I’VE OFTEN THOUGHT that the Reading Company’s presence in popular culture – and in model railroading – was far greater than its actual importance as a railroad. Nonetheless, the Reading, a two-and-a-half-state regional carrier gone now for three decades, continues to attract a fan base so enthusiastic that you’d expect the line was still running. […]
ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, a friend I knew through non-train circles called me on the phone. He knew of my interest in model railroading, and he said he had a Lionel train set, and could I tell him if it was worth anything. “It’s a bit strange,” he began, “the locomotive is pink. We got […]
Q: Ray, I have a Lionel no. 315 bridge with a red light on top. The light doesn’t work due to the light socket, which rests in a sort-of black square holder that’s corroded. I have checked several hobby parts sites but can’t seem to find the part number for a replacement part. Do you […]
Q: I am trying to familiarize myself with my postwar Lionel nos. 675, 2025, and 2035 locomotives by reading several of the Greenberg reference books. The more I read, the more confused I get. One book states that the no. 675 has Baldwin disc drivers. Another guide lists both disc and spoke drivers. One reference […]
Atlas O EMD GP15 diesel light road switcher Atlas O’s new Trainman GP15 is a scale-detailed, dual-motored light road switcher that lists for $239.95, about $200 less than a Silver Series Atlas O diesel. The model also includes directional lighting and a DCC (Digital Command Control) socket and wiring harness. Rebuilt road switchers. Introduced in […]
DURING THE FRANTIC hours of setting up the CLASSIC TOY TRAINS’ booth at the TCA Eastern Division’s semi-annual York, Pa., train meet, I was speeding past the Atlas O booth. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and turned so fast I almost got whiplash. I saw a box. A big box. […]
BATMAN AND ROBIN, Minneapolis and St. Paul, peanut butter and jelly take notice. There’s a new inseparable pair now available from Lionel. Not since the release of Lionel’s culvert loader and unloader has there been two separate-sale accessories as well suited for each other as the Lionel no. 29832 command-controlled crane car and the no. […]
THE DIMINUTIVE A5-class 0-4-0 switcher will never be first in line when thinking about the stellar locomotives of the great Pennsylvania Railroad. But from the look of this steamer, its lineage to the Standard Railroad of the World is plainly evident. It has closely positioned domes, a Belpaire firebox, a headlight square above the number […]
Atlas O Alco Century 628 heavy duty road diesel An excellent model of one of the true monsters of mainline railroading, Alco’s Century 628 has been released by Atlas O. The powerful model is offered in a DC version with an optional (user installed) Digital Command Control (DCC) wiring harness, and unpowered. Horsepower plus. Billed […]
WITH THE DEVELOPMENT of the Century-628 diesel in 1963, Alco hoped to secure the number two spot in the three-way race among locomotive builders. The firm, based in Schenectady, N.Y., conceded supremacy to Electro-Motive but hoped to vanquish General Electric. Of course, Alco didn’t secure anything, but the 180 C-628s the factory cranked out were […]
AS THE SAYING GOES, necessity is the mother of invention. As proof, we give you the SD40T-2. The diesel locomotive, nicknamed the “tunnel motor,” was born out of a specific need among western railroads. Air problems in mountain tunnels and long snowsheds are not new. The lack of fresh, cool air plagued locomotive crews in […]
I HAVE A VISION of Walter Matuch, the owner of Ready Made Toys, dashing around the country in search of some lost or forgotten toy train tooling. On discovering something, he holds it up to the light and asks, “How can I improve this?” The RMT O-27 gauge caboose is one of those items that […]
