News & Products for the week of September 9th 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 9th 2024.
HO scale locomotives
Athearn Genesis Electro-Motivie Division SDP45 diesel locomotive
Price: Direct-current model, $239.99; with DCC and sound, $339.99
Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com
Electro-Motivie Division SDP45 features:
- Full cab interior
- Detailed fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, and breather pipes
- Fine-scale Celcon handrails
- Die-cast frame
- Add $10 for Primed for Grime
Release date: January 2026
Road names: Burlington Northern, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Great Northern, Helm Leasing, Electro-Motive Division Demonstrator, Morrison-Knudsen, New York Central, Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, Webb Asset Management, and Wisconsin Central.
Bowser General Motors Diesel SD40 diesel locomotive
Price: Direct-current model, $209.95; with DCC and sound, $309.95
Manufacturer: Bowser Manufacturing Co. Inc., 1302 Jordan Ave., Montoursville, PA 17754; 570-368-2379; bowser-trains.com
General Motors Diesel SD40 features:
- Separately applied details include air hoses, windshield wipers, grab irons, coupler lift bars, window glass, and road name specific details including fuel tanks
Release date: July 2025
Road names: Algoma Central; Canadian National; Canadian Pacific; CP Rail; Dakota; Minnesota & Eastern; Quebec North Shore & Labrador; and St. Lawrence & Hudson.
HO scale freight cars
Accurail 40-foot wood refrigerator car
Price: $21.98
Manufacturer: Accurail, P.O. Box 278, Elburn, IL 60119; 630-365-1173; accurail.com
40-foot wood refrigerator car features:
- Equipped with Andrews trucks
Release date: Available now
Road names: Green Bay Route
Accurail American Car Foundry two-bay covered hopper
Price: $22.98
Manufacturer: Accurail, P.O. Box 278, Elburn, IL 60119; 630-365-1173; accurail.com 
American Car Foundry two-bay covered hopper features:
- Also available undecorated
Release date: November 2024
Road names: Texas Pacific/Missouri Pacific, and Western Maryland.
Tangent Scale Models Greenville 86-foot high cube boxcar
Price: $56.95
Manufacturer: Tangent Scale Models, P.O. Box 6514, Asheville, NC 28816; 828-412-3886; tangentscalemodels.com
Greenville 86-foot high cube boxcar features:
- See-through etched metal end crossover platforms in three possible options: Gypsum, Apex, or Morton
- 12 prototype-accurate brake stands
- Body shells with or without overlapping side panels
- Also available undecorated
Release date: Available now
Road names: Chicago & North Western, Denver & Rio Grande Western, Illinois Central, Milwaukee Road, Mississippi Delta, Norfolk Southern, and Rock Island.
WalthersProto Trinity 67-foot 6351 four-bay hopper
Price: $59.98
Manufacturer: NWm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com
Trinity 67-foot 6351 four-bay hopper features:
- Separately applied vibrator brackets on discharge outlets
- Factory-installed grab irons
- See-through etched-metal walkways and end platforms
Release date: Winter 2025
Road names: Archer Daniels Midland, Badger State Ethanol, Chicago Freight Car Leasing So., Incobrasa, Midwest DDG, and Trinity Industries Leasing Co.
HO scale freight cars
Walthers Cornerstone yard details – blue flag kit
Price: $14.98
Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com
Yard details – blue flag kit features:
- 50 photo-etched stainless steel signs, allowing for a total of 18 possible assemblies
- Painted in blue with white lettering
Release date: Fall 2024
N scale locomotive
Rapido Electro-Motive Division F59PH diesel-electric locomotive
Price: Direct-current model, $159.95; with DCC and sound, $269.95
Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com
Electro-Motive Division F59 features:
- Underbody detail includes separate piping
- Separate wire grab irons
- Scaled from field measurements and blueprints
Release date: To be announced
Road names: Altamont Commuter Express, AMT, CalTrain, Coaster, GO Transit, Metra, Metrolink, Trinity, Tri-Rail, and West Coast Express.
Electronics/control
NixTrainz Decoder Buddy
Price: Decoder Buddy Mini, $14.00; Decoder Buddy Original, $16.00
Manufacturer: NizTrainz, 9 Forest ST, South Burlington, Vermont, 05403, nicknixtrainz.com
Decoder Buddy features:
- 21-pin-friendly board which replaces the standard DCC 8-pin locomotive motherboard
- Newly upgraded 12 lighting output V5B and 8 lighting output V1B, now have pads for two or three wire stay-alives and a pair of duplicate lighting outputs on the motherboard
- Available in a 1K or a 2.2K resistor version
Release date: Available now
Z scale locomotives
American Z Line Electro-Motive Division SD40-2 diesel-electric locomotive
Price: Contact manufacturer
Manufacturer: American Z Line, 7805 Dublin Rd., Dublin, OH 43017; 614-764-1703; americanzline.com
Electro-Motive Division SD40-2 features:
- 88-foot nose
- Sunshades
- Corrugated radiators
- Low snowplow
Release date: To be announced
Road names: Missouri-Kansas-Texas
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.
