Barry Bogs’ Colorado & Western

Bridges connect different areas. A train on the high line near Ophir passes above a standard-gauge train rolling into Rockwood. The upper train is a mix of scratchbuilt and LGB equipment. Christopher Zider From the outside, Barry Bogs’ house looks similar to most others in a subdivision northwest of Houston. But as soon as you […]

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PDF: Build a 1:20.3 scale Climax locomotive

Build a 1:20.3 scale Climax locomotive

Download the PDF of this project here. Note: This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Despite our […]

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Accucraft Big Boy locomotive

Gary Raymond 1:32 scale, gauge 1, ready-to-run Union Pacific “Big Boy” Accucraft Company 33268 Central Avenue Union City CA 94587 Price: $3,899; $4,330.00 with Phoenix sound systemWeb site: www.accucraft.com Predominately die-cast metal model of a Union Pacific 4000-series 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy” Locomotive; mostly metal and a few plastic detail parts; modular electrical connections; two motors […]

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Smith Pond Junction Railroad Products Howe truss bridge kit

Marc Horovitz 1:24-scale Howe truss bridge kit with extensionSmith Pond Junction Railroad Products2245 141st Avenue NWAndover MN 55304Prices: 24″ bridge kit, $79.99; 12″ expansion kit, $41.99; 24″ expansion kit, $75.99Web site: www.spjrr.com Cedar-and-brass kit for Howe truss bridge; all parts included; instructions with web link for online tips provided. Dimensions as built: length, 49″; width, […]

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News & Products for the week of June 21, 2007

Pennsylvania RR class ND and Class NDA cabin cars

HO scale locomotivesAlco RS-3 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes are Canadian Pacific; Central of Georgia; Erie Lackawanna; Milwaukee Road; Missouri Pacific; and New York, New Haven & Hartford. $89.98 each. October 2007. Ready-to-Roll. Athearn Trains Alco S-1, S-2, and S-4 diesel locomotives. New paint schemes. S-1: Alco demonstrator, Bath & Hammondsport, and Reading; S-2: Lehigh […]

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Blackstone Models HOn3 K-27 2-8-2

Blackstone Models HOn3 K-27 2-8-2 Narrow gauge fans can now add a superdetailed die-cast metal K-27 to their HOn3 (HO scale, 3-foot-gauge) rosters with this new locomotive from Blackstone Models. The firm, which is a division of SoundTraxx, offers the model in a DC-only version or factory-equipped with its powerful Tsunami Digital Command Control (DCC) […]

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DCC Specialties PSX circuit breaker

DCC Specialties PSX circuit breaker

DCC Specialties PSX circuit breaker Though you’d probably not think of using the word “cool” to describe a circuit breaker, the term definitely applies to the new PSX series of Power Shield Digital Command Control circuit breakers from DCC Specialties. The PSX models have a wealth of new programmable features, such as occupancy detection and […]

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Broadway Limited Imports HO BlueLine SD40-2 diesel

Broadway Limited HO BlueLine SD40-2

Broadway Limited HO BlueLine SD40-2 A factory-sound equipped HO scale SD40-2 is now available as a DC model from Broadway Limited Imports. Part of the firm’s BlueLine series, the model uses the same tooling as the previously released Digital Command Control (DCC)-and-sound equipped version [See the review in the May 2005 issue. – Ed.] but […]

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Lionel American Flyer S gauge 4-8-4 Northern

IN REAL RAILROADING, the wheel arrangement that probably came closest to perfection, in terms of either freight or high-speed passenger service, was the 4-8-4 Northern. Indeed, Alco built the first 4-8-4 in 1927, and by the end of the steam era, 36 railroads operated 1,126 of these machines. A surprisingly high number of Northerns – […]

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Lionel O gauge Amtrak Superliner StationSounds Diner

NEARLY EVERY COLLECTOR and operator can appreciate the distinction between “wanting” and “needing.” As much as I wanted a Lionel no. 29168 Amtrak Superliner StationSounds diner when it was first cataloged in 2004, my wife’s car needed new brakes. A few years and countless other needs later, the wanting came to an end when I […]

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MTH Premier line O gauge 4-6-6-4 Challenger

TO ACCURATELY DESCRIBE the steam-era classic 4-6-6-4 Challenger, you’d have to use words right out of a luxury car ad: powerful, fast, sleek, and big. Conceived as a fast companion to the Union Pacific’s mighty 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, the Challenger was a heavy-hauling speed demon. Its success can be measured in numbers: 252 were built […]

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Why did Lionel produce O-27 and O-31 track?

Q: What was the reasoning for the Lionel Corp. to produce two very similar track sizes – O-27 with a 27-inch-diameter circle and O with a 31-inch diameter circle? Wouldn’t production be a lot simpler and inventories less costly with only one? Since O-27 engines and rolling stock could run on O track, why retain […]

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