MRC Prodigy Wireless DCC throttle A powerful full-duplex wireless throttle is now available for users of Model Rectifier Corp.’s Prodigy Digital Command Control (DCC) system. Part of MRC’s Total Control Radio System (TCRS), this wireless version of the firm’s 28-function Prodigy Advance Squared throttle works with other Prodigy components. The wireless throttle can do anything […]
Athearn Genesis HO scale FEF-3 Now is a good time to be a fan of HO scale Union Pacific steam power. Along with the many ready-to-run Big Boys and Challengers, UP steam fans can also add an FEF-class Northern to their roundhouses. The new Athearn Genesis FEF is a powerful puller and features sounds in […]
Märklin HO class 218 On the prototype, the superior traction of AC motors has allowed railroads to haul more freight with the same horsepower. Märklin’s new HO scale model of the German Railway’s class 218 diesel applies that same technology to model railroading. It illustrates the potential of locomotives that are optimized for digital operation. […]
The new Industrial Rail 4-4-2 Atlantic by Atlas O is the firm’s first attempt to bring a nicely detailed, smoothly operating steam locomotive to the O gauge entry-level market. Its direct competition in the marketplace is Lionel’s 4-4-2 starter set and MTH’s old RailKing 2-6-0 starter set. All three are designed to provide a reliable, […]
We’re amidst another pop-culture craze, this one involving the adventures of a group of young student wizards. I’ve never seen the Harry Potter movies or read the books, but to me, the important thing about Lionel’s new O gauge Hogwarts Express set, based on the train from the movies, is that it is tied into […]
BLMA Models HO signal bridge An HO scale model of a lineside structure vital to modern-day railroading is the latest product from BLMA Models. The firm’s modern cantilever signal bridge is an accurate representation of a prototype seen alongside main lines all over the country. The model comes fully assembled, wired, and ready to install […]
Aristo-Craft Trains 1:29 E8 diesel Fans of large-scale model railroading can now add a sleek E unit to their passenger-hauling fleets. The Aristo-Craft E8 is an accurate 1:29-proportion model that comes within scale inches of prototype drawings in the Model Railroader Cyclopedia Vol. 2: Diesel Locomotives (Kalmbach Publishing Co., out of print). The model has […]
Athearn’s HO scale Electro-Motive Division SD40T-2, first released in 1984, has received an extensive makeover with railroad-specific details, see-through air intakes and dynamic brake fans, and Celcon handrails. The Ready-to-Roll direct-current model has a Quick Plug for conversion to Digital Command Control (DCC). Prototype history. When Southern Pacific commissioned EMD to build the SD40T-2 in […]
Kato USA HO Amtrak passenger car An Amtrak Superliner coach and a material handling car are the initial releases in a new line of contemporary HO passenger cars from Kato. Both models are well-detailed and finished in Amtrak’s phase 3 paint scheme of the 1980s with equal-width red, white, and blue stripes. The coach includes […]
HO scale locomotivesAlco C-424 and C-425 diesel locomotives. New paint schemes on C-424 are Canadian National (black-and-white stripes), Canadian Pacific (Action Red; maroon and gray), and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic RR (special edition). New paint schemes on C-425 are Burlington Northern, Pennsylvania RR (Brunswick Green), and Seminole Gulf (special edition). New road numbers on C-425s decorated […]
Trainfest was held November 10-11, 2007, at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee. The two-day show featured more than 130 vendors and manufacturers, 58 model railroad layouts, and 25 clinicians and demonstrations. Attendance for Trainfest was 20,979, a record for the show. Electro-Motive Division MP15AC […]
THIS PRODUCT, part of American Model Builders’ Laserkit line, offers an early 20th-century grain elevator kit in O scale. This is appropriate for the steam and early diesel eras, but driving around the countryside, you could probably find similar structures still in operation today. The kit, modeled on a “Northwestern Line Elevator” plan from a […]
