News & Products for the week of March 27th 2023
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 27th 2023.
G scale passenger cars
LGB Amtrak Amfleet passenger car
Price: $538.80
Manufacturer: LGB (Märklin, Inc.), 1406 Creek Trail Dr., Ste. 100, Jefferson City, MO 65109; 800-321-8811; lgb.com
Amfleet passenger car features:
- Detailed interior
- Light-emitting diode illuminated interior
- Metal wheelsets
- Additional car numbers included as stickers
Release date: Q3 2023
Road names: Amtrak
HO scale locomotives
Athearn Genesis General Electric “slab side” turbine
Price: Direct-current, $264.99; with DCC and sound, $364.99; direct-current with tender, $409.99; with DCC, sound, and tender, $509.99
Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com
General Electric “slab side” turbine features:
- Roadname-specific details
- Genesis driveline with 5-pole skew-wound motor
- Two factory-installed speakers
- McHenry couplers
- Recommended radius: 22″
Release date: July 2024
Road names: Chesapeake & Ohio; General Electric Demonstrator; Southern Pacific; and Union Pacific.
HO scale freight cars
Accurail Wellsville, Addison & Galeton freight cars
Price: Single car, $20.98; three-car set, $61.98
Manufacturer: Accurail, P.O. Box 278, Elburn, IL 60119; 630-365-1173; accurail.com
Wellsville, Addison & Galeton freight cars features:
- 40’ wood boxcar, 41’ steel gondola, and 40’ steel boxcar
- Injection-molded plastic construction
- Appropriate trucks
- Steel weight(s)
- Plastic wheelsets and Accumate couplers
Release date: To be announced
Road names: Wellsville, Addison & Galeton
Athearn Genesis 60-foot ATSF/Texarkana rebuilt XB-172 auto parts car
Price: Single car, $59.99; two-car pack, $109.99
Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com
60-foot ATSF/Texarkana rebuilt XB-172 auto parts car features:
- Brand new tooling, first time in plastic
- X-panel roof
- Keystone cushion underframe and draft gear
- Separate ladders, brake wheel, coupler cut levers, train air lines and crossover platforms
- Single 10′ sliding door or dual 8′ plug doors with separate door rods and handles
Release date: July 2024
Road names: Canadian National; Grand Trunk Western; Midwest Railcar; Santa Fe; and Wisconsin Southern.
Broadway Limited AAR 70-ton triple hopper car
Price: Single car, $39.99; pack of four, $149.99
Manufacturer: Broadway Limited Imports, 9 East Tower Circle, Ormond Beach, FL 32174 broadway-limited.com
AAR 70-ton triple hopper car features:
- Interior and exterior rivet detail
- Wire grab irons
- Separate brake line and brake hoses
- Two brake housing options and three brake wheel options, as appropriate
- Brake shoe and brake beam detail on newly-tooled 70-ton trucks
Release date: Available now
Road names: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Baltimore and Ohio; Canadian National; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Missouri Pacific; Nickel Plate Road; New York Central; and Southern Pacific. Also available undecorated.
WalthersProto Thrall 89-foot bi-level auto carrier
Price: $69.98
Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com
Thrall 89-foot bi-level auto carrier features:
- Factory-installed grab irons, ladders & brake equipment
- RP-25 contoured metal wheelsets
- Proto-Max metal couplers
Release date: Summer 2023
Road names: Burlington Northern; Burlington Northern Santa Fe; Canadian National; Canadian Pacific; CSX; Florida East Coast; Norfolk Southern; and Union Pacific.
N scale locomotives
Broadway Limited General Electric ES44AC
Price: $299.99
Manufacturer: Broadway Limited Imports, 9 East Tower Circle, Ormond Beach, FL 32174 broadway-limited.com
General Electric ES44AC features:
- Independently-controllable illuminated headlight, rear light, cab light, front number boxes, and front ditch lights
- ABS plastic body with die-cast chassis
- Separately applied details include handrails, grab irons, horns, bell, and cab roof antenna
- Prototypical light operation
- Dual-mode Paragon4 sound decoder
Release date: Available now
Road names: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe; BNSF Ry.; CSX; General Electric Demonstrator; Great Northern; Kansas City Southern; Norfolk Southern; Southern Pacific; and Union Pacific.
N scale freight cars
Atlas Evans X72 boxcar
Price: $23.95
Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205; 908-678-0880; shop.atlasrr.com
Evans X72 boxcar features:
- Detailed brakewheel
- Free-rolling trucks
- Molded step, ladder, and door detail
- Detailed underframe
- Truck-mounted couplers
Release date: Available now
Road names: Canadian National; Conrail; Penn Central; Western Pacific; and York Rail.
Rapido National Steel Car barrel ore hopper car
Price: $42.95; pack of three, $128.85; pack of six, $257.70
Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com
National Steel Car barrel ore hopper car features:
- Detailed underbody includes separate air piping
- Detailed hopper bay gates
- See-through, etched metal end platforms
- Full end detail
- Short and long bodied barrel hoppers available
Release date: To be announced
Road names: Canadian National; GACX; NIHX; Ontario Northlands Railroad; and RMGX.
Z scale locomotives
American Z Line Electro-Motive Division F7
Price: Contact manufacturer
Manufacturer: American Z Line, 6142 Northcliff Blvd., Dublin, OH 43016; 614-764-1703; americanzline.com
Electro-Motive Division F7 features:
- Prototype specific details
- A & B unit sets and single A unit available
- Blackened metal wheels
- directional controlled light emitting diode lighting
Release date: To be announced
Road names: Denver & Rio Grande Western
Books
SilverLake Images, LLC’s Budd RDC, Volume 1
Price: $35.00
Manufacturer: SilverLake Images LLC, available from Ron’s Books, P.O. Box 714, Harrison, NY 10528; 914-967-7541; ronsbooks.com
Budd RDC, Volume 1 features:
- 66 pages, softcover
- reproduction of 3 Budd publications on RDCs including Introducing RDC-1, RDC Goes to Work, and RDC Comes of Age
Release date: Available now
News & Products is a regular feature of Trains.com for model railroad operators and builders to get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more. Model railroad product news may include HO, N, O, S, and Z scales. Product release dates and prices will vary according to each manufacturer.
If you are a manufacturer and have new product releases, please email Senior Editor Cody Grivno at cgrivno@kalmbach.com and Associate Editor Bryson Sleppy at bsleppy@kalmbach.com for more information.
On the Athearn turbine, since the end power trucks are actually not powered, though they pick up, an optional included geared axle with traction tires would be welcome. Used to replace one axle in a powered truck, it would give the unit pulling power commensurate with the prototype on Sherman and other hills.