Atlas O scale PS-1 50-foot boxcar There’s a lot you can say about Atlas O’s new 50-foot PS-1 boxcar, but the first word that comes to mind is “Wow!” Straight out of the box, the car makes a positive impression with its size, heft, and fantastic detail. Fifty-foot boxcars became the railroad industry’s de facto […]
Athearn Genesis HO 60-foot hi-cube boxcars Athearn has released a series of ready-to-run HO models of 60-foot hi-cube boxcars, which are part of the firm’s Genesis Line of limited-run models. Our samples represent prototype double- door cars with a variety of different sides, roofs, and ends built by Berwick, Gunderson, and FMC from the late […]
Accurail HO scale 40-foot stockcar kit The latest HO scale car from Accurail is this good-looking model of a Great Northern Ry. 40-foot stockcar. The plastic kit combines ease of assembly with good detailing and builds into an accurate replica of the prototype. The Great Northern built 198 stockcars numbered 56050 to 56248 in 1957 […]
Micro-Trains N scale general service tank car Micro-Trains has released a well-detailed ready-to-run model of an American Car & Foundry 56-foot, 30,000-gallon general-service tank car that nicely captures the proportions of its prototype. The model represents one of a lot of 1,370 tank cars that ACF built in mid-1974 at its Milton, Pa., shops and […]
Des Plaines Hobbies N scale C&NW 400 coach Adding to its extensive line of N scale passenger car kits, Des Plaines Hobbies has released accurately scaled Chicago & North Western streamlined 400 passenger cars. Two styles of coaches, a baggage-tap-lounge, diner, and a baggage car are offered in these kits. I built the coach for […]
Atlas HO ACF 100-ton Center Flow covered hopper Atlas offers ready-to-run models of ACF Industries 100-ton 4,650-cubic-foot Center Flow covered hoppers in two versions. Both are excellent models with etched metal running boards and detail variations to represent prototype cars built before or after 1971. These popular cars were introduced in 1964 to haul grain, […]
Ann Arbor RS1 No. 20 unloads freight cars off the Lake Michigan carferry Arthur K. Atkinson at Frankfort, Mich., in April 1982, the railroad’s last year of carferry operation. Forrest L. Becht For over 100 years, trains and ships were partners in serving the eastern and western shores of Lake Michigan. This unique form of […]
One of the most memorable aspects of my career in railroad maintenance of way is the “outfit.” An outfit was usually a collection of old revenue cars — both passenger and freight — converted to sleeping, cooking, shower, supply, tool, storage, and machinery transport use. An outfit could be one lone car for a signal […]
Red Caboose HO GS drop-bottom composite- and steel-side gondolas For its latest HO scale freight car release Red Caboose has chosen the general service (GS) gondola, a car which might not be familiar to Eastern modelers but one that’s needed in large numbers by those interested in Western railroads. Red Caboose has produced two versions […]
Intermountain Railway HO USRA composite gondola kit The latest HO scale car from InterMountain Railway Co. is this nicely detailed model of a United States Railway Administration composite gondola. The model combines sharply molded parts with ease of assembly and has an innovative choice of materials. Upon opening the box you’ll find an injection-molded plastic […]
InterMountain HO ACF Center Flow covered hopper InterMountain has done well with this sharply detailed model of an ACF 2,980-cubic-foot Center Flow covered hopper. This is a new design on the market, and the car has much better detail than the 2,980 model offered by McKean many years ago. (Detail Associates offers a two-bay Center […]
Westerfield HO Milwaukee Road composite gondola One of the biggest initial concerns in assembling a resin car kit is building a square body from the flat components. However, in recent months we’ve been seeing more one-piece resin bodies, and with the introduction of this upgraded model of a Milwaukee Road composite gondola, Westerfield has launched […]
