Fleet fillers: Lionel Southern Pacific-style caboose, later version

Lionel O gauge postwar caboose

Cabooses are one of our favorite types of Fleet Filler cars. You need one behind almost every freight train, and really, who doesn’t love to see one bringing up the rear? Many of us are familiar with the Lionel’s postwar O-27 cabooses, the most ubiquitous of which was the SP-style model. This item saw lots […]

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The M&M UFO Scene from Menards

The M&M UFO Scene from Menards

Price: $99.99 Stock no. 279-6130 Features: Illuminated flying saucer with changing lights; moving hoist with up/down action; M&M, alien, and Jack the German shepherd figures. Website: www.Menards.com/Trains Remember a few years ago when Menards gave us the spaceship with aliens abducting cows for an interplanetary barbecue? Well, what if … and I say if … […]

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MTH Premier Line O gauge SD40-2 diesel

MTH Premier Line O gauge SD40-2 diesel

Price: $559.95 (no. 20-21314-1; other road names $519.95) Features: O-31 operation, two can-style motors, MTH ProtoSound 3.0 command and sound system, remote couplers, smoke unit, conventional capability, as well as DCS command control and access through the Remote Commander or the MTH app. Low speed (cmd): 2 smph Low speed (conv): 5.5 smph Drawbar pull: […]

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Ask MR: How long must a point-to-point layout be?

Model Railroader placeholder image

Question: What is the smallest point-­to-­point layout that doesn’t look like just a section of test track? How long does a shelf layout have to be to look like a working operation could be taking place? – Richard Helton, Meridian, Idaho Answer: That’s a matter of taste and perception, not something that can be quantified […]

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Remembering the New York Central System — Part 2

Streamlined diesel locomotives at passenger terminal. Five mind-blowing facts — New York Central passenger trains.

To read Part I of George Drury’s New York Central History, click here History of the New York Central System The New York Central was a large railroad, and it had several subsidiaries whose identity remained strong, not so much in cars and locomotives carrying the old name but in local loyalties: If you lived […]

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Remembering the New York Central System — Part 1

Steam locomotive at speed with passenger train.

To read Part 2 of George Drury’s New York Central history, click here History of the New York Central System The New York Central was a large railroad, and it had several subsidiaries whose identity remained strong, not so much in cars and locomotives carrying the old name but in local loyalties: If you lived […]

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