Lionel took ride in making its own tooling and producing its train line, but it did occasionally turn to other firms for key molds and parts. Subscribers can download a PDF of an article that inventories the Plasticville items in orange-and-blue boxes used in Lionel promotional train outfits between 1958 and 1963. […]
Name: Soo Line Stevens Point Division and Manitowoc Branch Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 33 x 42 feet Prototype: Soo Line Locale: central Wisconsin Era: 1954 Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 170 feet Minimum radius: 28″ main, 22″ branch Minimum turnout: no. 6 main, no. 5 branch Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared in the July […]
Name: South Shasta Lines Scale: O (1:48) Size: 42 x 60 feet Prototype: Southern Pacific Locale: Gerber to Dunsmuir, Calif. Era: 1940s to 1950s Style: Walk-in Mainline run: 450 feet Minimum radius: 72″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 4 percent Originally appeared in the July 2009 issue of Model Railroader. See a PDF version […]
Name: The White Mountain Division Scale: N (1:160) Size: 12′-6″ x 16′-0″ Prototype: Maine Central Locale: Northern New Hampshire and northern Vermont Era: early fall 1949 to early fall 1960 Style: two-level, walk-in Mainline run: 69 feet Minimum radius: 16″ Minimum turnout: no. 6, except where indicated Maximum grade: 2.3 percent See the PDF versions […]
50 years ago in railroad history … A supplement to the Classic Trains Online Look Back e-mail newsletter Chesapeake & Ohio on May 7 launches mail and express service between Grand Rapids and Petoskey, Mich., using Railvans – a predecessor of today’s RoadRailer railcar/semitrailer hybrids. . . . Chicago & North Western, seeking to modernize […]
Name: New England & Pacific Scale: N (1:160) Size: 17 x 26 feet Prototype: Maine Central RR Mountain Division (freelanced equipment) Locale: Portland, Maine, to St. Johnsbury, Vt. Era: steam-to-diesel transition to current era Mainline run: 200 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 8 Maximum grade: 3 percent Originally appeared in the June 2009 […]
Name: Oakland, Antioch, & Eastern Ry. Scale: HO (1:87.1) Room size: 10′-6″ x 19′-0″ Prototype: Sacramento Northern Ry. Locale: San Francisco Bay area, California Era: Late 1940s to early 1960s Style: shelf with central peninsula Mainline run: 108 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Maximum grade: 4 percent Originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Model […]
Name: Naugatuck Valley RR Scale: N (1:160) Size: 9’9″ x 10’0″ Prototype: New York, New Haven & Hartford RR Period: fall 1959 Style: walkaround Mainline run: Waterbury/south 41 feet, Waterbury/north 11 feet Minimum turnout: no. 5 Minimum radius: 11″ Originally appeared in the October 2008 issue of Model Railroader. See a PDF version of this […]
Name: New York, Kittatinny & Western Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 18′-0″ x 23′-0″ Prototype: freelanced based on the Lehigh & Hudson River; Lehigh & New England; New York, Ontario & Western; and others Locale: northwestern New Jersey Era: summer 1963 Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 175 feet Minimum radius: 28″ Minimum turnouts: no. 7 main line, […]
50 years ago in railroad history … A supplement to the Classic Trains Online Look Back e-mail newsletter TRAINS magazine devotes its April 1959 issue to an investigation titled “Who Shot the Passenger Train?” The landmark issue examines the (mostly unhealthy) state of the rail passenger business and proposes solutions. . . . [All feature […]
Watch the Model Railroader staff build this model train layout. The HO scale Milwaukee Road Beer Line project layout series ran in the January through May 2009 issues of Model Railroader magazine. Build the Milwaukee Road Beer Line part 1 Benchwork section Build the Milwaukee Road Beer Line part 2 Attaching feeder wires Build the […]
Name: Abingdon Branch Scale: HO Size: 2 x 8 feet Prototype: Norfolk & Western Ry. Locale: Western Virginia Era: 1950s to early ’60s Style: shelf Mainline run: 8 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 (no. 3 wye) Maximum grade: 1.5 percent Originally appeared in the May 2009 issue of Model Railroader. See a […]
