Thirty-three years of railroad Christmas cards

Chicago Transit Authority

For train-watchers, the holidays have an appeal all their own – in the sending and receiving of Christmas cards with a railroad theme. Trains Magazine explores this tradition in its December 2009 issue and looks at one train-watcher and railroad employee who has gone to great lengths (coast to coast and across the Atlantic) to […]

Read More…

2009 iHobby Expo preliminary report

M.T.H. Electric Trains HO scale “Little Joe” electric locomotive

M.T.H. Electric Trains HO scale “Little Joe” electric locomotive HO scale locomotives “Little Joe” electric locomotive. Milwaukee Road; Chicago, South Shore & South Bend; and General Electric demonstrator. Features to be announced. $399.95. Ready-to-run. M.T.H. Electric Trains M.T.H. Electric Trains HO scale 2-8-4-Berkshire steam locomotive 2-8-4 Berkshire steam locomotive. Nickel Plate Road. Features to be […]

Read More…

Bachman N scale DDA40X Locomotive

Bachmann N scale DDA40X Locomotive

Bachmann N scale DDA40X Locomotive The Bachmann Company just came out with another wonderful “Must Have” N scale locomotive. This time they developed a superb model of Union Pacific’s huge DDA40X locomotive. The Union Pacific developed these locomotives to take the place of at least two of their regular road diesel units. In fact, these […]

Read More…

Railroads and Industry

Aliquippa & Southern switcher

Freshly made coke still smokes in company hoppers as an Aliquippa & Southern switcher hustles empty slag pots back to the blast furnaces on May 10, 1981. The pots have been sprayed with a release agent at the slag dump to prevent the molten slag from sticking in them. Otherwise, it’s jackhammer time! Kevin Tomasic […]

Read More…

Athearn discontinues Blue Box model kits

Athearn, manufacturer of N scale and HO scale model train products as well as 1:50-proportion die-cast models, has announced that it will discontinue its line of Blue Box kits. This action is effective immediately. In a press release the firm cites that increased manufacturing and labor costs have caused it to no longer be able […]

Read More…

Walthers HO scale Hulett unloader

Walthers HO scale Hulett unloader

Walthers HO scale Hulett unloader This strange looking machine is a model of a Hulett unloader that transferred iron ore from ore boats to railroad cars. Invented in 1899, these machines were a common sight in ports throughout the southern Great Lakes. Huletts were normally built in pairs that worked together to unload a single […]

Read More…

Bachmann Dynamis Digital Command Control Pro Box

Bachmann Dynamis Digital Command Control Pro Box

Bachmann Dynamis Digital Command Control Pro Box The Bachmann Dynamis Digital Command Control (DCC) system features intuitive programming, operating menus displayed on the handset’s liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, and wireless infrared communication between the handset and an infrared receiver. The basic system, reviewed in the July 2008 Model Railroader, works fine for a small […]

Read More…

Athearn Trains HO scale UP gas turbine

Athearn Trains HO scale UP gas turbine

Athearn Trains HO scale UP gas turbine The distinctive grid of air intakes on the sides of the body make Athearn’s new locomotive model immediately recognizable. The Union Pacific bought 10 gas-turbine-electric locomotives from General Electric between 1952 and 1953, putting them in charge of long-haul freights in the western Rocky Mountains. Athearn’s model is […]

Read More…

Broadway Limited Imports N scale E8 diesel locomotive

Broadway Limited Imports N scale E8 diesel locomotive

Broadway Limited Imports N scale E8 diesel locomotive The rumble of 12-cylinder 567B engines and many other realistic sound effects highlight this Digital Command Control (DCC) sound-equipped E8 diesel in N scale from Broadway Limited Imports. The locomotive includes BLI’s new Paragon2 sound decoder and operates on DC and DCC layouts. Prototype. General Motors Electro-Motive […]

Read More…

Micro-Trains N scale bay window caboose

Micro-Trains N scale bay window caboose

Micro-Trains N scale bay window caboose Price: $32.85 ManufacturerMicro-Trains Line Co.P.O. Box 1200Talent, OR 97540www.micro-trains.com Era: 1980s Comments: The prototype for this N scale plastic model was one of the last cabooses purchased by the Southern Pacific Ry. in 1980. The model matches drawings in Freight Cars of the Southern Pacific, Volume 2: Cabooses by […]

Read More…

Southern Car & Foundry HO scale two-compartment tank car

Southern Car & Foundry HO scale two-compartment tank car

Southern Car & Foundry HO scale two-compartment tank car Price: $49, plus $7.50 shipping and handling for up to three kits ManufacturerSouthern Car & Foundry970 Sunshine Lane, Ste. DAltamonte Springs, FL 32714southerncarandfoundry.com Era: 1916 to 1960sComments: This well-detailed model of a Standard Tank Car Co. tank car fills two needs. There have been few replicas […]

Read More…