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Video: Lionel’s SD 40
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Book Review: Field Guide to Trains: Locomotives and Rolling Stock
Field Guide to Trains: Locomotives and Rolling Stock Voyageur Field Guides By Brian Solomon Voyageur Press, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55401; 208 pages, 160 color photos; Flexibound Flexibound, 6 x 9 inches; $24.99 www.quartoknows.com Railroading is a complex business with many interesting facets, but its equipment always seems to be at […]
Steel makin’ train
Taconite pellets roll south through Marion, Ohio, on Oct. 19, 2014, bound for AK Steel in Ashland, Ky. Photo by Brian Schmidt […]
New products from the September 2016 issue of Classic Toy Trains
A REGULAR ROAD RUNNER: Czech train maker ETS has announced a unique motorized unit to help cut costs on your transit line: the no. 200 Rail-Road-Bus. The model is rigged with rail wheels to provide your O scale patrons with a smooth and comfortable commute into Traintown. The vehicle costs $159 in two- or three-rail […]
O gauge Burlington Northern SD40 from Lionel
O gauge SD40 diesel from Lionel Price: $649.99 (no. 82276) Min Curve: O-54 Cmd Low: 3.6 smph Cnv Low: 5.8 smph High: 73.6 smph Drawbar pull: 2 lb., 5 oz. Features: Two can-style motors, coil couplers, Lionel Legacy command and sound system. Current-production road names: Burlington Northern, Chessie System (B&O), Clinchfield, Conrail, Conrail (Buy Bonds), […]
Atlas HO scale GE Dash 8-40BW diesel locomotive
Atlas HO scale Dash 8-40BW In August 2001, then-associate editor Jim Hediger lauded the HO scale Atlas Dash 8-40B for its performance and detail. With this 2016 release, the locomotive is available with a dual-mode ESU LokSound Select decoder, so it sounds as prototypical as it looks on both Digital Command Control (DCC) and direct-current […]
Quick Look: Menards HO scale assembled structures
Menards HO scale Dakota Cabinet Works Price: Dakota Cabinet Works, $69.99; Hobby Shop, $59.99 Manufacturer Menard Inc. 5101 Menard Dr. Eau Claire, WI 54703 www.menards.com Era: 1940s to present Comments: Menards, a Midwestern home-improvement store chain that’s seen success with its line of O scale model railroad cars and structures, is taking on the HO […]
ScaleTrains.com HO scale crude oil tank car
ScaleTrains.com HO scale crude oil tank car The Rivet Counter car (foreground) features a higher level of detail and printing than its Operator Line counterpart in the background. An HO scale TrinityRail 31,000-gallon crude oil tank car is the first freight car in ScaleTrains.com’s Operator and Rivet Counter product lines. The ready-to-run injection-molded plastic models […]
Tipping on trains
A dining car crew sets up for breakfast on the ‘Auto Train’ in 2012. Al DiCenso Q Having been a tipped employee, I know how important service and tips are to customers and employees alike. What would be an appropriate tip for average service for one guest in a roomette? What about tipping for meals […]
Kato N scale SDP40F and Amtrak Southwest Limited passenger train set
Kato N scale Electro-Motive Division SDP40F When Amtrak began operations in 1971, it inherited a mixed bag of locomotives and passenger cars from participating railroads. In order to survive, the decades-old equipment needed to be replaced. Amtrak’s first all-new locomotive was the General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division SDP40F. This locomotive is now offered by Kato in […]
Quick Look: Walthers HO scale American Car & Foundry 50-foot boxcar
Walthers HO scale American Car & Foundry 50-foot boxcar Price: $24.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53218 www.walthers.com Era: mid-1990s to present (as painted) Road names: Railbox (mid-1990s repaint and original schemes); Ashley, Drew & Northern; Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern; Port Huron & Detroit; and Vermont Ry. (SSI scheme). […]
Short line, short train
Pioneer Railcorp GP16 No. 1603 leads a westbound Napoleon, Defiance & Western train at Antwerp, Ohio, on Oct. 17, 2014, with just seven cars in tow. Photo by Brian Schmidt […]
