Though all our Model Railroader Hall of Fame nominees so far have been hobbyists, sometimes an avocation becomes a vocation. That was the case for our three June Model Railroader Hall of Fame nominees, all of whom turned an early interest in model trains into well-known businesses that are still going strong today. Irvin Athearn, […]
Price: $27.99 Manufacturer Produced by Accurail, available from Kalmbach Hobby Store KalmbachHobbyStore.com Era: 2015+ Comments: A Milwaukee, Racine & Troy (MR&T) HO buffer car is the latest addition to the Kalmbach Hobby Store. The injection-molded plastic kit, produced in the United States of America by Accurail Inc., uses the manufacturer’s 6500-series Pullman-Standard 4,750-cubic-foot capacity three-bay […]
Facts and features Name: Pickering & Sierra RRScale: HO (1:87.1), HOn3, dual gauge, and HOn21⁄2 (dummy)Size: 20′-7″ x 23′-3″ Prototype: freelanced, inspired by Pickering Lumber Co. and Sierra Ry.Locale: Sierra Nevada mountainsEra: 1920s to 1940sStyle: walk-inMainline run: 220 feetMinimum radius: 17″ (logging)Minimum turnout: No.4Maximum grade: 4%Benchwork: open gridHeight: 36″ to 57″Roadbed: plywood and HomasoteTrack: […]
Facts and features Name: Canada, Spokane & PacificScale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 32 x 43 feetPrototypes: Burlington Northern, Canadian PacificLocale: Pacific NorthwestEra: June 1981Style: walk-inMainline run: 260 feetMinimum radius: 36″Minimum turnout: No. 6Maximum grade: 2%Benchwork: L-girderHeight: 39″ to 46″Roadbed: HomasoteTrack: Atlas code 83 flextrackScenery: plaster gauze over cardboard web covered with Structolite Backdrop: LARC Products photo […]
A 208-foot layout in the United Kingdom set the world record for “longest portable model railway” following Guinness World Record certification on April 27th, 2024, at the Model World Live exposition held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. The layout, which was created by famed music producer Pete Waterman and the group known as […]
News & Products for the week of May 6th 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 May 6th […]
Meet Mike Burgett What was your first train set (or locomotive)? A Lionel 0-27 scale Rio Grande steam engine, a Great Northern hopper, a Burlington Northern gondola, and one oval loop of track at about age 6. I got my first HO scale train, a Athearn “Blue Box” B&O F7A, at about age 8. After that […]
Q: I need to calculate the grade on a double deck layout. Though I’ve been interested in model railroading since I was a child, it’s been quite some time since I was active in the hobby. Now that I’m retired, I’m planning a layout. After much deliberation, I’ve settled on a two-level around-the-walls design. My […]
Welcome to our latest Product Review video. This time around, Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno takes a look at the Broadway Limited N scale EMD F3. In the video, you’ll learn about the Lehigh Valley prototypes our samples are decorated as, get a closer look at the details on both units, see and hear […]
If you’re looking forward to hosting an operating session, open house, layout photo session, or just a visit from friends and relatives, you want your layout to make the best possible impression. But there’s more to cleaning a model railroad than just polishing the track and wheels, as important as those things are. Dust is […]
Also in this issue: ON TRAINS.COM, pg. 6 The latest features on our website FROM THE EDITOR, pg. 8 Remembering JDH NEWS AND PRODUCTS, pg. 10 Hobby industry news ASK MR, pg. 16 Why is there an F on the front of diesels? STEP BY STEP, pg. 21 Build a laser-cut wood structure kit PROTOTYPE TO […]
Dennis E. Storzek, co-founder of Accurail Inc., died on April 21, 2024. Dennis was born in 1951 and became a model railroader in 1959 when he received a Lionel train set. His first freight car scratchbuild was a flatcar, which was better work than most adults of the time produced. Dennis joined the Illinois Railway […]
