[…]
Section: Reviews
Darstaed Trains lithographed O gauge engine sheds

O gauge engine sheds from Darstaed Trains Price: ES-1 single-track shed ($245), ES-1E extension shed ($110), or both for $325; ES-2 double-track engine shed ($295) ES-2E shed extension ($145), or both for $395. Shipping additional. Order online at www.darstaed.com Features: First-class lithographed exterior, interior detailing, two lights in each section (mated with a connector), doors […]
O gauge 2-8-2 Mikado with LionChief Plus by Lionel

O gauge LionChief Plus 2-8-2 from Lionel Price: $429.99 (no. 81295) Features: O-31 operation, can-style motor, LionChief Plus command system and remote handheld controller, Electro coupler on tender, RailSounds RC sound system, conventional running option Current production run: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Chessie System; Great Northern; Pennsylvania RR TThe 2-8-2 Mikado locomotive was a […]
Williams by Bachmann O gauge GE 44 ton diesel switcher

O gauge 44-ton diesel from Williams by Bachmann Price: $399.95 Features: O-27 operation, two motors, operating couplers, True Blast Plus sound system Current production run: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Denver & Rio Grande Western; Pennsylvania RR; Southern Ry. Until now, the 44-tonner has been represented in the O gauge world primarily by an over-sized […]
Williams by Bachmann 44 tonner diesel locomotive

[…]
Arnold N scale U25C diesel locomotive

Arnold provides a six-pin socket for installing an NEM-style Digital Command Control decoder. Digitrax and Train Control Systems sell decoders that fit. The Louisville & Nashville locomotive has a peaked pilot, different horn, and a different location for the firecracker antenna from the CB&Q sample. An old name has returned to N scale with a […]
MTH HO scale GE ES44AC diesel locomotive

For the last decade General Electric Evolution Series (GEVO) diesel locomotives have been a dominant force on Class 1 main lines, and increasingly in HO scale product lines. This latest HO GE ES44AC from MTH comes with a variety of user-controlled effects. Equipped with the firm’s Digital Command System, the model operates reliably on direct-current, […]
Quick Look: Walthers HO scale drive-in theater structure kit

Walthers HO scale drive-in theater structure kit Price: $49.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers, Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53218 www.walthers.com Comments: A drive-in theater can be an eye-catching feature on a model train layout. Now Walthers is rolling out its Skyview Drive-In, a styrene structure kit that lets you use a tablet computer […]
Quick Look: Atlas HO scale 50-foot double-door boxcar

Atlas HO scale 50-foot double-door boxcar Price: $32.95 (undecorated, $26.95) Manufacturer Atlas Model Railroad Co. 378 Florence Ave. Hillside, NJ 07205 www.atlasrr.com Road names: Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic; Canadian National; Maine Central; New York, New Haven & Hartford; St. Louis Southwestern; and Union Pacific (two numbers each). Era: 1957 to 1983 (as decorated) Comments: […]
WalthersProto HO scale EMD GP30 diesel locomotive

WalthersProto HO scale GP30 diesel locomotive Featuring a high level of protoypical detail and available with a SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Command Control decoder, the WalthersProto HO scale GP30 captures the sights and sounds of its second-generation prototype. The decoder delivers realistic sound on direct-current and DCC layouts. In the early 1960s, General Electric had severed […]
Video: Kato Sound Box analog sound controller for model trains

The Kato Sound Box provides an easy way to add realistic sound effects to a direct-current (DC) layout without having to install Digital Command Control (DCC). Senior editor Dana Kawala demonstrates the Sound Box connected to a Kato power pack on the Model Railroader staff’s N scale Red Oak project model train layout. […]
Kato Sound Box analog sound controller

Kato analog sound controller Sound brings a new level of fun to a model railroad, but what’s a modeler to do if he doesn’t want to convert to Digital Command Control? Kato USA offers one solution with its Sound Box analog sound controller. With this device attached to a direct-current power pack, a modeler at […]