Kato N scale EMD SD9043MAC diesel locomotive

Kato N scale Electro-Motive Division SD9043MAC diesel locomotive Whether on 1:1 rails or in 1:160 proportion, an SD90MAC diesel draws the attention of railfans and modelers alike. At more than 80 scale feet long, this re-release of the N scale SD90MAC from Kato USA is an accurately detailed model of its massive prototype. Model Railroader […]

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Atlas HO scale Thrall triple 53-foot articulated well car

Atlas HO scale Thrall triple 53-foot articulated well car

Atlas HO scale Thrall triple 53-foot articulated well car Price: decorated, $109.95, undecorated, $89.95 ManufacturerAtlas Model Railroad Co.378 Florence AvenueHillside, NJ 07205atlasrr.com Road names (five road numbers each): TTX (yellow and black), Pacer Stack Train (blue, white, and red), and undecorated. Era: 2000 to present Comments: This common Thrall articulated intermodal car is now available […]

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Woodland Scenics track cleaning system

Woodland Scenics track cleaning system

Woodland Scenics track cleaning system This innovative tool from Woodland Scenics is part of the firm’s Tidy Track line and makes it easy to clean the rails almost anywhere on a model railroad. A complete system. The Rail Tracker is a 21⁄2″ inch long plastic tool that swivels on a knob. Indentations on the knob […]

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Athearn N scale FMC 50-foot double-door boxcar

Athearn N scale FMC 50-foot double-door boxcar

Athearn N scale FMC 50-foot double-door boxcar Price: $19.98 ManufacturerAthearn Trains2883 E. Spring St., Ste. 100Long Beach, CA 90806athearn.com Era: early 1970s to present Road names (three numbers each): British Columbia Ry., Burlington Northern, Northern Alberta Rys., Western Pacific Comments: For those modeling the 1970s and later, the 50-foot exterior post boxcar is a ubiquitous […]

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A rare look Southbound

Seaboard System Railroad officials inspect the jointly owned Winston-Salem Southbound Railroad (with Norfolk Southern) on Aug. 8, 1985. The train is crossing the Yadkin River near Badin, N.C., behind former Clinchfield Railroad F units Nos. 116 and 117. Photo by Doug Koontz […]

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High hopes but no luck

In high hopes of increased coal traffic, West Virginia’s Middle Fork Railroad in the early 1960s laid heavier rail on its main line. Some of that rail waits in gons while a loaded coal train moves past at Ellamore, W.Va. Alas, the traffic never materialized. Photo by J. Michael Dunn III […]

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Virginian Railway

Virginian-Fall2001-1

Read about the Virginian Railway in a PDF of the article: “A Bit of Flair in the Coalfields” published in the Fall 2001 issue of Classic Trains  in the Fallen Flags Remembered section. Download the story by clicking on the PDF below. […]

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One man’s favorite locomotive

PRR1592

Engineer Norman Strickland (in front of cylinder) and fireman Russell Phillips stand at Perryville, Md., with G5s 1592, ready to depart with MD-58 for Philadelphia via the Octoraro Branch. George Gillespie Probably 90 percent of all railfans would say their favorite locomotive is the one on which they took their first cab ride. This is […]

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Video: MTH HO scale Alco PA/PB set

The MTH Electric Trains HO Scale Alco PA/PB diesel locomotives feature the Digital Command System (DCS) and the Proto-Sound 3.0 system. See and hear the locomotives in action as they haul a streamlined passenger train around our model railroad. […]

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Video: MTH HO scale Alco PA/PB set

The MTH Electric Trains HO Scale Alco PA/PB diesel locomotives feature the Digital Command System (DCS) and the Proto-Sound 3.0 system. See and hear the locomotives in action as they haul a streamlined passenger train around our model railroad. […]

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How to make a more realistic puffball forest

Puffballtrees

The cardboard brings the puffball foliage to the same height as the foreground trees. The screen and cardboard are completely hidden in the finished scene. Modeling a dense forest area on your model train layout can get expensive if you start using individual trees.  I found a way to make puffball trees look more realistic, […]

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Reading Company

Reading-Summer2000-1

Read about the Reading Company’s railroad in a PDF of the Fallen Flags Remembered article: “Take a Ride on the Reading” published in the Summer 2000 issue of Classic Trains magazine. Download the story by clicking on the PDF below. […]

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