News & Products for the week of March 10th 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 March 10th, […]
Tag: 1971 – 1999
Lionel City of Miami train set
The City of Miami was a vibrant orange and palm green streamliner of the Illinois Central Railroad. Operating between 1940 and 1971, the train provided service from Chicago to Miami, and was powered by a single EMD E6 diesel locomotive. The first jaw-dropping feature of Lionel’s latest rendition of the set isn’t the locomotive itself, […]
Rapido HO General Electric C30-7
A sample of the Rapido HO General Electric C30-7 diesel locomotive recently arrived at our offices. In this product review video, Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno shares a brief history of the six-axle road unit and Union Pacific 2415; highlights the various factory-applied detail parts; and demonstrates some of the sound and light effects […]
Rapido HO General Electric C30-7
A sample of the Rapido HO General Electric C30-7 diesel locomotive recently arrived at our offices. In this product review video, Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno shares a brief history of the six-axle road unit and Union Pacific 2415; highlights the various factory-applied detail parts; and demonstrates some of the sound and light effects […]
News & Products for the week of March 3rd 2025
News & Products for the week of March 3rd 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 March 3rd, […]
An Engineer’s Life: Cascade Tunnel adventure, part 2
Well, I left everybody hanging with the end of my last story, the Cascade Tunnel adventure. The adventure continued even after my conductor, Chris, and I left our freight train inside the 7.9-mile-long Cascade Tunnel after the ventilation failed and hurried our light engines to daylight — and fresh air. Once outside, Chris and I […]
Burlington Northern history remembered
When created, Burlington Northern had a greater extent than any other U. S. railroad: Vancouver, British Columbia, to Pensacola, Fla. If you crossed North America from east to west, you had to cross BN rails or get your feet wet in the Gulf of Mexico or find your way around the north side of […]
Make track look realistic
Today, model railroaders are blessed with a wide variety of commercial track in most popular scales. It wasn’t all that long ago that off-the-shelf track was largely one-size-fits all, with oversized rail, bulky ties, and little detail. Now, mass-produced track is available in different rail heights (called codes) with simulated wood or concrete ties, prototypical […]
The Rise of HO Scale Model Trains
HO scale model trains are a significant part of model railroading history, and we can partially credit the overall popularity of model trains with the rise of a convenient, tabletop scale like HO. With origins dating back a century, HO scale trains have grown into the most popular model train scale in the world. Model […]
Rapido Trains HO scale EMD GP38
An Electro-Motive Division GP38 diesel locomotive is now available in HO scale from Rapido Trains. The four-axle road switcher features plastic and die-cast metal construction, railroad-specific details, and body-mounted metal couplers. Prototype history Electro-Motive Division produced the GP38 from January 1966 through December 1971. During the course of the production run, 733 units were built […]
News & Products for the week of February 24th 2025
News & Products for the week of February 24th 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 February 24th, […]
Build a stronger safety fence
In 2016, to separate the road and the track, I built a retaining wall and safety fence around one of the curves in my railway. I used pieces of treated wood to represent concrete blocks, and 3” wide strips from white plastic-coated wire baskets to serve as the fence (August 2016 Garden Railways). After eight […]
