ILLUMINATE THE ROAD: Woodland Scenics has announced the Just Plug Vehicle line. The O gauge series features 12 vintage vehicle designs, including eight coupes, one station wagon, and three light trucks. The designs had been previously offered in N and HO scales. To light the vehicles, just connect them into your Woodland Scenics Just Plug light hub. The vehicles cost $49.99 each. See your hobby retailer or go to www.woodlandscenics.com for more information.
MURDER, SHE WROTE: It’s murder, and Tom McCloud and the Central Pennsylvania Model Railroad Club are in the thick of it! In Murder to Scale, author Debra Schiff weaves a murder mystery with a most uncommon setting: the world of model railroading. The novel is full of personality types and settings that will seem familiar to model railroaders. You just may wonder if this can happen in your club! The 190-page paperback costs $7.99 and is available through www.Amazon.com.
STOP FOR A COOL ONE: Bachmann Trains’ Roadside U.S.A. line serves up a cone of happiness with the no. 35303 ice cream stand. The O gauge structure represents one of many roadside refreshment stands seen around the country, most notably in tourist areas. Made of cast resin, the structure has a compact footprint for easy placement on a layout, and its distinctive soft-serve ice cream-style roof will be a favorite destination for your 1:48 scale Traintown residents. The structure costs $89 (vehicle and people not included). See your Bachmann retailer or go to www.Bachmanntrains.com to order.
BUILD A HIGH-RISE HAVEN: Set a construction scene on your O gauge layout with the no. 279-4432 Tampa Towers. The construction site measures 181Ž2 x 161Ž2 inches and represents a high-rise apartment complex with five stories erected. The building features a train run-through tunnel, 19 O scale workers, construction materials, pallets, workers, Jack the German Shepherd, and two die-cast metal vehicles. The vehicles are a concrete mixer and a concrete pump truck with extending safety supports and a raising concrete pumping boom. The heavy structure costs $129.99 plus shipping, or select free shipping to your local Menards. Order online at www.Menards.com/Trains.
