General Electric ES44AC diesel locomotive. Fictional paint schemes: Burlington Northern; Delaware & Hudson; Erie Lackawanna; Gulf, Mobile & Ohio; Louisville & Nashville; and Southern Pacific. Two road numbers each. Etched-metal details, wire grab irons, and Kadee knuckle couplers. Direct-current model, $179.95; with SoundTraxx Digital Command Control sound decoder, $259.95. November/December 2012. Ready-to-run. Famous Image collector series. InterMountain Railway Co., 303-772-1901, intermountain-railway.com
Berwick Forge & Fabricating 50-foot boxcar. Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Canadian National (Illinois Central reporting marks), Chicago & North Western (small herald), Ferromex, Illinois Central, and Minnesota Commercial Ry. Three car numbers each; also available undecorated. Separately applied wire grab irons, detailed end ladders and brake gear, and Accumate knuckle couplers. $28.95 (undecorated, $24.95). Ready-to-run. Master Line. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, www.atlasrr.com
Thrall 2,743-cubic-foot-capacity gondola. Colorado & Wyoming, Joseph Leasing Ltd. (DJLX reporting marks), Union Pacific (CTRN or UP reporting marks), and Norfolk Southern. Six car numbers each. Etched metal and wire details, metal wheelsets, and Kadee no. 5 knuckle couplers. $25.95. Ready-to-run. Evolution series. ExactRail LLC, 866-945-1701, www.exactrail.com
Modified Association of American Railroads 40-foot boxcar. New paint schemes: Burlington Northern, Canadian Pacific (stacked lettering), and Delaware & Hudson. New road numbers: Canadian National (maple leaf herald or wet noodle); Canadian Pacific (“Spans the World” or script lettering); and Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo. Six car numbers available. Metal wheelsets and Kadee knuckle couplers. $29.95. March/April 2012. Ready-to-run. InterMountain Railway Co., 303-772-1901, intermountain-railway.com
New York Central Pacemaker 40-foot postwar boxcar. 1945-46, 1948-49, 1955, and 1960 schemes. Each scheme available with Youngstown or Superior door. Six car numbers available. Etched-metal running boards, metal wheelsets, and Kadee knuckle couplers. $31.95. Ready-to-run. InterMountain Railway Co., 303-772-1901, intermountain-railway.com
Pullman-Standard 4,750-cubic-foot-capacity three-bay covered hopper. New road numbers: AGP; Atchison; Topeka & Santa Fe (“Q” herald); Burlington Northern (1991 scheme); Canadian National (Illinois Central reporting marks); Cargill; Norfolk & Western; Seaboard Coast Line; and West Bend (Iowa) Elevator Co. Six car numbers each. Etched-metal running boards, metal wheelsets, and Kadee knuckle couplers. $32.95. Ready-to-run. InterMountain Railway Co., 303-772-1901, intermountain-railway.com
HO scale structures
Canadian Pacific freight house. Laser-cut wood kit with windows, doors, and simulated concrete base. Footprint is 5-1/2” x 11”. $54.95. Kanamodel Products, www.kanamodel.com
Automatic Car Identification (ACI) plates. Factory-printed etched-metal details. For 1970s era rolling stock. Ten-pack, $8.95. BLMA Models, 562-712-7085, www.blmamodels.com
N scale locomotives
General Electric ES44AC diesel locomotive. Norfolk Southern heritage units: Central of Georgia, Conrail, Nickel Plate Road, and Southern Ry. Five-pole motor with dual flywheels, metal grab irons, and magnetic knuckle couplers. $130. Third/fourth quarter 2012. Ready-to-run. Fox Valley Models, 847-768-2344, www.foxvalleymodels.com
N scale freight cars
FMC 5,283-cubic-foot-capacity double-door boxcar. Ahnapee Western (two car numbers), Arkansas & Missouri (two numbers), Canadian National (two numbers), Cotton Belt (“Hydra Cushion” lettering or Golden West Service patch out), McCloud River (two numbers), Southern Pacific, and Western Pacific (Union Pacific shield). Etched-metal crossover platforms and Magne-Matic knuckle couplers. $18.95. Third quarter 2012. Fox Valley Models, 847-768-2344, www.foxvalleymodels.com
