EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, a manufacturer has a brilliant idea for a product that should have been obvious – but wasn’t – to everyone in the toy train hobby. The latest to accomplish this feat is Pride Lines. It did so by thinking small! Specifically, Pride Lines realized that a classic Lionel Standard gauge […]
YOU’VE BOUGHT A NEW O gauge steam locomotive and are checking off its features: Sound system? Yes.Command control? Yes.Coil coupler? Yes.Cruise control? No.Fan-driven synchronized puffing smoke? No. Train America Studios can turn no into yes with its Engineer-On-Board cruise control and its Turbo Smoke smoke generator. We had both installed in a K-Line scale Hudson […]
Kevin Strong 4′ steel through-truss bridge100 Year Bridge CompanySold exclusively through: B&E Junction17 W. Market St.York PA 17401Price: $74.95Web site: www.100yearbridge.com 4′ “galvannealed” steel through truss bridge (#948); tinplate-esque through-truss bridge cut from 20-gauge steel. Dimensions: length, 47½”; width, 9¼” (85/8″ horizontal clearance); height, 9″ (8¼” vertical clearance without track) Pros: Steel construction should hold […]
Kevin Strong Rubber roadbedLGB of America6444 Nancy Ridge DriveSan Diego CA 92121Price: $7.99/sectionWeb site: www.lgb.com 300mm (1′) rubber roadbed (# 61000) to match LGB 1′ sectional straight track (other roadbed sections are available to match all of LGB’s other track sections). Dimensions: Length, 300mm (approx. 1′); width, 138mm (5½”); height, 15mm (5/8″)Pros: Durable; crisp “ballast” […]
Marc Horovitz 1:20.3-scale figuresRailroad Avenue Model WorksBox 550Willits CA 95490Price $12 each + $6 s&h (minimum qty. for direct order: four)Web site: www.railroadavenue.com Cast resin, fully painted figures in 1:20.3 scale; eight currently available, all menPros: Well proportioned; interesting poses; subdued, realistic colors; figures are “weathered” for greater realismCons: Lips a little too red; some […]
Vance Bass Servo bracket unit for Accucraft RubyElectronic Model Systems22605 East La Palma Avenue, Ste. 516Yorba Linda CA 92887Price: $129 + shippingWeb site: www.rc-steamers.com Anodized aluminum bracket; two micro-servos; mounting hardware; mounts in Ruby cabPros: Compact unit makes easy work of installing R/C servos in a Ruby live-steam locomotive; elegant, sturdy, and attractive packageCons: None […]
Tower 55 HO GE ES44AC This superbly detailed model of a General Electric ES44AC heavyduty road diesel is the initial offering in a new line of HO plastic locomotives from Tower 55. Tower 55 is a subsidiary of Overland Models, a manufacturer of brass locomotives and rolling stock. The Explorer-series locomotive reviewed here includes an […]
Atlas HO scale EMD MP15 Here’s a great looking, smooth-running model of Electro-Motive Division’s versatile MP15 heavy-duty yard switcher. At first glance it may look like any other EMD switcher, but this one is a hauler capable of moving up to 42 free-rolling cars on straight, level track. Atlas offers the MP15 in a Silver-series […]
Con-Cor N scale Zephyr An excellent replica of a famous early streamlined passenger train – the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s Zephyr is now available in N scale. The drawbar-coupled, articulated three-car model combines fine detail, clever construction, and jaw-dropping performance – our sample crept at just 1 mph! The train. A joint project by the […]
THE Q1 DUPLEX 4-6-4-4 is a footnote to the Pennsylvania Railroad’s efforts to improve the performance of its M1-class locomotives. The railroad’s question: “Could a duplex-drive locomotive perform better than the railroad’s M1-class locomotive?” The answer was “yes, but…” The Q1 was completed in May 1942. Unfortunately, wartime restrictions limited the development of the new […]
ON REAL RAILROADS, signal lights tell locomotive engineers what’s ahead, how fast to proceed, when to stop, when to go, and the position of a track switch. Pretty simple stuff, right? Yes, but in real railroading this basic concept also is applied in layers – envision the signaling on a bi-directional main line with plenty […]
ATLAS O IS OFFERING a rugged rendition of one of the stalwart diesels of the second-generation period – the GP35. The EMD GP35 was a prominent and reliable player in the game against General Electric and Alco for control of the U.S. locomotive market. The 2,500-horsepower, four-axle locomotives were built from October 1963 through January […]
