New model trains for the week of March 26, 2020

Tangent Scale Models HO scale General American 4,180-cubic-foot-capacity Airslide covered hopper

HO scale freight cars American Car & Foundry two-bay Center Flow covered hopper. New paint schemes: BNSF Ry. (gray with black circle-cross herald, five road numbers) and Cemex Mexico (gray with reporting marks only). New road numbers: Burlington Northern (Cascade Green with large herald), Chicago & North Western (yellow), CSX (tan), Norfolk & Western (gray), […]

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Bringing light into a black hole

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Jim Kelly wanted to see all the fabulous detail on his new ScaleTrains.com carbon black covered hoppers. A few simple steps had them looking more like their full-sized counterparts. Bill Zuback photo The universe has its black holes, and we who model in N scale have ours: black locomotives and rolling stock. The details are […]

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MRVP Insider: MRVP Underground with David Popp, Episode 1 Introduction

Model Railroad Video Plus Part 1

Model Railroader Video Plus (MRVideoPlus.com) creator and Trains.com Executive Producer David Popp takes viewers into the depths of a hobby haven — otherwise know as his basement. From his Safer-at-Home confines, David shares a quick tour of his recently remodeled home, including expanded, underground layout and storage spaces. Don’t miss these special MRVP Insider glimpses […]

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Regulators toss out effort to force UP to sell Tennessee Pass line

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WASHINGTON – The Surface Transportation Board has rejected real estate moguls’ effort to force Union Pacific to sell its mothballed Tennessee Pass line in Colorado. But the board’s ruling leaves open the possibility that KCVN and Colorado Pacific, which proposed buying the Tennessee Pass line and restoring it to service to haul agricultural and mining […]

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ScaleTrains.com HO scale GE C39-8 diesel

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ScaleTrains.com HO scale GE C39-8 diesel An HO scale General Electric C39-8 diesel-electric locomotive gets the ScaleTrains.com Rivet Counter treatment. As with the N scale version that I reviewed in the August 2019 issue, this HO scale locomotive features ­roadname- and road number-specific detail. Our review sample also came equipped with an ESU LokSound V.5 decoder […]

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MRC Throttlepack 9950

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MRC Throttlepack 9950 The green plug on the back of the cabinet features terminals for track power and accessories. The Throttlepack 9950 isn’t a new face in the Model Rectifier Corp. power pack lineup. However, the train controller, designed for N, HO, O, and G scales, now has the ability to operate Digital Command Control […]

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