobby shop. The rush of buying a “real, vintage Lionel train” lasted a few years before it faded as newer and better trains entered the marketplace. […]
Will the U.S. rails-with-trails movement continue gaining momentum? Or will rail safety and congestion issues stop it in its tracks? In the September 2005 issue, Trains Magazine looked at the issues surrounding locations where recreational activities and active rail lines coexist in a shared space. Want to sample some of these trails yourself? Below is […]
At 17 feet, 5 inches, the caboose cleared all bridges and power lines on its 20-mile road trip. Steve Hendrix Preserving a 25-ton caboose in my backyard wasn’t something that I had always planned on. Sure, I liked trains as a kid and even have a small model railroad layout. But an HO-scale train circling […]
A westbound Capitol Corridor train, led by Amtrak F59PHI No. 464, makes a fine sight as it curves along the shore of San Pablo Bay in Pinole, Calif. Read on to learn about more picturesque train-watching locations between Oakland and Sacramento. Elrond Lawrence So you’re traveling to San Francisco, and have just a few days […]
OUR CANADIAN COUSINS need to stand up and take a bow. The EMD F59 was commissioned by and developed with Toronto’s GO (for Government of Ontario) Transit railroad. The commuter authority needed a 3,000-horsepower locomotive with a separate head-end power generation system packaged in a full-cowl body with safety-cab front. The F59 was the winning […]
