A catalog of useful plants for railroad gardens

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What appear to be small apple trees in bloom are really Mexican false heather, a.k.a. elfin herb (Cuphea hyssopifolia, Zones 8-11). These are easy to grow in full to partial sun and average soil and watering. They flower almost continually with white, pink, red, or purple blossoms, outdoors year round in the south or over-wintered […]

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Aristo-Craft wireless throttle and sound system

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Kevin Strong Wireless throttle and sound system Aristo-Craft Trains698 S. 21st St.Irvington NJ 07111Price: $175Website: www.aristocraft.com Wireless throttle/sound system combination with generic diesel sound for Aristo-Craft’s Revolution control system Pros: Self-contained wireless receiver/throttle/sound all on one board; sound component can be turned off and receiver used with third-party sound systemsCons: Sockets for speaker and other […]

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Bachmann C-19 Consolidation

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Marc Horovitz Gauge 1, 1:20.3-scale 2-8-0 Bachmann Industries1400 E. Erie AvenuePhiladelphia PA 19124Price: $1,575Website: www.bachmanntrains.com Plastic and die-cast-metal model of a Denver & Rio Grande Western C-19 2-8-0; Pittman motor, blind drivers on middle axles; circuit board in tender; built in speaker; built in cooling fan; all-metal gear drive. Dimensions: Length, 31”; width (over window […]

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Bachmann Li’l Big Haulers starter set

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Marc Horovitz Complete gauge-1 train set Bachmann Trains1400 East Erie AvenuePhiladelphia PA 19124Price: $279Website: www.bachmanntrains.com Li’l Big Haulers “Fast Freight” train set (#90196); includes steam-outline locomotive, boxcar, gondola car, caboose, circle of track, power supply, speed controller, and instructions in three languages; four-wheel rolling stock; hook-and-loop couplers; instruction booklet; exploded drawing of engine Pros: Attractively […]

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The Art of Soldering as Applied to Model Railroading DVD

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Marc Horovitz The Art of Soldering as Applied to Model Railroading PBLPO Box 769Ukiah CA 95482Running time: Approximately 90 minutes  Price: $25, postpaid in the USAWebsite: www.p-b-l.com Do you consider soldering to be something of a black art—a thing to be feared and avoided? Or have you wondered what sort of tools, materials, and skills […]

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Highest points and steepest grades on America’s classic railroads

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Railroad names: Georgia Railroad, Great Northern, Gulf, Mobile & Ohio, Illinois Central, Kansas City Southern, Lehigh Valley, Louisville & Nashville, Maine Central, Milwaukee Road, Missouri Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, Monon, Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis, New Haven, New York Central, New York, Ontario & Western, Nickel Plate, Norfolk & Western, Northern Pacific, Pennsylvania, Reading, Rock Island, Rutland, […]

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‘Foreigners’ at Bensenville . . . and beyond

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West of Huntington, Ind., on the Erie Lackawanna, in March 1976, an EL U25B and GP35 back down to an eastbound freight brought in from Chicago by Milwaukee Road F units. Mike Schafer When I started with the Milwaukee Road in 1971, in road service, the railroad was desperately short of motive power. To help […]

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Athearn HO scale 2-8-0 locomotive

Athearn HO scale 2-8-0 steam locomotive

Athearn HO scale 2-8-0 steam locomotive Model Die Casting’s HO scale old-time 2-8-0 was a common sight on model railroads for decades. Through its Roundhouse division, ­Athearn has brought this classic model back, upgraded with new details, directional lighting, modern electronics, and an improved drivetrain. Tracking its heritage. The Consolidation 2-8-0 was one of the […]

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Kato N scale Silver Streak Zephyr

Kato N scale Silver Streak

Kato N scale Silver Streak For the first time in N scale a plastic model of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RR’s Silver Streak Zephyr is available as a ready-to-run train set. The passenger cars and locomotive feature all-new tooling, including the distinctive fluted sides of the Electro-Motive Division E5A diesel-electric locomotive. The Kato model […]

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Wheels of Time N scale Piggy Packer

Wheels of Time N scale Piggy Packer

Wheels of Time N scale Piggy Packer Price: $59.99 Manufacturer Wheels of Time P.O. Box 846 Mountain View, CA 94042-0846 wheelsotime.com Era: late 1960s to present Road names: CSX/Seaboard shown, see website for available roadnames Comments: If you’re into N scale and the modern era, you’ve recently had a lot of intermodal containers, maxi-stacks, and […]

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