News & Products for the week of September 3rd 2024

News & Products for the week of September 3rd 2024

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 September 3rd 2024.

HO scale locomotives

Athearn Genesis Electro-Motive Division SD39-2 diesel locomotive

Price: Direct-current model, $229.99; with DCC and sound, $329.99

Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com

Electro-Motive Division SD39-2 features:

• Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, and breather pipes
• See-through cab windows and full cab interior
• Etched metal fan grilles
• Fine-scale Celcon handrails

Release date: January 2026

Road names: BNSF; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Blue Ridge Southern; Delaware & Hudson; Union Pacific; and Wisconsin Southern.

Broadway Limited Imports 2-8-8-0 Bullmoose steam locomotive

Price: Direct-current model, $749.99; with DCC and sound, $849.99 

Manufacturer: Broadway Limited Imports, 9 East Tower Circle, Ormond Beach, FL 32174 broadway-limited.com

2-8-8-0 Bullmoose features: 

• Handcrafted brass boiler, tender body, and die-cast chassis
• Separately applied details include handrails, ladders, piping, cab glass, whistle, brass bell, markers, numberboards, and air tanks
• Factory installed engineer and fireman figures

Release date: To be announced

Road names: Union Pacific

Rapido Electro-Motive Division E8/9 diesel locomotives

Price: Direct-current model, single unit, $249.95; single unit with DCC and sound, $369.95; Direct-current model, ATSF A-B set, $469.95; ATSF A-B set with DCC and sound, $689.95.

Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com

Electro-Motive Division E8/9 features: 

• Road-specific detail parts in both plastic and metal
• Three styles of side grills per prototype
• Seven different noses and three different back ends per prototype
• Skirted or non-skirted fuel tanks per prototype
• Die-cast chassis

Release date: To be announced 

Road names: Amtrak; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Boston & Maine; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific; Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; Louisville & Nashville; Missouri Pacific; Penn Central; Seaboard Coast Line; Southern Pacific; and Texas & Pacific.

WalthersProto Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotive

Price: Direct-current model, $219.98; with DCC and sound, $319.98

Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com

Electro-Motive Division GP35 features:

• See-through steps, radiator grilles, and dynamic brake fans
• Detailed cab interior with crew figures
• Separately applied details include coupler cut levers, m.u. hoses, and underbody details

Release date: Winter 2025

Road names: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific; Milwaukee Road; Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac; St. Louis-San Francisco; and Southern Pacific.

HO scale freight cars

Bowser 70-ton ballast car

Price: $29.95 

Manufacturer: Bowser Manufacturing Co. Inc., 1302 Jordan Ave., Montoursville, PA 17754; 570-368-2379; bowser-trains.com

70-ton ballast car features:

• 70-ton ballast hopper car with side chutes
• Ready to run model
• Also available in gray and orange

Release date: July 2025

Road names: Albany & Eastern; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Burlington Northern; Chicago & North Western; Conrail; CSX; Grand Trunk Western; Kansas City Southern; Milwaukee Road; Morrison Knudsen; Penn Central; and Reading & Northern.

N scale locomotive

ScaleTrains Rivet Counter General Electric AC4400CW diesel locomotive

Price: Direct-current model, $154.99; with DCC and sound, $259.99 

Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 4901 Old Tasso Rd. NE, Cleveland, TN 37312; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com

General Electric AC4400CW features:

• Factory applied detail parts include wire grab irons, trainline hoses with silver gladhands, uncoupling levers, windshield wipers, mirrors, sunshades, and brake wheel
• Tall snowplow with open doors and grab irons
• Detailed cab interior with floor, rear wall, seats, and desktop

Release date: April 2025

Road names: CEFX, Chicago & Northwestern, CSX, Ferromex, Kansas City Southern, and Union Pacific.

N scale train set

Kato Amtrak Pacific Surfliner passenger train set

Price: Direct-current model, $240.00; with DCC and sound, $460.00 

Manufacturer: Kato USA Inc., 100 Remington Rd., Schaumburg, IL 60173; katousa.com

Amtrak Pacific Surfliner features:

• Standard set includes Siemens SC-44 locomotive and three passenger cars (business class, coach, and cab coach)
• Four car add-on set (Amtrak Superliner I coach, Surfliner coach-cafe, Superliner I coach, and coach) and eight car set also available

Release date: To be announced

Road names: Amtrak Surfliner

Electronics/control

Broadway Limited Imports CV setter

Price: $79.99

Manufacturer: Broadway Limited Imports, 9 East Tower Circle, Ormond Beach, FL 32174 broadway-limited.com

CV setter features: 

• Modify Configuration Variables (CVs) including speed, acceleration, lighting, and sound
• Compatible with all BLI sound-equipped models and other NMRA-compliant DCC-equipped locomotives or DCC decoders

Release date: To be announced

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 e-mail Senior Editor Cody Grivno at cody.grivno@firecrown.com and Associate Editor Bryson Sleppy at bryson.sleppy@firecrown.com for more information.