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In this episode of The Hills Line, host James McNab is making plans to build a portable layout that complements his HO scale Hills Line layout. He explains where the idea came from and sorts out the goals, givens and druthers that go along with this project. […]
The Southern Pacific locomotive roster was expansive. A headlight breaking the horizon in the 1960s meant one thing; you never were sure what the motive power would be. In its latter years, despite having hundreds of Electro-Motive Division Geeps and SDs and General Electric U-Boats of all models, SP would assemble whatever was available on […]
News & Products for the week of July 5th 2023 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 July 5th 2023. […]
In recent months, I have dug deep into the archives to find the shortest Amtrak trains of each decade. Since most of us modelers have limited layout space, if we still want to model prototypical passenger consists, these short trains are a perfect fit. Join me on a tour of Amtrak eras, this time exploring […]
With Independence Day just around the corner, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some N and HO scale locomotive models in Bicentennial paint schemes. As the 200th birthday of the United States approached, numerous prototype railroads renumbered and repainted locomotives in patriotic schemes to pay tribute to the nation. […]
There were more than 200 red-white-and-blue Bicentennial diesel locomotives. Many “Bicens” were specially renumbered, but some (the 76s, 200s, 1776s, 1976s, etc.) were not. Bicentennials roamed the rails in every state (beyond the “lower 48” were two Alaska Railroad FP7s and a rail historical group’s tiny GE in Hawaii); in Panama (a 5-foot-gauge Alco RSC3); […]
Delaware & Locomotive locomotives demonstrated some of the greatest variety for a railroad its size. Steam locomotives on the D&H were distinctive. Its roster was dominated by 2-8-0 and 4-6-0 types, but it also had notable fleets of 4-6-2s, 4-8-4s, and 4-6-6-4s. After World War I, the road stuck with the 2-8-0 long […]
If you’ve read stories about diesel locomotives on Trains.com or in Kalmbach Media’s railroad magazines and books, you’ve most likely seen references to diesel locomotives by generation. But what does generation mean? Unlike automobiles, locomotive manufacturers don’t bring out new models each year. The same basic locomotive model can stay in production for years – […]
The MTH VO1000 diesel is a good-running, heavy, and well detailed model of the Baldwin switcher. The latest run features Protosound 3.0 with freight sound effects, LED lighting, and a fan-driven smoke unit. In addition to the four road names produced by the manufacturer, there have also been several other special runs commissioned. Read more […]
The 3rd Rail GP9 locomotive models the durable first-generation diesel-electric workhorse. The follow-on to the GP7, it was perhaps the exclamation point on the phrase, “Steam is gone and it’s not coming back!” General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division produced a whopping 4,257 including 165 cabless units between 1954 and 1963. GP stands for “general purpose” and […]
A Broadway Limited Imports HO scale EMD SD40 decorated in Southern Ry.’s “tuxedo” scheme paid a visit to our Wisconsin & Southern staff layout. Join Model Railroader editor Eric White and senior editor Cody Grivno as they talk about the features on the six-axle road locomotive and run a train on MR’s WSOR staff layout. In addition to Southern Ry., […]
A Broadway Limited Imports HO scale EMD SD40 decorated in Southern Ry.’s “tuxedo” scheme paid a visit to our Wisconsin & Southern staff layout. Join Model Railroader editor Eric White and senior editor Cody Grivno as they talk about the features on the six-axle road locomotive and run a train on MR’s WSOR staff layout. In addition to Southern Ry., […]
