Bluford Shops N scale mill gondola

Color photo showing B end details of N scale gondola.

A 52’-6”, 15-panel gondola with factory-dented sides is now available from Bluford Shops. The N scale injection-molded plastic model, offered with light, medium, and heavy denting, features metal wheelsets, body-mounted couplers, and railroad-specific end and hand brake options. Prototype history The Bluford Shops model is based on a  design developed by the Erie RR and […]

Read More…

The N scale Buffalo & Pittsburgh layout

The second page of the track plan for the Buffalo and Pittsburgh layout

Facts and features Name: Buffalo & PittsburghScale: N (1:160)Size: 27 x 31 feet plus 14 x 14 feetPrototype: Buffalo & PittsburghLocale: western New York and PennsylvaniaEra: 1988Style: multi-deck walk-inMainline run: 187 feetMinimum radius: 16″Minimum turnout: No. 5Maximum grade: 2.5%Benchwork: open grid and modularHeight: 44″ to 62″Roadbed: cork over plywood and extruded-foam insulation boardTrack: Atlas code […]

Read More…

The O gauge Northbrook layout

The track plan for the Northbrook model railroad layout

Facts and features Name: NorthbrookScale: O gaugeSize: 29 x 36 feetPrototype: freelanceLocale: Northeast and Midwest U.S.Era: 1956Style: donutMainline run: 155 feetMinimum radius: 45″Minimum turnout: No. 5Maximum grade: noneBenchwork: open gridHeight: 42″Roadbed: corkTrack: Atlas O three-railScenery: painted extruded-foam insulation boardBackdrop: painted 1∕8” tempered hardboardControl: Lionel TMCC and Legacy; Sound Traxx Blunami Click the link to download […]

Read More…

Atlas Trainman HO two-bay hopper

Color photo of HO scale two-bay offset-side hopper painted green with white graphics

Atlas Trainman HO two-bay hopper Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Single car, $26.95; three-pack, $80.85 Era: 1930s to 1970s Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205; 908-687-0880; shop.atlasrr.com Atlas Trainman HO two-bay hopper features: Blackened metal wheels on plastic axles Body-mounted Accumate couplers Factory-applied brake wheel, chassis, and slope sheet covers Freestanding […]

Read More…

News & Products for the week of May 5th 2025

A red and yellow model caboose

News & Products for the week of May 5th 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 5th, […]

Read More…

Why I collect Marx

red, silver, and yellow model diesel locomotive model

I’ve been collecting Marx since the 1990s. Growing up with American Flyer S gauge and Lionel, I had largely not gotten to know Marx. Eventually I started to take interest, especially in the plastic locomotives and cars. Plastic molding is something I like to look at and study. I did have a Marx plastic set […]

Read More…

Walthers HO scale Electro-Motive Division NW2

Color photo of HO scale end-cab switcher on scenic base

Walthers HO scale Electro-Motive Division NW2 Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with Next18 DCC plug, $154.98; with dual-mode ESU Sound & DCC, $209.98 Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com Walthers HO scale Electro-Motive Division NW2 features: Dual tall conical exhaust stacks Factory-installed grab irons on hood […]

Read More…

Modeling seasons on your layout

Color photo of steam engine pulling freight train through snow-covered scenery.

Back in 2010, I was part of a group of contributors to Scenery by the Seasons by Kalmbach Publishing Co. The 98-page book featured stories on modeling seasons on your layout. Among the topics covered were spring backdrops; lily pads, cattails, and pond scum; easy autumn trees; and ice and snow. Though the title is […]

Read More…

Classic Railroad Dome Cars

Blue-and-gray railroad dome cars on passenger train along river

Railroad dome cars are a gleaming symbol of postwar passenger train status.     The streamliner era in North America bookended the World War II era in the U.S., since new streamlined passenger cars were not a priority between 1942 and 1945. Following the end of the war in the latter year, they began to […]

Read More…

The Fertilizer Route

1950 magazine cover

The Fertilizer Route, more formally The Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad, featured 75 years ago in Trains Magazine was, in a word, “astonishing.” For a railroad that almost nobody has ever heard of beyond its own neighborhood, the 27-mile Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad is an astonishing property. It has only eight stockholders, […]

Read More…

Athearn N scale F89-F TOFC flatcar

Color photo of N scale flatcar with trailer load on white background.

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.  Athearn recently released an F89-F TOFC flatcar in its Genesis line. The flatcar is based on a prototype built in the 1960s by Bethlehem Steel Co. at its […]

Read More…