North Coast Hobbies compact spray booth What’s the price of cleanliness and safety? Using a spray booth is a wise move for any hobbyist who works with paints and solvents. The booth’s air flow removes fumes and draws overspray away so it cannot fall back on wet paint. North Coast Hobbies’ “compact” spray booth doesn’t […]
Atlas N scale code 55 track and turnouts Atlas has introduced an extensive, well-designed line of code 55 nickel- silver track that should prove popular with N scalers. In addition to no. 5 and no. 7 turnouts, 30″ flextrack, crossings of 11.25 and 90 degrees, and an assortment of straight track sections, Atlas also offers […]
Downtown Deco O scale hotel and bar The Atlantic Hotel is one of the fine limited-run plaster structure kits produced by Downtown Deco in O scale. Its rectangular design is typical of older masonry structures found in cities nearly anywhere in the country. The kit consists of well-detailed and textured plaster wall castings that had […]
State Tool & Die HO universal mill car This unusual car kit is designed for easy adaptation into a variety of the specialized cars used within steel mills. It’s a free-lanced model that follows the typical welded construction used in these heavy-duty cars. The styrene kit includes a body casting with a separate deck, short […]
Building reliable model railroad track doesn’t take a lot of expertise or fancy tools, but it does require care and patience. Train sets traditionally include an oval of sectional track that’s fine for getting a quick start. However, most modelers choose flextrack when they begin building a permanent layout. Flextrack is supplied in 36-inch or […]
Seaboard’s coach-only mail train, No. 5, at Hamlet, N.C., behind E7 3041 and SDP35 1113. J. David Ingles It’s 300 miles from Knoxville, Tenn., to Raleigh, N.C., as the crow flies. But Classic Trains senior editor J. David Ingles parlayed a round trip between the two cities to 1039 miles on a spring weekend in […]
[…]
Stewart Hobbies HO scale Baldwin DS-4-4-1000 (SC) diesel switcher Stewart Hobbies has added a postwar DS-4-4-1000 (SC) diesel switcher to its line of HO Baldwin locomotives. Introduced in 1948, the DS-4-4-1000 replaced the VO1000 as the 1,000-hp switcher in Baldwin’s line. While it’s similar to its eight-cylinder predecessor, this locomotive produced its 1,000-hp with an […]
Atlas N scale General Electric Dash 8-40B diesel Atlas has released an N scale General Electric Dash 8-40B road diesel locomotive and it’s a beautifully detailed, fine-running model. From the exquisitely rendered m.u. cables on the front and rear pilots to the amber warning beacon atop the cab, this Dash 8-40B sets a high standard […]
Kato N scale Amtrak Superliner passenger cars Kato has introduced sets of all five types of Amtrak’s Superliner I passenger cars to accompany the firm’s Genesis locomotives (reviewed last month). These models are based on the original group of 284 Superliner cars built in 1979. The prototypes of these bi-level cars were built by Pullman-Standard […]
B. T. S. Models HO DT&I combination depot Here’s a compact small-town depot that B. T. S. Models offers as a laser- cut wood kit. It includes an agent’s office, a baggage room, and a passenger waiting room. It’s perfect for a model railroad as the depot’s footprint is only 22 feet wide and 45 […]
Kato’s N scale GE P42 “Genesis” passenger diesel Kato’s N scale P42 is an exquisite replica of Amtrak’s long-distance workhorse. Railfans might quibble over the prototype’s esthetic virtues (or lack thereof) but this new locomotive is truly a delight to the eyes. It’s also a powerful and smooth-running model. As the F40PHs began showing their […]
