Menards O gauge Tide soap factory

Menards O gauge Tide Soap Factory side view

TIDE FACTORY BY MENARDS Price: $99.99 Stock no.: 279-5518 Features: Fully assembled and decorated. Worker figures, grass-covered base, and illuminated signage. Website: menards/trains     I continue to be amazed at the variety (and quantity) of new building designs coming from Menards headquarters in Eau Claire, Wis. They’ve made residential structures (farm houses, ranch houses, […]

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PIKO America powered re-railer

PIKO America powered re-railer

Open the box and you might be tempted to dismiss the contents as two sections of thin (⅛”) plastic, each measuring 16″ long. Closer inspection reveals the top side of one section includes two 12″ metal plates (slot-and-tab installation) extending two-thirds its length. Probe a bit further to find an end cap, Phillips-head screw, and […]

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Lionel LionMaster 4-8-8-4 Big Boy steam locomotive

Lionel LionMaster 4-8-8-4 Big Boy steam locomotive

O gauge Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy by Lionel Price: $1199.99 no. 1932163 Features: O-31 operation, two can-style motors, LionChief Plus 2.0 command and sound system, smoke unit, remote coupler Low speed (cmd): 1.7 scale mph Low speed (conv) 3 smph High speed: 76.2 smph Drawbar pull: 2 lb., 2 oz. Current production road name: […]

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Atlas O Trainman O gauge Chesapeake & Ohio cupola caboose

Atlas O Trainman O gauge Chesapeake & Ohio cupola caboose

Price: $66.95 (undecorated, $64.95) Features: Separate, factory-applied window awnings, window glazing, smokestack, brake wheels, roof grab irons, and see-through running boards; die-cast metal couplers; solid-bearing caboose trucks; plastic underframe with molded brake detail; interior lighting with on/off control switch on underbody Minimum diameter curve: O-31 Road names:Boston & Maine (blue, white, and orange), Burlington Northern […]

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Book review: ’50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants’

Book cover.

50 Beautiful Deer-Resistant Plants Garden Railways file image   Was Elmer Fudd, Looney Tunes’ little rifle-toting hunter of Bugs Bunny fame, justified in shooting at Bugs Bunny? Remember how the “waskily wabbit” tunneled under Elmer’s garden yanking down one juicy carrot after another? In cartoons, we cheer for the bunny, but what if he had […]

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Video: Atlas HO Trainkids Acela Train Set

Atlas HO scale Trainkids Train Set

The Atlas Trainkids Acela Train Set has everything needed to get a youngster started in model railroading. Senior editor Dana Kawala shows you have to set up the track and get trains rolling. You can get the Atlas Trainkids Train Set and additional cars and track at KalmbachHobbyStore.com […]

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Bachmann Percy the Small Engine

percy1

Bill Zuback Manufacturer Bachmann Trains 1400 East Erie Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19124 bachmanntrains.com Price: $399 Era: 1949 to present Paint schemes: With sound and moving eyes: Percy the Small Engine and Thomas the Tank Engine ($399 each). With moving eyes only: Emily ($429), James the Red Engine ($389), Percy the Small Engine ($319), Thomas the […]

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