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. […]
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 […]
Gary Raymond 1:32 scale, gauge 1, ready-to-run F3 A and B diesel engines MTH Trains 7020 Colombia Gateway Drive Columbia MD 21046Price: F3 A (pair) $699 95; F3 B (each) $249.95 Web site: www.mthtrains.com Plastic models of EMD F3 A and B (lead, booster, and cab) diesel locomotives; models have modular electrical connections; two, two-axle […]
TINPLATE REPRODUCTIONS may be the last tension-free zone in model railroading. Nobody is yelling about competing command-control systems. Nobody takes prewar-style tinplate to task for looking toy-like. Nobody gripes about the wrong road name being applied to a locomotive. You can get your trains in the old-line colors or brand-new paint schemes. You can get […]
MTH HAS STEPPED BACK in time in an exciting way with an O gauge model of New York City’s rumbling R-1 subway cars. Until now, MTH has offered more contemporary models of mass transit equipment, in both its Premier and RailKing lines. The R-1 changes all of that. Between 1930 and 1931, American Car & […]
LIONEL’S PREWAR no. 263E steam locomotive was the last of its kind. The tinplate O gauge 2-4-2 locomotive was everything that its die-cast metal successors were not. It was glossy and bold and featured plenty of smooth sheet-metal surfaces accentuated by stamped rivets, nickel ladders, railings, and domes, with a red cow-catcher thrown in too. […]
MTH’s Standard gauge no. 384 steam passenger set retails for $599.95 (no. 10-1250-1). It features die-cast metal and sheet-metal construction, two passenger cars, ProtoSound 2.0, smoke unit, track, and transformer. For more information, check out Bob Keller’s review inside the November 2006 issue of CTT, or see your MTH retailer. […]
MTH’s Standard gauge no. 384 steam passenger set retails for $599.95 (no. 10-1250-1). It features die-cast metal and sheet-metal construction, two passenger cars, ProtoSound 2.0, smoke unit, track, and transformer. For more information, check out Bob Keller’s review inside the November 2006 issue of CTT, or see your MTH retailer. […]
THE PENNSYLVANIA Railroad GG1-class locomotive would almost certainly win the title of best all-around North American electric-profile locomotive, both in terms of performance and popularity. But who would have thought that a rather Plain Jane New Haven Railroad boxcab was the progenitor of the Pennsy classic? The New Haven Railroad wasn’t a fan of motor-generator […]
OUR CANADIAN COUSINS need to stand up and take a bow. The EMD F59 was commissioned by and developed with Toronto’s GO (for Government of Ontario) Transit railroad. The commuter authority needed a 3,000-horsepower locomotive with a separate head-end power generation system packaged in a full-cowl body with safety-cab front. The F59 was the winning […]
Pennsylvania HO K4 Pacific This powerful HO scale model of the Pennsylvania RR’s classic K4 Pacific is MTH Electric Trains’ first HO scale locomotive. It has a long list of features, including properly timed smoke and sound effects and an automatic electronic system that operates on layouts using DC, Digital Command Control (DCC), or the […]
THE MOTOR RAIL car, or “doodlebug,” holds an interesting place in railroad history. The concept is rooted in an attempt by railroads to continue to deliver passenger and express service to lines with declining traffic. Shortlines and Class 1 roads alike used motor cars, or doodlebugs, as they’ve become affectionately known. The rail motor car […]
