WalthersProto HO scale PRR BM70n RPO-baggage car

MRRPR0417_09

WalthersProto HO scale PRR BR70n RPO baggage car The car has a detailed interior made of several plastic moldings. Contacts at one end of the car provide electrical pickup for interior lighting (sold separately). Fully-fledged post offices on wheels, Railway Post Office cars used to be called the most profitable cars in a railroad’s fleet. […]

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Poling on railroads

TRNAT0315_02

A Canadian National worker moves a car using a pole on the pilot of CN No. 6310 in 1958. Gordon B. Mott, Louis A. Marre collection Q When did railroads stop using poling pockets seen at all four corners of freight cars and engines? – John Bronn, Eagle, Alaska A Poling was the once common […]

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Quick Look: Atlas N scale Norfolk Southern gondola

MRRPR0417_11

Atlas N scale Norfolk Southern gondola Price: Single car, $25.95; three-pack, $77.95; six-pack, $155.70 Manufacturer Atlas Model Railroad Co. 378 Florence Ave. Hillside, NJ 07205 www.atlasrr.com Era: June 1993 to present (as decorated) Road names: Norfolk Southern (with yellow conspicuity stripes, test roller bearings stencil, MW scrap tie loading stencil, and 263K GRL 1993 scheme […]

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Origins of the Oroville Dam

OrovilleRR

OROVILLE, Calif. — Observers are watching for what will happen next with the Oroville Dam, one of the largest earthen dams in North America. Few know that the dam is also a great railroad story, one that was captured on video in the 1960s and in the pages of Trains in January 1966. Download Donald […]

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HOn30 Narrow Gauge Coal Mine Railroad

HOn30 Narrow Gauge Coal Mine Railroad

This HOn30 Narrow Gauge Coal Mine Railroad measures 24″ x 56″. The layout is constructed of 1″ thick extruded foam insulation board; there was no wood used anywhere. It is very light in weight. The locomotive is an old N scale Lifelike SW switcher for which I scratchbuilt a new cab to fit over the […]

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HOn30 Narrow Gauge Coal Mine Railroad

HOn30 Narrow Gauge Coal Mine Railroad

This HOn30 Narrow Gauge Coal Mine Railroad measures 24″ x 56″. The layout is constructed of 1″ thick extruded foam insulation board; there was no wood used anywhere. It is very light in weight. The locomotive is an old N scale Lifelike SW switcher for which I scratchbuilt a new cab to fit over the […]

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New model trains for the week of February 9, 2017

Fox Valley Models HO Soo Line Fond du Lac, Wis.-built 50-foot 7-post plug-door boxcar

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division F45 diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (“Kodachrome” scheme); Burlington Northern (Great Northern patchout); and Great Northern. Three road numbers per scheme. Road-number-specific details, Flexicoil-C truck sideframes with high brake cylinders, and 4,000-gallon fuel tank. Direct-current model with 8- and 9-pin connectors for Digital Command Control decoder, $179.98; with […]

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O gauge Premier line GE 44-tonner by MTH

MTH GE 44 ton switcher

O gauge Premier line GE 44-tonner by MTH Price: $449.95 (no. 20-20466-1) Min Curve: O-27 Cmd Low: 3.04 smph Cnv Low: 3.25 smph High: 65.4 smph Drawbar pull: 1 lb., 7 oz. Features: Two can-style motors, ProtoSound 3.0 command and sound system, coil couplers Current production road names: Baltimore & Ohio; Boston & Maine; Great […]

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O gauge LionChief Plus EMD GP20 by Lionel

lionchief_engine

O gauge LionChief Plus EMD GP20 by Lionel Price: $339.95 (no. 82172) Min Curve: O-31 Cmd Low: 2.32 smph Cnv Low: 3.7 smph High: 80.8 smph Drawbar pull: 1 lb., 11 oz. Features: Two can-style motors, LionChief Plus command system, RailSounds RC sound system, fan-driven smoke unit, coil couplers (operable only with remote), command- or […]

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Close encounters of the 4-6-4 kind

THB501

Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo’s two ex-NYC J-1e’s were among the Hudsons that captivated a Buffalo boy in the late 1940s. Frank Clodfelter While growing up in Cleveland and Buffalo after World War II, a close encounter with a Hudson-type locomotive was just a train ride away. My first memory was as a four-year-old. My family […]

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