Rapido Trains announces the Icons of Canadian Steam at Exporail

On October 12 at Exporail, the Canadian Railway Museum near Montreal, Quebec, Rapido Trains announced that it plans to produce the Icons of Canadian Steam. The multi-year project will consist of HO scale models of 12 notable Canadian steam locomotives, usually in multiple classes. The project first release of the series will be the Canadian […]

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New model trains for the week of October 8, 2015

BLMA Models HO scale Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe class BX-166 62-foot double-door boxcar

BLMA Models HO scale Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe class BX-166 62-foot double-door boxcar HO scale freight cars Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe class BX-166 62-foot double-door boxcar. Santa Fe Brown with or without circle-cross herald in 12 road numbers per scheme. Separately applied brake wheel and underbody brake details, metal wheelsets, and Kadee no. […]

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Sad Sam

SP90

SP Coast Division train 90, the San Francisco–Los Angeles mail train known as “Sad Sam,” passes through the Chatsworth rocks northwest of L.A. in the early 1960s. Bruce Hollinshead I was a teenager when I first began biking the two miles from my home to a place called Gemco after school. Like many spots on […]

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Andy Sperandeo has passed away

Andy Sperandeo in cab of locomotive

For more than 30 years Andy Sperandeo was an integral part of Model Railroader magazine. October 3, 2015 – With a heavy heart, I’m sad to report that Andy Sperandeo, who has been a part of our lives at Model Railroader magazine for more than 30 years, has died. Andy was 70 years old. As […]

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B&O GP9 restored to its original colors

BO

STAUNTON, Va. — A piece of Baltimore & Ohio locomotive history has been preserved. The Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad recently restored ex-B&O GP9 No. 6512 to its original blue and yellow paint scheme. The GP9 locomotive will be used on the Shenandoah Valley Railroad’s 20-mile short line between Staunton and Pleasant Valley in north […]

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Build the Black River Junction – part 4

MRRB0407_01

People, cars, buildings, and trees are part of everyday life. We’ll add all of these important details to our HO scale project railroad. Model trains are a lot of fun, and having a layout to run them on is even better. However, trains and track in isolation don’t look very realistic. While the scenery we […]

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Bonus desktop wallpaper from Great Model Railroads 2016

GMR2016

Don’t miss the 10 inspiring layouts featured in Great Model Railroads 2016. This special issue of Model Railroader magazine features a wide variety of model train layouts in N, HO, S, and O scales. As a special online bonus, you can download computer desktop wallpaper from each of the featured layouts. Want to see more […]

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HO Wig Wag Crossing

HO Wig Wag Crossing

I completed the HO Wig-Wag crossing using an actual 3mm magnetic actuator on the pole made from a modified coreless motor inside a brass shim-stock enclosure. The 3-phases windings are driven by an Arduino. The wig-wag crossing was made from a kit from Showcase Miniatures and tools from the Small Shop. Yes, this was wired […]

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