InterMountain HO Trinity 5161 covered hopper

Color photo of HO scale covered hopper painted light gray on white background.

The Trinity 5,161-cubic-foot capacity three-bay covered hopper is a new addition to the InterMountain Railway Co. product range. The HO scale model has an injection-molded plastic body, InterMountain metal wheelsets, and body-mounted Kadee couplers. Prototype history Since making its debut in 1995, the Trinity 5161 has become one of the most common three-bay covered hoppers […]

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Built by Others: Dustin Whitten’s Norfolk & Western South Branch

A model railroad layout with lush green sceneery and an industrial line in the center of the image running from top left to bottom right

Built by Others is an article series showcasing layouts constructed by modelers using plans and projects from the pages of Model Railroader and its associated products. The Virginian project layout first appeared in the pages of Model Railroader in January of 2012. Dustin Whitten’s Norfolk & Western South Branch layout took inspiration from this project […]

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CRISI grant to enhance wheel bearing monitoring with integrated wayside, on-board tech

Close-up of wheel sensor device

WASHINGTON — The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen is joining forces with rail tech company Hum Industrial Technology Inc. and the University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley’s Center for Railway Safety, to research and develop technology to enhance wheel bearing condition monitoring. The project will integrate railcar sensors with wayside infrastructure capable of transmitting wheel […]

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What is a pool caboose?

Color photo of N scale caboose painted red, black, and silver.

Q: I recently ordered one of the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy N scale bay-window cabooses from Shop.Trains.com. What does the “P” on top of the bay window stand for? — R. Anderson A: The “P” indicates it’s a pool caboose, one not assigned to an individual conductor or specific crew. Former Senior Editor Jim Hediger […]

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News & Products for the week of November 18th 2024

A black and green model locomotive

News & Products for the week of November 18th 2024   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 November 18th […]

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Trade will help preserve two Conrail cabooses

Blue caboose with bay window

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — The Conrail Historical Society has orchestrated a trade of two Conrail cabooses to ensure the preservation of both, the organization has announced. The society has traded former N-20 class wide-vision caboose No. 22130, which it previously owned, to the Garbely Publishing Co. for its former N-21 class bay window caboose No. 21292. […]

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Caltrain equipment is bound for Peru

Diesel power commuter train under overhead wire

SAN BRUNO, Calif. — Caltrain’s diesel-powered commuter rail trainsets will find a new life in Peru. The commuter rail operator announced that it has completed an agreement to send 19 locomotives and 90 gallery commuter cars to Lima, Peru, for some $6 million, a deal which also involved the U.S. State Department, Department of Commerce, […]

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Notable model train products from the early 1960s

Black, white, and blue vintage advertisement page with a large toy train diesel locomotive photo at the top, a white and black box of inset text and sales points, and a blue band at the bottom with black and white text and two gray illustrations of speeding trains heading in opposite directions.

One of my favorite things to do while eating lunch is to pull out an old volume of Model Railroader magazine and page through it. Lately, I’ve been working my way through the decade of the 1960s, often posting things I’ve rediscovered to MR’s Facebook page under the heading of “Lunchtime Reading.” Editor Linn Westcott […]

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What happened to the caboose?

A wooden fence post and yellow autumn grass with a yellow caboose receding in the distance

What happened to the caboose? Many factors helped seal their fate, and the demise of the caboose has been mourned in many places, including in the pages of Trains, which bid farewell in a special issue in August 1990. But the caboose hasn’t disappeared. Even today, you can find a few cabooses still at work. […]

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How to lubricate O gauge postwar rolling stock

Model of vintage rolling stock with maintenance kit.

“Less is more,” as the saying goes from the article, How to lubricate your O and S gauge trains. The same applies to regularly lubricating postwar equipment that has stood the test of time. Rolling stock — ranging from freight cars to cabooses — is no exception. Oiling around Lubricating postwar rolling stock will involve […]

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