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 […]
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 […]
Bachmann N scale 2-8-4 steam locomotive A late-era Super Power steamer joins the Bachmann Sound Value line with this N scale 2-8-4. All the models feature roadname-specific detailing; our review sample is decorated and detailed as Chesapeake & Ohio no. 2760. Developed with SoundTraxx, the Sound Value decoder installed in the model operates on direct-current […]
Rapido Trains HO scale 52′-6″ mill gondola Price: $44.95; six-pack, $269.70 Manufacturer Rapido Trains, in association with MLW 500 Alden Rd., Unit 16 Markham, ON L3R 5H5 www.rapidotrains.com Era: 1965 to 1999 (as decorated) Road names: Canadian Pacific; CP Rail; Canadian National (two schemes); and Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Comments: A new run of Canadian-specific […]
Tangent Scale Models HO scale 8,000-gallon acid tank car Price: $44.95 (R-T-R, decorated or undecorated), $37.95 (undecorated kit) Manufacturer: Tangent Scale Models P.O. Box 6514 Asheville, NC 28816 www.tangentscalemodels.com Era: 1949 into the 1980s Paint schemes: (4 road numbers each, all GATX reporting marks) DOW Chemical Co. (1953 black scheme with bright yellow graphics), 1952+ […]
MRC Decoder Dr. DCC programmer and tester Price: $99.98 Manufacturer Model Rectifier Corp. 80 Newfield Ave. Edison, NJ 08837 www.modelrectifier.com Comments: It’s a good idea to test Digital Command Control decoders before investing the time in an installation. It’s also useful to be able to quickly program decoders or decoder-equipped models. The MRC Decoder Dr. […]
You don’t usually think of ribs when you think of Pennsylvania, and that’s as true of the state as it is of the railroad and its boxcars. But Tangent Scale Models has produced a fine model of one of the rare examples of PRR exterior side post boxcars, the class X58. This was the only […]
Micro-Trains N scale Pennsylvania RR heavyweight dining car Price: $29.95 Manufacturer: Micro Trains Line Co. 351 Rogue River Pkwy. Talent, OR 97540-1200 www.micro-trains.com Era: 1930s to the 1950s Comments: This Pennsylvania RR steel dining car represents a prototype that was built in the railroad’s Altoona Shop in the late 1920s and early 1930s for mainline […]
Bristling with separate detail parts, the die-cast metal HO scale Allegheny 2-6-6-6 from MTH accurately models the looks and performance of its legendary late steam-era prototype. The model features MTH’s proprietary Digital Command System that operates on direct current, Digital Command Control, and DCS layouts. The prototype. From 1941 to 1948 the Lima Locomotive Works […]
A well-executed Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe chop-nose GP7 has been added to Athearn’s HO scale Genesis line. The model features road number-specific details, etched-metal radiator intake and fan grills, and a dual-mode SoundTraxx sound decoder. Athearn offers the Santa Fe GP7 in two body styles. The Phase I body has 86″ engine compartment doors […]
One of the few big steam locomotives that railfans can see in action, Union Pacific no. 844, joins Kato USA’s N scale roster. The dimensionally accurate plastic model features a coreless-motor drive that can be converted to Digital Command Control. The prototype. Union Pacific no. 844 is the last steam locomotive delivered to the UP. […]
Rapido HO scale GMD-1 diesel locomotive Some might think of it as an ugly-duckling; others might find its looks endearing. But wherever you stand on its appearance, the GMD-1 is an unusual locomotive. Modelers of Canadian prototypes have Rapido to thank for bringing these prairie “ponies,” as some of their crews called them, to HO […]
