Align every rail joint Every rail joint must be carefully aligned, properly fitted, and level. Sight along the rail to check the alignment through the rail joiner. After the track is spiked down, use a fine file to smooth the top and inside corner of the rail joint until you can slide a fingernail across […]
An eye-catching model of a super-size hopper is available ready-to-run from Walthers. It has E-Z Mate magnetic knuckle couplers and free-rolling roller-bearing trucks. It’s a replica of the high-capacity, 87-ton cars built by Greenville Steel Car Co. starting in the early 1970s. Each car can haul 7,526 cu. ft. of wood chips. This hopper is […]
Micro-Trains N scale troop cars Here’s a pair of passenger cars for military movements that come ready- to-run with Magne-Matic knuckle couplers. Made by Micro-Trains, these cars ride on Allied Full-Cushion trucks. Both cars represent prototypes built from standard 50-foot boxcar designs modified to transport troops across America during the latter days of World War […]
LBF HO Trinity 100-ton covered hopper An excellent model of a modern 100-ton covered hopper for grain service has been released by LBF Co. It’s a ready-to-run HO scale model of the 5,161-cubic-foot prototype introduced by Trinity Industries in 1995. Our sample car was very close to the prototype dimensions in Simmons-Boardman’s 1997 Car & […]
Atlas HO and N scale ACF Coalveyor bathtub gondolas Building a unit coal train in HO and N scales is much easier thanks to Atlas’ release of ready-to-run models of American Car & Foundry (ACF) Coalveyor bathtub gondolas. These dimensionally accurate cars come neatly decorated in authentic color schemes with a dozen individual road numbers […]
Athearn Genesis HO scale Gunderson Auto-max auto carrier Athearn’s articulated Auto-Max car is an impressive addition to the firm’s Genesis line of modern freight cars. This model stands a scale 20′-6″ tall, and it’s 141 feet long, making it one of the largest cars in railroading. An article with prototype plans was published in the […]
Märklin HO Union Pacific freight car If you’re looking for freight cars and a caboose to run behind a Trix Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, Märklin has released a ten-pack of UP 40-foot boxcars, a four-pack of open hoppers, and a steel caboose in its line of ready-to-run North American-prototype cars. CA-3 cabooseThe 100 class […]
Walthers HO C&O wood-sheathed caboose Walthers’ HO scale Chesapeake & Ohio wood caboose is a very good model of a classic piece of railroad equipment. The basic car comes mostly assembled and ready to run, but the addition of the included handrails and grab irons make it a real standout. The injection-molded plastic model represents […]
Athearn Genesis HO scale Trinity 110-ton covered hopper Athearn is marketing a finely detailed HO model of a covered hopper commonly used to haul grain. It’s a replica of the 5,161-cubic-foot-capacity prototype introduced by Trinity Industries in 1995. This Genesis model comes ready-to-run with metal running boards, very fine carbody details, simulated roller bearing trucks, […]
Atlas HO International standard cupola caboose Atlas is producing a well-detailed, ready-to-run HO caboose based on the International Car Co.’s popular welded steel standard-cupola design of the 1960s and early 1970s. International’s specialty was building cabooses, and thousands of their products served railroads across North America. Standardized components gave International cabooses a family appearance, but […]
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, […]
State Tool & Die HO universal mill car This unusual car kit is designed for easy adaptation into a variety of the specialized cars used within steel mills. It’s a free-lanced model that follows the typical welded construction used in these heavy-duty cars. The styrene kit includes a body casting with a separate deck, short […]
