THE MOTOR RAIL car, or “doodlebug,” holds an interesting place in railroad history. The concept is rooted in an attempt by railroads to continue to deliver passenger and express service to lines with declining traffic. Shortlines and Class 1 roads alike used motor cars, or doodlebugs, as they’ve become affectionately known. The rail motor car […]
CHANGING TECHNOLOGY allows hobbyists to have more fun with their trains. It also presents an entirely new set of “things to go wrong.” QSI contends that advanced circuit boards and new, high-powered transformers don’t necessarily always go together like peanut butter and jelly, and that you might need the help of PowerGuard to protect your […]
AT A UNION PACIFIC yard in Chicago, I recently saw the face of railroading today side by side with that of yesterday. A huge Chicago & North Western Dash 9 was idling next to a rusty, battered old North Western GP9. The difference was like night and day. Similarly, the difference between 3rd Rail’s brass […]
MORE THAN A YEAR ago Lionel announced its intent to offer portions of its TrainMaster technology to other manufacturers to broaden the reach of Command Control operation. TrainAmerica Studios responded to Lionel’s offer, and now, for the first time, there’s a readily available way to convert any locomotive to TrainMaster Command Control. TrainAmerica Studios is […]
USA TRAINS CONTINUES to crank out well-made large scale diesels. The company’s locomotives have earned a reputation for realism, quality components, top notch decoration, and value. USA Trains’ latest venture is the 44-ton diesel switcher, and it appears to fit right in to the company’s line of good running engines. The 44-tonner is an engine […]
ALTHOUGH PRE-1900 railroading has never caught on with fans in S or O gauges, there are plenty of enthusiasts of the “olden days” in large scale. Old timey engines are available from several manufacturers and there is plenty of rolling stock for just about every type of railroad, whether a mining or logging road or […]
MOST HOBBYISTS HAVE a great amount of affection for postwar Lionel accessories, but not for the crazy prices the accessories sometimes command these days. In the modern era Lionel has offered a range of reproductions of classic postwar products such as the no. 164 Log Loader (CTT, February 1997) and the no. 38 Water Tower […]
IF YOU’VE BEEN longing to enter the world of sound systems but: A) are reluctant to modify the internal workings of your locomotives, B) don’t want to deal with the nuances of combined sound system/reverse unit packages, or C) can’t afford to equip every locomotive on your roster with sound, then this boxcar’s for you. […]
LIONEL’S POSTWAR Celebration series is a tip of the hat to the toy train maker’s golden years by re-creating classic products of a bygone era. Lionel offers collectors and operators a chance to buy fresh versions of childhood favorites that have been gussied up the latest Command-control and Railsounds marvels. The postwar celebration series products […]
THE BATTLE OVER power supplies continues to rage at higher and higher wattages. MTH produces the 300 watt Z-4000. Lionel offers a new ZW with up to 760 watts of power. Finally, Mainline Industries offers the 600-watt super transformer, The Max. But what about the operator who needs more power than a starter set transformer […]
THIS LOCOMOTIVE will dominate your fleet. The end. What? Okay, okay, the review can’t be that short. The Southern Pacific General Service (GS) 4 -class 4-8-4 Northerns, nos. 4430-4457, graduated from the Lima Locomotive Works and entered service in 1941. They were top notch high performance machines that cost $175,000 each. The Northerns were capable […]
WITH THE TORRENT of product flowing from manufacturers today, people no longer say “I never thought I’d see that in O gauge!” The more common remark is, “I was wondering when they would do that.” MTH Electric Trains produced a Premier line Santa Fe 2900-class Northern 4-8-4 in 1995. A beautiful and imposing product that […]
