The Operators video special: Mail and express train car models

Andy Sperandeo next to layout

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page You’ll find tips for adding mail and express switching operations to your layout in the July 2010 installment of “The Operators” column in Model Railroader. In this video, Executive Editor Andy Sperandeo shows you some of the mail and express train car models […]

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MTH Standard gauge no. 384 passenger set video

Bob Keller next to a train set

MTH’s Standard gauge no. 384 steam passenger set retails for $599.95 (no. 10-1250-1). It features die-cast metal and sheet-metal construction, two passenger cars, ProtoSound 2.0, smoke unit, track, and transformer. For more information, check out Bob Keller’s review inside the November 2006 issue of CTT, or see your MTH retailer.   […]

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Fire up a small-scale live steam locomotive

The No. 24 was the last locomotive supplied to the two-foot gauge Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad in Maine. This G scale live steam model was manufactured by Roundhouse Engineering of Doncaster, England. Kenneth Matticks Gas is added through the filler valve in the center of the tank. By watching the pressure gauge and […]

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Attaching wire to the rail

Marc Horovitz Marc Horovitz Marc Horovitz There are several ways of connecting a lead wire to the rail. Perhaps the most positive is soldering it. The wire can also be connected mechanically. Screw-on connectors are not too reliable outdoors. However, a wire can be screwed to a clamp-on rail joiner. Split Jaw Rail Clamps offers […]

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Video: Reading T1-class 4-8-4 in HO

Precision HO scale Reading T1-class 4-8-4

Precision HO scale Reading T1-class 4-8-4 Executive editor Andy Sperandeo reviewed the HO scale “T Hog” in the April issue’s Product Review Extravaganza. Click the icons below to see a video clip of this well-detailed, well-proportioned model steam engine. All videos may take several minutes or more to download depending on your connection speed. […]

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Online video extra: P&LE’s Unwanted Berkshires

Herron Rail Video archive In his The Unwanted Berkshires in the Spring 2004 issue of Classic Trains magazine, Jack Polaritz looks at the genesis and careers of Pittsburgh & Lake Erie 9401-9407, the last 2-8-4 design in America. After P&LE dieselized, the engines were stored, then reactivated in 1955 when another New York Central subsidiary, […]

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Basic flextrack tracklaying techniques

Building reliable model railroad track doesn’t take a lot of expertise or fancy tools, but it does require care and patience. Train sets traditionally include an oval of sectional track that’s fine for getting a quick start. However, most modelers choose flextrack when they begin building a permanent layout. Flextrack is supplied in 36-inch or […]

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