End of an era for George Sellios’ Fine Scale Miniatures

On September 6, George Sellios announced that he and his company, Fine Scale Miniatures, will retire from the craftsman-kit manufacturing business. For 48 years Fine Scale Miniatures (FSM) has made wood craftsman kits for model railroaders. The last kit offered by the firm will be the HO scale Jamestown Water Stop. For more information, visit […]

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Great Model Railroads 2014 desktop wallpaper

GMR2014

Great Model Railroads 2014 features 10 outstanding railroads in N, HO, and O scales. Use these images from this Model Railroader special issue as backgrounds on your computer screen. Click on the image size appropriate for your monitor and drag the image onto your desktop. Click to order Great Model Railroads 2014! Gerry Alber’s HO […]

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Athearn N scale Challenger and Big Boy with SoundTraxx DCC

AthearnNscaleChallengerandBigBoysteamlocomotives

Athearn N scale Challenger and Big Boy steam locomotives Back on N scale rails, the Athearn Genesis 4-6-6-4 Challenger and 4-8-8-4 Big Boy each feature a revised sound system that includes a SoundTraxx Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder with a new array of realistic sound effects. The models use the same tooling as the MRC-DCC-equipped […]

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N scale Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Line

MRRG0913_Norfolk

Name: Norfolk Southern Harrisburg Line Layout designer: Bob Sprague Scale: N (1:160) Size: 12′-10″ x 13′-4″ Prototype: Norfolk Southern Locale: Hershey, Pa. Era: present Style: multilevel walk in Mainline run: 35 feet Minimum radius: 15″ (except where noted) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared in the September 2013 Model Railroader. Click […]

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2013 National Train Show new products report part 1

AthearnTrainsHOscaleElectroMotiveDivisionSDP45.Preproductionsamplesshown

Athearn Trains HO scale Electro-Motive Division SDP45. Pre-production samples shown. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SDP45. Erie Lackawanna, Great Northern (Big Sky Blue), and Southern Pacific. Four road numbers per scheme. Detailed cab interior, flat or pointed long hood end as appropriate, and railroad-specific brake cylinder placement on trucks. Direct-current model, $189.98; with SoundTraxx Digital […]

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MR Insider: N scale convention 2013

An airplane in the sky

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page The 2013 National N Scale Convention was held in Milwaukee the last of week of June, so the MR staff joined in the fun. This MR Insider video covers some of the events, including the train show, a tour of Kalmbach Publishing Co. […]

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Model Railroader Memoriam: John Allen’s 100th birthday

Born on July 2, 1913, John Allen was a model railroading pioneer renowned for his skill at scratchbuilding and scenery work, as well as his thoughts on model railroad operation. His original 3’-7” x 6’8” Gorre & Daphetid HO scale layout debuted in the January 1948 issue of Model Railroader. He built a larger version […]

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The N scale Aroostook Valley RR

Name: Aroostook Valley RR Layout designer: Geoffrey T. Smith Scale: N (1:160) Size: 7′-0″ x 16′-6″ Prototype: Aroostook Valley RR Location: Northern Maine Era: 1950s Style: Point-to-point (shelf) Mainline run: 23′-6″ Minimum radius: 14″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Originally appeared in the August 2013 Model Railroader. Click on the link to download […]

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