Walthers HO 50-foot single-door boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $34.98 Era: post-World War II to 1980s Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com Walthers HO 50-foot single-door boxcar features: 4-3-1 improved Dreadnaught ends 7-run side and end ladders 8’-0” Youngstown doors 8-panel riveted car sides 33” turned-metal wheelsets […]
Era: 1946 - 1970
Lucius Beebe remembered
Lucius Beebe was a major figure in railroad literature and photography for nearly three decades, but contemporary readers might be amazed at just how far his reputation spread beyond railroading. He could have starred in the old TV show, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Beebe was born Dec. 9, 1902, in Wakefield, Mass. His […]
Daily except Sunday
Virginia & Truckee 2-8-0 No. 5 brings the daily-except-Sunday mixed train across the highway crossing at Washoe, Nev., on Aug. 7, 1948. The railroad ended service on its 46-mile route on May 31, 1950. Fred H. Matthews Jr. photo […]
ScaleTrains HO Thrall 86-foot high-cube boxcar
ScaleTrains HO Thrall 86-foot high-cube boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $55.95 Era: 1964 to 2010s Manufacturer: ScaleTrains.com Inc., 4901 Old Tasso Rd. NE, Cleveland, TN 37312; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com ScaleTrains HO Thrall 86-foot high-cube boxcar features: 33” machined metal wheelsets All-new model Body-mounted die-cast metal semi-scale standard Type E couplers Double 10-foot plug doors with […]
How do I safely remove the shell of a postwar Flyer freight car?
Do you have any suggestions for easily and safely removing the pins that hold the plastic body shell on various American Flyer freight and passenger cars from the postwar era? Using a pair of pliers has not worked. — Robert Lawrence You have to wedge a screwdriver or another tool between the body shell and […]
Atlas HO scale newsprint boxcar
Atlas HO scale newsprint boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $36.95; undecorated, $29.95 Era: 1967 to late 2000s Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205; 908-687-0880; shop.atlasrr.com Atlas HO scale newsprint boxcar features: Body-mounted Accumate couplers Injection-molded plastic body Metal wheelsets Screw-mounted roller-bearing trucks See-through crossover platforms Separate, factory-applied brake wheel, door […]
News & Products for the week of May 19th 2025
News & Products for the week of May 19th 2025 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. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of May 19th, […]
WalthersMainline HO EMD GP9
WalthersMainline HO EMD GP9 Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin DCC plug and factory-installed 28mm round speaker, $159.98; with dual-mode ESU Sound & DCC, $214.98 Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com WalthersMainline HO EMD GP9 features: Constant, directional light-emitting diode headlights Footboard or plow-equipped pilot […]
Center Flow
Early ACF Center Flow cars were nearly cylindrical. This 100-ton Union Pacific car, built in 1964, has three trough hatches and a 3,700-cubic foot capacity. Introduced in 1961, the Center Flow design had no center sill and instead relied on the curved sides for strength. Union Pacific photo […]
Fast run on the Kansas City-Florida Special
A particular run of the Kansas City-Florida Special may have changed the course of steam locomotive assignments on the Frisco. During the mid-1930s, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad started rebuilding low-drivered 2-10-2 freight locomotives into modern, high-horsepower, coal-burning 4-8-2s, also for freight service. The first series of these Mountain types was the big, […]
How do I remove black marks from tubular track?
I recently took out my old toy trains that have been packed away for about 25 years. The tubular track sections that were brand new back then now have black marks on them. How do I clean them and get them usable again? — Joe Rampe If it’s just dry corrosion, a Scotch-Brite pad will […]
Totally Tubular
A man reads a book on the main level of a Budd-built Tubular coach while people relax in the smoking lounge above and behind him. Note the dark-colored ramp up to the end door. The train entered regular service on the Pennsylvania Railroad in June 1956 on the New York–Washington Keystone. Pennsylvania Railroad photo […]
