Ballast King track-ballasting car

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Kevin Strong Functional track-ballasting car Ballast King 12817 Briar Dr. Leawood KS 66209 Price: $259 + $16.80 s&h Website: www.ogaugeconnection.com Steel and PVC hopper car for ballasting large-scale track; can be used indoors or out. Dimensions: length (excluding coupler), 11 ½”; width, 5 ½”; height (without extension tube), 7″ Pros: Car automatically provides neatly-dressed ballast […]

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DP Supplies steam-sound enhancement pipe

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Marc Horovitz Steam-sound enhancement pipe DP Supplies Unit 19 Jubilee Enterprise Centre Jubilee Close, Weymouth DT4 7BS, UK Website: www.summerlands-chuffer.co.uk   Available in the US from: The Train Department Price: $45, postpaid Website: www.thetraindepartment.com   Steam-sound enhancement pipe (#SCAC18) for Accucraft Emma; copper and brass construction; 5½” long; replaces engine’s original exhaust pipe; instruction sheet […]

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Iron Horse Engraving caboose kit

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Kevin Strong Gauge 1, 1:20.3-scale caboose kit Iron Horse Engraving 207 Canterbury Dr. State College PA 16803 Price: $400 Website: www.ironhorseengraving.com Gauge 1, 1:20.3 scale, East Broad Top steel-frame caboose kit; laser-cut wood; interior details; trucks and couplers not included; suitable for novice builders or beginners who like a challenge. Dimensions: length, 27″; width, 4 […]

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Model Building with Brass book review

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Model Building with Brass by Kenneth C. Foran Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 4880 Lower Valley Road, Rte. 372 Atglen PA 19310 8¾” x 11¼”, 160 pp; 320+ color photos; hardbound Price: $34.99 Website: www.schifferbooks.com Learning to build models from durable materials (i.e., metals) is one of the most satisfying avenues of model construction. This book can […]

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Old Iron Designs gladhands

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Kevin Strong 1:20.3-scale gladhands Old Iron Designs, LLC 203 Afton Ave. Trenton NJ 08618 Price: $20/package of 8 (enough for 4 cars) Website: www.oldirondesigns.com 1:20.3 scale, nickel-silver castings of air brake gladhands; magnetic connections; air hoses included; 1:32-scale version coming soon Pros: Highly detailed castings; prototypical operation; easy to install Cons: None Kevin Strong Kevin […]

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Piko 0-6-0 with DCC sound and control

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Kevin Strong Freelance gauge-1 0-6-0 with DCC sound and control Piko America, LLC 4610 Alvarado Canyon Road, Suite 5 San Diego CA 92120 Price: $469.99 (decoder available separately: $144.99) Website: www.piko-america.com Plastic, gauge 1, freelance, steam-outline 0-6-0; integrated DCC control and sound; also compatible with traditional analog DC track power; directional lights; whistle blows correct […]

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Proxxon miniature chop and miter saw

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Marc Horovitz Miniature chop and miter saw Proxxon Prox-Tech, Inc.   PO Box 1909 Hickory NC 28603 US Price: $310 Website: http://shop.prox-tech.com Miniature chop and miter saw (#KGS80); will cut non-ferrous metals, plastics, and wood, as supplied; swiveling table, indexable at 15° intervals; built-in work vise; built-in work stop for multiple cuts of the same […]

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Union Pacific Big Boy: The rebirth of a legend NEWSWIRE

4014 Pomona Lustig

Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 Big Boy No. 4014 on display at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona, Calif., in December 2012. David Lustig Through the 1940s and 1950s, Union Pacific’s 25 4-8-8-4 Big Boys symbolized powerful, big-time railroading in the wide-open American West. Now, Union Pacific is bringing one of these legendary locomotives, No. 4014, […]

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MR Product Review: Bachmann HO scale F7 with DCC and sound

Bachmann HO scale F7 with DCC and sound

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Bachmann’s latest addition to its Sound Value line is a Elctro-Motive Division F7A and F7B diesel locomotives. The models come with Digital Command Control sound decoders and can be run on DCC or DC layouts. Steven Otte takes a pair for a test […]

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Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad rejects grant NEWSWIRE

ABILENE, Kan. – A $500,000 grant from the federal government to repair a bridge on the Abilene & Smoky Valley tourist railroad has been rejected and returned to the government. The grant through the Kansas Department of Transportation was requested by the Dickinson County Commission to repair the railroad’s bridge across the Smoky Hill River. […]

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S gauge SD70ACe diesel by American Flyer (Lionel)

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In the September 2013 issue, I offered a critique of Lionel’s well-executed American Flyer passenger cars done in the postwar style. Although the cars were nicely made, their design followed the limited detailing of an older day, and so might not be up to par with a scale-detailed model railroader. This time we’ll examine an […]

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