FMC 5,283-cubic-foot-capacity waffle-side double-door boxcar. Denver & Rio Grande Western (Woodpacker lettering). Twelve car numbers available. Fox Valley Models boxcar with Trainworx etched-metal waffles, metal wheelsets and body-mounted Magne-Matic knuckle couplers. $28.95. Third quarter 2012. Trainworx, 970-874-9747, www.train-worx.com
Wreck train. Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, Chesapeake & Ohio, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Maine Central, Northern Pacific, and Western Pacific. Set includes crane, boom car, tool car, and crew car. All cars have Micro-Trains trucks and Magne-Matic knuckle couplers. $99.95 per set. Ready-to-run. Produced by Tichy Train Group, distributed by InterMountain Railway Co., 303-772-1901, intermountain-railway.com
78-foot heavyweight paired-window coach. New paint scheme: Baltimore & Ohio. Two car numbers available. Plastic wheelsets and Magne-Matic knuckle couplers. Ready-to-run. Micro-Trains Line Co., 541-535-1755, www.micro-trains.com
Assorted structures. Country cottage. Includes an outhouse, water pump, bicycle, and propane tank. $29.99. Woodland Station. Features luggage cart, semaphore, light pole, dolly, and trash can. $24.99. June 2012. Pre-Fab Landmark Structures. Woodland Scenics, 573-346-5555, www.woodlandscenics.com
N scale details and accessories
Automatic Car Identification (ACI) plates. Factory-printed etched-metal details. For 1970s era rolling stock. Ten-pack, $7.95. BLMA Models, 562-712-7085, www.blmamodels.com
Scenic Accents figures. Hereford cows and people and pets. Hand-painted injection-molded plastic figures. $22.99 per set. June 2012. Woodland Scenics, 573-346-5555, www.woodlandscenics.com
Z scale freight cars
Cylindrical covered hopper. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (mineral brown paint scheme); Canadian National (gray, environmental mode, wet noodle logo, or rainbow paint schemes); Canadian Pacific (silver with Multimark or black with script lettering); Heritage Fund (ALNX or ALPX reporting marks); Milwaukee Road; National Ry. of Mexico; Pillsbury; Potash; and Saskatchewan Grain Car Corp. (SKNX or SKPX reporting marks). Six car numbers each. Etched-metal running boards, trough or round hatches as appropriate, and American Z Lines trucks and knuckle couplers. $26.95. Ready-to-run. InterMountain Railway Co., 303-772-1901, intermountain-railway.com
Select-Sound 16-bit drop-in stereo sound decoder. For Electro-Motive Division diesels with 645E engine. Two- or four-digit addressing, 28 functions, and 20mm round speaker. 1 amp capacity. $64.98. Model Rectifier Corp., 732-225-2100, www.modelrectifier.com
MicroLux micro lathe. 150 watt motor output, 3/8” spindle bore, and electronically variable spindle speed. Includes three-jaw chuck, 1/2” capacity rocker tool post, tailstock dead center, carriage feed gear set, backsplash, chuck guard, and wrench set. $499.95. Micro-Mark, 800-225-1066, www.micromark.com
Highway stripes. Set RSD-001 features white side lines, dashed and solid yellow lines, white stop lines, and white turn-lane arrows. One sheet has enough stripes for more than four feet of road. RSD-002 has white railroad crossing markings (four long marking for high-speed roads and seven short markings for city streets). $8 per sheet. Summit USA, 337-436-8481, summit-customcuts.com
DVDs
Great Model Railroads, Vol. 2. Digitally remastered DVD featuring George Sellios’ HO scale Franklin & South Manchester layout from 1989. Includes segments on how to make hand-operated ground throws, paint a backdrop, develop an operating schedule, and modify kits. 60 minutes. $35 plus shipping. Allen Keller Productions, www.allenkeller.com
Catalogs
Dallee Electronics catalog no. 55. Includes sounds for trains and model boats, speakers, lighting systems, detection products, and more. More than 50 pages. Electronic catalog may be downloaded free from website. Printed catalog $14 ($10 with order). Dallee Electronics Inc., 717-661-7041, www.dallee.com
Cool! Someone finally recognizes the L&N and with a ES44AC?! I wish that when Intermountain makes their next run they make an L&N with the L&N gray and L&N yellow paint scheme. The only problem is the price. That's a lot of money for Middle Schooler!
Alexander