Life-Like N scale Fairbanks-Morse Erie-built diesel Life-Like’s newest N scale locomotive is a nicely detailed, smooth-running model of the uncommon Fairbanks-Morse six-axle, 2,000-hp “Erie-built.” Some Erie-builts were freight units, while others were built with a steam generator for passenger service. The Erie-built was FM’s first attempt to build a road locomotive using its powerful opposed-piston […]
Kato N scale Amtrak material handling car Kato is offering two-car sets of well-detailed, N scale Amtrak 1500-series, 50-ton material handling cars (MHC) decorated in the national passenger carrier’s Phase III livery. These cars haul mail and express shipments. Amtrak rosters two distinctly different types of MHCs. The first version, numbered in the 1400 series, […]
Atlas N scale code 55 track and turnouts Atlas has introduced an extensive, well-designed line of code 55 nickel- silver track that should prove popular with N scalers. In addition to no. 5 and no. 7 turnouts, 30″ flextrack, crossings of 11.25 and 90 degrees, and an assortment of straight track sections, Atlas also offers […]
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Atlas N scale General Electric Dash 8-40B diesel Atlas has released an N scale General Electric Dash 8-40B road diesel locomotive and it’s a beautifully detailed, fine-running model. From the exquisitely rendered m.u. cables on the front and rear pilots to the amber warning beacon atop the cab, this Dash 8-40B sets a high standard […]
Kato N scale Amtrak Superliner passenger cars Kato has introduced sets of all five types of Amtrak’s Superliner I passenger cars to accompany the firm’s Genesis locomotives (reviewed last month). These models are based on the original group of 284 Superliner cars built in 1979. The prototypes of these bi-level cars were built by Pullman-Standard […]
Kato’s N scale GE P42 “Genesis” passenger diesel Kato’s N scale P42 is an exquisite replica of Amtrak’s long-distance workhorse. Railfans might quibble over the prototype’s esthetic virtues (or lack thereof) but this new locomotive is truly a delight to the eyes. It’s also a powerful and smooth-running model. As the F40PHs began showing their […]
Trainworx N scale 100-ton quad hopper Trainworx is offering well-detailed, 100-ton quadruple hoppers in N scale that are just the ticket for modeling Western unit coal trains of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Bethlehem Steel introduced its first 100-ton quad hopper in 1963. Although based on the Norfolk & Western’s H-11 triple hopper design, Bethlehem’s […]
Kato N scale Budd Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs) After admiring the crisp detail on Kato’s new N scale Rail Diesel Cars (RDCs), my next immediate thought was, “So where in heck’s the motor?” That’s because I could look right through the side windows of these well-engineered, DCC-ready models. Taking a design cue from the prototype, […]
Bachmann N scale 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive Bachmann’s eagerly awaited N scale 2-8-0 has pulled up on the ready track and is just what we’d hoped it would be: a good-running engine with a wealth of detail rivaling high-ticket brass imports. Made in China, the locomotive is marketed in Bachmann’s Spectrum line of higher-end model […]
E-R N scale Baldwin RF-16 sharknosed diesel locomotives This set of well-detailed Baldwin “sharknose” RF-16 diesel cab units marks E-R Models’ entry into the N scale locomotive market. They’re also the first mass-produced N scale plastic models of this distinctive locomotive. The RF-16 was Baldwin Locomotive Works’ final attempt to capture a portion of the […]
Atlas N scale GE B30-7 road diesel locomotive General Electric introduced the B30-7 to succeed its U30B and built 199 units between December 1977 and May 1981. Both were four-axle, 3,000-hp units and were GE’s answer to Electro-Motive Division’s 3,000-hp GP40 and GP40-2. Owners of B30-7s included Burlington Northern, which acquired eight via the 1980 […]
