See what’s new on DJ Arlia’s N scale Union Railroad layout. Some of the features include a scratchbuilt engine house, steel mills, rivers, barges, massive bridges, and more! […]
N scale Union Railroad progress update
Subscription: Metered
Steve Smith’s NE Corridor Flyover
Steve Smith’s HO scale PRR Northeast Corridor RR is set in and around Philadelphia. It features SEPTA trolleys, subways, and Amtrak passenger trains. The catenary is under construction. Downtown Philly buildings include Broad Street station, North Philly station, and underground stations. […]
Lionel Amtrak F40PH and cabbage unit
Eric Siegel O gauge Amtrak EMD F40PH from Lionel Price: $549.99 (nos. 82453 and 82454, Phase II; 82455 and 82456, Phase III, powered); $399.99 (no. 82457, non-powered) Min Curve: O-54 Features: Lighting, horn and bell sounds, prototypical lettering and painting, Lionel TMCC/Legacy command control, remote couplers Road names: Amtrak Phase II and Phase III. www.lionel.com […]
O gauge UFO scene from Menards
O gauge UFO scene from Menards Price: $99.99 (N. 279-4439) Features: Fully landscaped diorama with illuminated flying saucer and farm shed, human, cow, dog, and alien figures, motorized cow abduction action. Power supply: Menards No. 279-4062 or No. 279-4050 4.5-volt power supply (sold separately). www.menards.com/trains Farmers have many worries. The weather changes all the time […]
How to make an insulated track section
To make an insulated track section this is all you’ll need: A screwdriver, pliers, three small sections of cardboard for insulation, maybe a bit of tape to hold the cardboard in place, and an insulating track pin. Gently pry up the metal lip on the metal tie that holds the rail in place and remove […]
Presidents that travel by train
U.S. Presidents have traveled by train almost as long as there have been rails on the continent. Learn more with these two downloadable PDFs looking back at the relationship between Richard Nixon and the railroads and George H.W. Bush’s 1992 campaign train. […]
New model trains for the week of December 6, 2018
Athearn HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP7u diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP7u diesel locomotive. Wisconsin & Southern (two road numbers) and BNSF Ry. (Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe patchout, three numbers). Road-number-specific details, wire grab irons, and detailed cab interior. Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $199.98; with dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder, […]
Spacing of steam ‘chuffs’
A conventional two-cylinder locomotive like this one exhausts four times per wheel revolution. This is thanks to the position of the valves. Library of Congress Q At low speed, the four “chuffs” a steam engine makes per wheel rotation all sound the same to me, but at higher speed I think I hear a four-beat […]
Materials list for HO scale 35-foot Fruehauf trailer resin kit
Mont Switzer’s finished HO scale tandem van is shown above with his GMC “Cannonball” semi-tractor. The article “Decorate and detail a 1950s tandem van” by Mont Switzer appeared in the January 2019 Model Railroader. The materials list for the project is listed below. List of materials A-Line 50119 trailer dress up kit, spoke wheels Athearn […]
BL2s and Pullmans to the Stock Yards
A pair of Rock Island BL2s, with an F7B between them, led the “Fat Stock Special” one night in 1956. Monty Powell In November 1956 I was a management trainee on the Rock Island Railroad in Rock Island, Ill. A special movement known as “the Fat Stock Special,” which originated in western Iowa, was coming […]
New model trains for the week of November 29, 2018
Accurail assorted freight cars HO scale freight cars Assorted freight cars. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Pullman-Standard 4,750-cubic-foot-capacity three-bay covered hopper, $20.98. Canadian National 40-foot double-sheathed refrigerator car, $19.98. Chesapeake & Ohio three-bay offset-side hopper (single car, $18.98; three-pack, $55.98). Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern 40-foot single-sheathed boxcar, $18.98. Georgia RR United States Railroad Administration […]
Los Angeles Junction Flyover
Check out this overhead “helicopter view” of Lance Mindheim’s Los Angeles Junction Ry. layout. See more of the layout in Great Model Railroads 2019. […]
