Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Despite our best […]
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Aristo-Craft GP-40 diesel
Marc Horovitz 1:29 scale, gauge-1 GP-40 dieselAristo-Craft Trains698 S. 21st St.Irvington NJ 07111Price: $352Web site: www.aristocraft.com Plastic-and-metal model of an EMD GP-40 diesel locomotive; two truck-mounted motors; working lights; smoke unit; plugs at either end to accept power from battery car; DCC and sound-system ready (speaker included); switches to control track/battery power and lights/smoke/motors on […]
Phil’s Narrow Gauge drop-bottom gondola kit
Alan Olson 1:20.3 scale, gauge 1 drop-bottom gondola kitPhil’s Narrow Gauge1008 Hampshire LaneWindsor CA 95492Price: $90, less trucks, couplers, and letteringWeb site: www.philsnarrowgauge.com Model of a D&RGW 700-series drop-bottom gondola (#PNG-007); wood kit with metal fittings; trucks, couplers, and lettering not included-can be ordered separately; pictorial and written instructions included Pros: Well-designed kit of a […]
Con-Cor HO scale M10000
Con-Cor M-10000 Featuring lighted car interiors, prototypically accurate details, and realistic close coupling, this new HO scale M-10000 is a great model of one of the more historic passenger trains to run on American rails. The Con-Cor M-10000 has provisions for adding a Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder. A sound decoder and speaker kit made […]
Walthers HO scale Geeps
Proto 2000 GP9 Walthers’ latest run of HO scale Proto 2000 GP7 and GP9 diesel locomotives feature Proto Max metal magnetic knuckle couplers, limited-run paint schemes, and a dual-mode QSI Quantum sound system with dual speakers. Electro-Motive Division built more than 3,600 GP9s from January 1954 until December 1959. Surprisingly, a fair number of these […]
Bachmann HO scale Baltimore streetcar
Peter Witt-type streetcar Before the age of the interstate highway system and city buses, streetcars were the backbone of urban mass transit. A new HO scale model of a Peter Witt-type streetcar that served on the streets of Baltimore is now available from Bachmann. The prototype for this Spectrum series model is similar to streetcars […]
Railfanning Tokyo
Scott Lothes Shinjuku is the best place in the world to feel the crunch of a commuter train rush hour, and in the August 2008 issue, Trains Magazine takes you inside, with photos and stories that capture the station’s frenetic pace. But if you want to watch the trains themselves, Tokyo has a host of […]
A look back in time: July 1958
July 1958 in railroad history One of steam’s greatest chapters comes to a close July 2 when class S-2 No. 746 makes the last revenue freight trip of a Nickel Plate Road Berkshire, Bellevue-Conneaut, Ohio. . . . Fan trips: Burlington Route assigns O-5A 4-8-4 No. 5618 to a July 4th weekend Railroad Club of […]
Wheeling & Lake Erie locomotive roster
The Wheeling & Lake Erie, an Ohio-based regional railroad, has quite a fleet. See the pdf below for its current locomotive roster. To read more about the Wheeling & Lake Erie, see our special issue, “24 hours inside a railroad,” July 2008 Trains, which hit newsstands on June 10, 2008! […]
Bachmann 80 ton 3 truck shay
Bachmann 80 ton 3 truck shay This model is very detailed. The intricate connecting rods are entertaining to watch. Just like the real-world prototype, it handles the roughest track with ease. The model has directional lights and when running, a red glow from the firebox. A good buy available in DC or DCC. […]
Slow postwar steamers
Q: I have two postwar steamers that run, but very slowly. The no. 681 Pennsy turbine has been run so much that the drivers have grooves in them. My no. 736 Berkshire has a similar malady. Since they have sentimental value from my early days, I’d still like to run them, rather than buying new […]
Online Bonus: Pend Oreille Valley Railroad
By the time Milwaukee Road pulled the plug on its Western operations in March 1980, the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad had already been in business nearly six months. Local business leaders organized the Port of Pend Oreille in 1978, and on Oct. 1, 1979, they took charge of the trackage between Newport and Metaline Falls, […]