ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Great Northern Railway Historical Society recently completed a project to repaint Great Northern SD45 No. 400, the “Hustle Muscle.” Built in May 1966, No. 400 was the first production SD45 built by Electro-Motive Division; it received the Hustle Muscle moniker by GN when the company purchased the unit. It continued […]
Section: News & Reviews
Broadway Limited HO scale Santa Fe 2-10-2 steam locomotive with sound
Broadway Limited HO Santa Fe 2-10-2 steam locomotive with sound This HO scale Santa Fe-type 2-10-2 from Broadway Limited not only looks like its Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. prototype, its solidly built to perform like it, too. The model’s QSI Quantum control and sound system operates on both direct current and Digital Command […]
True Line Trains HO scale F-M C-Liner diesels
True Line Trains HO F-M C-Liner diesels This interesting HO scale first-generation Fairbanks-Morse passenger cab diesel locomotive is a smooth-running model that rides on five axles in an unusual B-A1A wheel arrangement. It comes ready-to-run, includes a Digital Command Control (DCC) plug, and has reversing headlights. It’s also the first locomotive model under the True […]
Rapido HO scale lightweight passenger cars
Rapido HO lightweight passenger cars These new HO passenger cars from Rapido Trains are among the best-detailed mass-produced models we’ve ever seen. Each plastic model comes assembled and ready-to-run with McHenry magnetic knuckle couplers, interior and underbody details, lighting, removable marker lights, and an end gate across the vestibule. The two samples reviewed here are […]
Upgraded Walthers HO 2-8-4 Berkshire with sound
Walthers HO 2-8-4 Berkshire with sound This classic Nickel Plate 2-8-4 Berkshire by Walthers is an accurate, medium-sized locomotive that delivers smooth performance with excellent sound. It’s an upgraded version of the Life-Like Proto 2000 model that was reviewed in the March 2004 Model Railroader. The new model includes different prototype-specific details and a dual-mode […]
QSI upgrade chip for Quantum decoders
As model railroading moves deeper into the digital era, manufacturers are offering more opportunities for hobbyists to improve their equipment via software and/or hardware updates. One of the newest update packages is from QSI, manufacturer of the Quantum DC/Digital Command Control (DCC) sound systems found in many new locomotives from Atlas, Broadway Limited, Life-Like, and […]
Former RailAmerica executive back in railroading
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Gary O. Marino, co-founder and former chairman, president, and CEO of RailAmerica, Inc. has formed Patriot Rail Corp. to acquire short-line and regional freight railroads. The new company last week announced its first acquisition, the 118-mile Tennessee Southern Railroad. The TSRR, based in Mt. Pleasant, Tenn., operates in middle Tennessee and […]
Trainfest show report
Electro-Motive Division F45 and FP45 diesel locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP40X diesel locomotive HO scale locomotivesElectro-Motive Division GP40X diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Southern Ry. (high nose); St. Lawrence & Atlantic; and undecorated (high and low nose). Upgraded Rail Power Products shell with see-through fans, Celcon handrails, railroad-specific fuel tanks, and Digital Command Control […]
Dremel no. 1100 Stylus rotary tool
MOST OF US own big, all-purpose power tools: electric drills, circular saws, and pad sanders. We use them to make picnic tables, hang pictures in our living rooms, and build wall shelves above washing machines. But there’s another category of power tools – smaller and more specialized than those in your garage – that are […]
K-Line O gauge Boston & Maine 2-8-4 Berkshire
WELL, THE MAURY KLEIN era of K-Line Electric Trains is toast. In a quarter century he took his company, MDK Inc., from re-issues of Marx trains to some of the hottest new trains in several price ranges on the market. Alas, K-Line went out in a blaze of litigation, debt, and innovative model railroad products. […]
MTH Standard gauge no. 384 steam passenger set
TINPLATE REPRODUCTIONS may be the last tension-free zone in model railroading. Nobody is yelling about competing command-control systems. Nobody takes prewar-style tinplate to task for looking toy-like. Nobody gripes about the wrong road name being applied to a locomotive. You can get your trains in the old-line colors or brand-new paint schemes. You can get […]
News & Products for the week of November 2, 2006
HO scale locomotivesUnion Pacific 4-6-6-4 Challenger steam locomotive. Union Pacific no. 3985 (fan trip locomotive) with oil tender, no. 3958 with coal tender, and no. 3983 (two-tone gray) with oil tender. Ready-to-run locomotive with dual-mode Digital Command Control and Vibranta sound system. $399.98. Ready-to-run. Genesis series. Athearn Trains General Electric AC4400 diesel locomotive. Canadian Pacific, […]
