Kato N scale F40PH This great-looking model of Amtrak’s F40PH comes hot on the heels of the excellent HO model of the same EMD passenger locomotive from Kato (reviewed in the September 2005 MR). Like its bigger HO brother, this N scale locomotive is also a well-detailed model with a smooth-running chassis that delivers plenty […]
Section: News & Reviews
HO GG1 from Trix is a Keystone Road Classic electric locomotive
Trix HO GG1 A beautiful ready-to-run model of the Pennsylvania RR’s classic GG1 heavy electric locomotive is available with sound and Digital Command Control from Trix. It has a heavy die-cast-metal body, magnetic knuckle couplers, and comes in two different paint schemes. The Pennsylvania RR (PRR) began to electrify its busiest main lines in the […]
Accurail HO AAR 70-ton triple hopper is a nearly universal transition-era freight car
Accurail HO AAR 70-ton triple hopper This AAR 70-ton offset-side hopper from Accurail is a creatively designed and well-executed model of a very common freight car of the steam and steam-diesel transition eras. The model is an accurately scaled representation of a car built to the AAR standard of 1935. Production of the prototype cars […]
USP DCC decoder improves operation
USP DCC decoder Lenz is now offering Digital Command Control (DCC) decoders with a technology called Uninterruptible Signal Processing (USP) that substantially improves DCC performance. Manufactured by Lenz, the new decoder and power module produce an electronic flywheel effect that helps DCC models overcome dirty track. The production versions of the decoder and power module […]
Broadway Limited’s HO C30-7 diesel is a powerful coal hauler
Broadway Limited HO C30-7 diesel General Electric’s distinctive chugging exhaust is included in this great-looking C30-7 model, the latest ready-to-run HO scale diesel locomotive from Broadway Limited Imports. It’s sold with or without a factory-installed QSI Quantum sound system and automatic dual-mode decoder that operates on layouts using either DC or Digital Command Control (DCC). […]
O scale GP9 diesel locomotive from Atlas O is a classic
Electro-Motive Division GP9 road switcher Here’s a great-looking model of the classic Electro-Motive Division GP9 road switcher that includes a powerful mechanism and provisions for easy conversion to Digital Command Control (DCC). Atlas O offers it in two versions for two-rail layouts that operate with either DC or Lionel’s TrainMaster Command Control and RailSounds 4.0 […]
Kato’s N scale AC4400CW diesel locomotive is a modern marvel
Kato N scale AC4400CW diesel locomotive A superb N scale model of one of the most popular road diesel locomotives of the 1990s, General Electric’s sophisticated and powerful AC4400CW, has been released by Kato. This model is impressive with its smooth performance, excellent paint, and easily installed detail parts. History. In the early 1990s, General […]
Kato HO scale Pullman Standard bi-level passenger cars bring commuter service to a model train layout
Kato HO scale Pullman Standard A series of nicely done HO scale Pullman Standard bi-level commuter coaches and cab cars are new from Kato. These quality models roll and track smoothly and feature fine details inside and out. When combined with Kato’s F40PH locomotive (reviewed in the September 2005 issue of MR), it’s easy to […]
Micro-Trains Line N scale Ortner high-capacity hopper is designed for heavy loads
Micro-Trains Line N scale Ortner This distinctive Ortner Rapid Discharge hopper car, designed for heavy, dense loads like sand, gravel, limestone, and iron ore, is a recent addition to the Micro-Trains Line. It’s a replica of a 100-toncapacity prototype built in the early 1970s by the Ortner Freight Car Co. (now part of Trinity Rail […]
Atlas Quantum Engineer controller operates dual-mode sound units on DC
Atlas Quantum Engineer controller The Quantum Engineer is an add-on DC controller that operates the QSI Quantum System sound and programming features that were formerly available only to modelers operating with Digital Command control (DCC). It’s designed to operate dual-mode sound locomotives that include the latest QSI Quantum Analog Remote Control (QARC) system. This QARC […]
Life-Like Proto 2000 HO U28B diesel has great details and realistic GE sound
Life-Like Proto 2000 HO U28B A great-looking HO U28B diesel locomotive that delivers smooth performance and realistic sound is the newest addition to Life-Like’s HO scale Proto 2000 line. This road switcher features an automatic dual-mode decoder that operates on DC or Digitial Command Control (DCC) with a QSI Quantum sound system that re-creates the […]
Walther’s HO modular structure system is easy to use
Walther’s HO modular structure system A clever modular structure-building system is now available from Walthers that makes it easy to produce good-looking brick buildings of nearly any size. Its components are cleanly molded, have excellent detail, and fit together in innumerable combinations. Cornerstone Modulars are sold in planned structure kits and as packages of individual […]