Southern Pacific AC-5 Cab Forward at Skykomish

Model cab forwad locomotive

Southern Pacific AC-5 Cab Forward at Skykomish: By accident, I have a car about 2/3rds into the train where it sounds like a prototypical flat wheel on one of the cars. The light at the back top of the engine was for the fireman to check, at night, the exhaust to see how efficient his […]

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A public garden line in Germany celebrates 20 years

A public garden line in Germany celebrates 20 years

The railway at a glance Name: Gartenbahn der Parkeisenbahn Chemnitz Size of railroad: 21m x 9.5m (69′ x 31′) Scale: Mostly 1:22.5 Gauge: Nº 1 (45mm) Era: 1965-present Theme: Central German Mountains Age: 20 years Power: Massoth DiMAX 1210Z; Digital Central Station 20 V/12 A Length of mainline: 245m (803′) Length of storage sidings: 125m […]

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An eastern line serves small mountain towns

An eastern line serves small mountain towns

The railway at a glance Railroad name: Capleville & Sugkat Valley Railroad Size: 90′ x 35′ x 30′ Scale: 1:22.5-1:32 Era: 1940-1960s Theme: Small mountain towns and big railroads Age: 20 years Motive power: Track and battery Length of mainline: 350′ Maximum gradient: 3% Type of track: Aristo-Craft and LGB; LGB switches Minimum radius: 10′ […]

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California narrow gauge in the 1940s

The Lake Tahoe & Truckee Railroad

The railway at a glance Name: Lake Tahoe & Truckee Size: 120′ x 15′ Scale: 1:22.5 Gauge: Nº 1 (45mm) Era: 1940s Theme: Sierra Nevada narrow gauge Age: 21 years Motive power: LGB Moguls, cab-forward articulated, Forney Length of mainline: 300+ feet Maximum gradient: 2.5% Type of track: LGB flex and Sunset Valley switches Minimum […]

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Garden railroading at The Colorado Railroad Museum

Garden railroading at The Colorado Railroad Museum

The railway at a glance Name of railroad: DGRS Garden Railway at the Colorado Railroad Museum Size of railroad: 97′ x 70′ Scale: Various Gauges: 0 (32mm) and 1 (45mm) Era: Late 1800s to modern Theme: Colorado mountains and plains Age: 24 years Motive power: All types, including track power, battery power, and live steam […]

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New model trains for the week of February 15, 2018

Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale Alco RS-11 diesel locomotive

Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale Alco RS-11 diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Alco RS-11 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes: Apache, California Western, Conrail (Penn Central patchout), Delaware & Hudson (large numbers), Nickel Plate Road (broad stripes), and Norfolk & Western (blue “half moon” scheme). New road numbers: Missouri Pacific (blue and gray) and Southern […]

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Athearn Ready To Roll HO scale SD40-2

MRRPR0418_05

Athearn Ready To Roll HO scale SD40-2 Although it’s part of Athearn’s value-priced Ready-To-Roll series, this SD40-2 bristles with enough roadname-specific detail to satisfy most prototype-savvy modelers. The SD40-2 also marks a big upgrade for Athearn RTR locomotives. Instead of the SoundTraxx RTR decoder with limited functionality found in previous Athearn RTR releases, this new […]

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Bachmann HO flashing rear-end device

MRRPR0418_07

Truck shown with coupler removed Flashing rear-end devices, or FREDs, started taking the place of cabooses on trains starting in the 1970s. The small rectangular boxes are now a ubiquitous part of modern-era railroading. Bachmann Trains is offering a light-emitting-diode (LED) illuminated HO scale FRED that works on direct-current (DC) or Digital Command Control (DCC) […]

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