Meet the Modeler: Paul Dolkos

Paul Dolkos with his layout

What was your first train set (or locomotive)? Before the age of 10, I received a basic Lionel set along with a couple of turnouts for Christmas. I liked it, except for that middle electrical pickup rail on the track sections. I lived with that until I discovered you could have a two-rail railroad. Later […]

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Model railroad locomotive, freight car, passenger equipment, structure, and accessory announcements for December 16, 2021

Three HO scale Procor 20,000-gallon tank cars from Rapido Trains.

Product news Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of December 16, 2021. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SW1500 diesel locomotive. Burlington […]

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Sketching with Steve: What’s wrong with this picture?

A magazine showing an HO scale track plan is lying open on a large paper drawing of the same plan

Today’s sketch was drawn long before Sketching with Steve was a gleam in anyone’s eye. It was 2008, and I’d been with Model Railroader less than a year. Finally, the resources to build my HO scale version of the Cincinnati, Lebanon & Northern Ry. in 1906 were within my reach! I drew this track plan […]

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Securing crane hooks

Ask Trains logo

Steve Favale has a number of 25-ton cranes on his layout, and the hooks swing around when he runs them. He’s wondering how he should secure the hooks. Hal Miller shares some photos that may hold the answer! […]

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Model railroad locomotive, freight car, detail, and tool announcements for December 9, 2021

American Z Line Conrail Electro-Motive Division SW1500 diesel locomotive.

Product news Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of December 9, 2021. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD70-series diesel locomotives. SD70M: […]

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Ask MR: What freight cars would a GP18 or SD45 pull?

Four red-and-gray diesels pull a freight through an interlocking on a clear winter day

Q: I have some BNSF General Electric Dash-9 and GEVO units that pull my double-stack and trailer-on-flatcar (TOFC) trains as well as a BNSF Executive train. My question is, what sort of freight cars would be used with GP18s and SD45s in the mid- to late 1960s? – Jim Rohrbach A: If you’re running Dash-9s and GEVOs, […]

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