Awe-inspiring track plans for a Santa Fe-themed layout

Santa Fe 1951

From Midwest farmlands to the Pacific Coast, and the mountains and deserts in between, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway offers a buffet of modeling opportunities. This popular former Class I railroad has captured the hearts of model railroaders, and there are many modeling products and materials readily available to help modelers go “Santa […]

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Rapido Trains HO Enterprise covered hopper

Color photo showing B end of HO scale two-bay covered hopper painted gray with black graphics on white background

Rapido Trains HO Enterprise covered hopper Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Single car, $54.95; three-pack, $164.85; and six-pack, $329.70 Manufacturer: Rapido Trains, 382 High St, Buffalo, NY 14204; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Rapido Trains HO Enterprise covered hopper features: Designed from original blueprints and field measurements Detailed body and underframe Canadian National and New York Central versions available […]

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The HO scale Cincinnati Traction layout

A model railroad track plan for the Cincinnati street railway layout

Facts and features Name: Cincinnati Traction Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 2′-6″ x 14′-6″ Prototype: Cincinnati Street Ry. (city streetcars) and Cincinnati & Lake Erie (interurban) Locale: Cincinnati, Ohio Era: 1930s and ’40s Style: shelf Mainline run: Approximately 24 feet (dogbone on interurban rapid transit line) Minimum radius: 7″ on streetcar line, 11″ on interurban rapid […]

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The HO scale Pennsylvania RR Panhandle Division

A model railroad track plan for the Pennsylvania railroad panhandle division layout

Facts and features Name: Pennsylvania RR Panhandle Division Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 25 x 41 feet Prototype: Pennsylvania RR Locale: eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and West Virginia panhandle Era: late 1940s and early 1950s Style: walk-in Mainline run: 150 feet Minimum radius: 36″ (main), 24″ (branch) Minimum turnout: No. 6 (main), No. 5 (branch) Maximum […]

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Mark Albert’s Cincinnati Traction in HO scale

Dive into the captivating world of Cincinnati’s traction history with Mark Albert’s stunning HO scale model railroad! Originally built to travel to train shows, this layout, presented in the October 2025 issue of Model Railroader magazine, has found its permanent home, allowing for incredible new details and enhancements. Explore intricately modeled street scenes complete with […]

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News & Products for the week of September 8th 2025

A yellow blue and orange model caboose

News & Products for the week of September 8th 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 September 8th, […]

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WalthersMainline HO 40-foot wood stockcar

Color photo showing B end of HO scale stockcar painted black with white graphics on white background

WalthersMainline HO 40-foot wood stockcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $31.98 Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com Features on WalthersMainline HO 40-foot wood stockcar: 33” metal wheels All-new tooling Auxiliary, emergency, and brake cylinder pipes Body-mounted Proto-Max metal couplers Detailed underbody with factory-applied air reservoir, brake cylinder, and […]

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Curt LaRue’s PRR Panhandle Division in HO scale

Embark on an epic journey back to the late 1940s and early ’50s, as depicted on Curt LaRue’s HO scale (1:87.1) Pennsylvania Railroad Panhandle Division! Originally presented in the October 2025 issue of Model Railroader magazine, this stunning layout comes to life as cameras capture various modeled rural and industrial sites along the multi-track mainline […]

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News & Products for the week of September 2nd 2025

Five yellow model passenger cars

News & Products for the week of September 2nd 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 September 2nd, […]

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RMT East Broad Top tank car

silver and black model tank car

The history of the tank car dates back more than 150 years. Coworker Carl Swanson from Trains Magazine wrote an article about their history if you’d like to learn more. This car is a single-domed version, lettered for the East Broad Top Railroad (No. RMT-96899-12). I was surprised to learn that the EBT owned one […]

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Norfolk & Western’s ‘Big Three’ steam locomotives

NWSteam

Roanoke, Va., headquarters of the former Norfolk & Western Railway and once known as the “Alamo for Steam,” is home to the renowned East End Shops. This facility, still standing today, was where the bulk of the railroad’s steam fleet was built. Among these were three locomotive classes from the 1940s-50s, known as the “Big […]

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London, Brighton & South Coast E2

Black and white photo of British tank engine

In the 1910s, Lawson Billinton of the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway was tasked with designing a successor to the E1 Class 0-6-0T steam locomotives, designed by William Stroudley in 1874. The “answer” became the E2 Class 0-6-0T that would go on to have a complicated legacy during its flawed career and after its […]

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