This HO scale Baldwin 4-4-0 steam locomotive includes a SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoder. Watch us run the Bachmann Spectrum Series model on the Model Railroader club layout, the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy (MR&T). […]
Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 400 powered a boy’s “magic carpet” mixed train to Durham, N.C. Curt Tillotson Jr. collection What an adventure this was for a 7-year-old, impressionable young man, already a lover of trains. Indeed, every minute of the 4-hour trip from Stovall to Durham, N.C. (approximately 45 miles), is still fresh in my […]
With vision and talent and help from Tom Ferber, Doug Bloom’s wonderful layout was built. All of the photos were taken by another friend, Gene Meadows. […]
Bachmann Trains HO scale Baldwin 4-4-0 steam locomotive The introduction of a modernized Baldwin 4-4-0 steam locomotive will come as welcome news to modelers of HO scale railroads set in the first half of the 20th century. The new release from Bachmann’s Spectrum line includes SoundTraxx Digital Command Control (DCC) and sound, and features boilers, […]
Kato N scale City of Los Angeles I watched the sleek yellow Kato City of Los Angeles snake through the desert scenery of our N scale Salt Lake Route layout. A great thing about N scale is that you can run full-length name passenger trains on a modest-size layout. A great thing about this Kato […]
Athearn Trains HO scale TTX 89-foot flatcar This versatile 89-foot intermodal flatcar is a recent addition to Athearn’s HO scale Genesis freight car fleet. It has a well-detailed plastic carbody and deck fitted with a die-cast metal underframe, and hand-applied details. This superb model comes in many versions that reflect the prototype’s numerous variations and […]
Walthers HO scale Budd 21-roomette sleeper The Pennsylvania RR’s streamlined Broadway Limited is the latest name passenger train released by Walthers. The first car in the series is this well-detailed HO scale Budd 21-roomette sleeper. The prototype. Inaugurated in 1912, the Broadway Limited was the premier passenger train of the Pennsylvania RR. Running between New […]
Blackstone Models HOn3 UTLX tank car Price: $54.95 (unweathered), $59.95 (weathered) ManufacturerBlackstone Models210 Rock Point Dr.Durango, CO 81301www.blackstonemodels.com Era: late 1930s to early 1960s Comments: A frameless tank car that hauled oil from Chama and Farmington, N.M., to the refineries at Alamosa, Colo. is the latest HOn3 ready-to-run freight car from Blackstone Models. The Union […]
Many years ago I read an article about railroad roundhouses in North Dakota. The article made the point that they were located about every 100 miles because steam locomotives continually shook themselves apart and needed to have maintenance before they could be reused. Well, that made sense of a sort. And since even smaller engine […]
How do you put down ballast on your O gauge railroad? Depending on the scope of the project, I may use either a plastic cup – or a cut-open one-gallon water jug filled with ballast. I pour it down on the track and then use a paintbrush for general shaping and tamping, and maybe an […]
Not long ago, businesses that received or generated moderate levels of rail traffic called the local railroad for switching duties. Others had their own switcher. Other firms with less, though steady traffic had another recourse for motive power: the Trackmobile.First developed in the late 1940s, the Trackmobile was a dream come true for firms with […]
You know I’m not sure if I ever saw a General Electric U25B diesel locomotive operating in revenue service. Oh, back in the day, I have a hazy memory of perhaps seeing one in a backshop deadline, although that may have been another four-axle GE model. But during my prime railfanning period (1978-85), I believe […]
