This is an O gauge set that wouldn’t normally be making a second appearance in reviews. We covered Lionel’s Polar Express in the January 2005 issue of Classic Toy Trains. It was a good model of the train in the movie Polar Express, and we had high hopes it would be a natural draw for […]
Section: News & Reviews
O scale factory by Woodland Scenics
Dreams come true. Okay, maybe it wasn’t a big dream, but when I first saw the Woodland Scenics Built-&-Ready line of O gauge structures I hoped it would soon include industrial facilities as well as downtown-type retail shops (browse through the Woodland Scenics HO structures in shops and you’ll see the possibilities). I even turned […]
Trains News Wire VIDEO: Interview with Ed Dickens on moving Big Boy No. 4014 NEWSWIRE
POMONA, Calif. – Trains Editor Jim Wrinn interviews Union Pacific steam manager Ed Dickens on moving 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4014 across the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in and on to Cheyenne. […]
Bachmann N scale F7A and B unit diesel locomotives
Bachmann N scale F7A and B units Bachmann Trains is introducing an N scale model of one of the most iconic locomotives ever built, equipped with a Digital Command Control decoder. The N scale locomotives, which come in A and B versions, have sharp paint jobs, are powered by can motors with dual brass flywheels, […]
Athearn Trains HO scale GE ES44AC GEVO diesel locomotive
Athearn Trains HO scale GE ES44AC GEVO diesel locomotive A mainstay of today’s main lines, the General Electric Evolution Series (GEVO) ES44AC is now available as part of the Athearn Genesis line of superdetailed HO scale locomotives. We tested a BNSF and a Union Pacific version. Both models feature prototype-specific detailing and a SoundTraxx Digital […]
Walthers HO scale Magnolia Hotel
Walthers HO scale Magnolia Hotel Price: $34.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53201 www.walthers.com Era: late 1800s to 1950s Comments: The Magnolia Hotel is one of the latest structure offerings from Walthers. The injection-molded plastic kit, part of the Cornerstone Main Street USA series, features a decorative peaked-roof cornice […]
ExactRail HO scale TrentonWorks 67′-11″ bulkhead flatcar
ExactRail HO scale TrentonWorks 67′-11″ bulkhead flatcar Price: $38.95 Manufacturer ExactRail 251 W. River Park Dr., Ste. 300 Provo, UT 84604 www.exactrail.com Era: 2005 to present Road names: TTX (“Forward Thinking” herald or black rectangle herald with three white or five yellow reflective stripes). Multiple road numbers per scheme. Comments: A common modern-era bulkhead flatcar […]
Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale 50-foot boxcar
Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale 50-foot boxcar An HO scale model of a 70-ton double-door boxcar used by western railroads to transport wood products and other freight is now available from Atlas. The 5,077-cubic-foot-capacity boxcar is based on a prototype built by FMC during the mid- to late 1970s and features a one-piece injection-molded […]
Book Review: Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line
Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line by Ed Wolfe, Charles Wilson, Jr., and Paul Mandelkern HEW Enterprises, 116 Oakview Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 1521; 432 pages, 384 b/w and 48 color photos; hardcover, 8.5 x 11 in.; $65.00 Ed Wolfe has established himself as an outstanding researcher and writer in Appalachian railroad history with five different […]
UP Big Boy No. 4014 will roll Jan. 26 NEWSWIRE
Union Pacific moved No. 4014 across the fairgrounds in November in anticipation of January’s move from the park. Jim Wrinn POMONA, Calif. – The long awaited day when Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 will return to the national rail system is at hand. Mark Jan. 26 as a red letter day in the history […]
Vermont Railway debuts 50th anniversary locomotive NEWSWIRE
No. 311 Kevin Burkholder/Vermont Rail System BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Vermont Rail System has unveiled a 50th anniversary locomotive, GP40-2W No. 311. The unit honors both the railroad’s 50 years of service and the founder’s mother, Joan Wulfson. In the fall of 1963, the end of the Rutland Railroad was in sight and, on Jan. 6, […]
Washington Metro welcomes first 7000-series railcars NEWSWIRE
The new 8000-series cars approach the Greenbelt Station. Sol Tucker Interior of the new 8000-series WMATA cars. Sol Tucker WASHINGTON – The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is debuting its first 7000-series train at Greenbelt Station this week. The newest addition to the rail fleet will fulfill a critical National Transportation Safety Board recommendation by replacing […]