ScaleTrains.com HO scale Thrall carbon black covered hopper

MRRPR0518_30

ScaleTrains.com HO scale Thrall carbon black covered hopper A Thrall 4,727-cubic-foot capacity carbon black covered hopper is the latest addition to the ScaleTrains.com Rivet Counter line of superdetailed models. The injection-molded plastic model features roadnumber-specific details, photo-etched stainless steel running boards and crossover platforms, and Barber S-2 70-ton trucks with rotating bearing caps. Carbon black […]

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WalthersMainline HO scale GE ES44 diesel

MRRPR0518_01

WalthersMainline HO scale GE ES44 diesel General Electric Evolution Series (GEVO) diesel-electrics lead today’s freight trains throughout the North American rail network. Available in a variety of prototypical road names, an HO scale GE ES44 joins the value-priced WalthersMainline series. Along with an accurately dimensioned body shell and some roadname-specific details, the model features the […]

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Gail Komar’s West Virginia Northern Eastbound

Cab view of model railroad

Owner: Greg & Gail Komar (MMR 349) Prototype Modeled: C&O Reporting Marks: WVN Layout Era: 1950s Theme: Coal hauling RR through the New River Valley of West Virginia Scale: HO Dimensions: 18’ x 25’ modeled area / 10’x 18’ staging area, track level from 47” to 57” All trackwork and turnouts are handlaid code 83, […]

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Gail Komar’s West Virginia Northern Eastbound

Cab view of model railroad

Owner: Greg & Gail Komar (MMR 349) Prototype Modeled: C&O Reporting Marks: WVN Layout Era: 1950s Theme: Coal hauling RR through the New River Valley of West Virginia Scale: HO Dimensions: 18’ x 25’ modeled area / 10’x 18’ staging area, track level from 47” to 57” All trackwork and turnouts are handlaid code 83, […]

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New model trains for the week of March 8, 2018

Rapido Trains HO scale General Electric B36-7 diesel locomotive

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD40 diesel locomotive. CSX (Chesapeake & Ohio patchout, one road number); Gulf, Mobile & Ohio (red and white, four numbers); and Southern Pacific (SD40R in peeled paint and stencil lettering, one number each; Roman lettering in three numbers). Prototype-specific details, vinyl m.u. hoses, and photo-etched stainless steel windshield wipers. Direct-current […]

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In Memoriam: Richard J. (Dick) Cecil, 1934 – 2018

Milwaukee-area model railroader Dick Cecil died on Feb. 16, 2018. He was 84 years old. Dick was no stranger to Kalmbach Publishing Co. He was born Jan. 27, 1934, and often commented that he was born the same month and year as Model Railroader magazine. He appeared with Wayne Wesolowski in the Kalmbach Video production […]

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Coast Mail at Guadalupe

Coast Mail at Guadalupe

Mt-4 SP 4360 detaches from #72 and picks up two carloads of strawberries in the yard at Guadalupe Calif., in April 1954. Because they were so delicate, strawberries were carried in express reefers on first-class trains. This video was filmed on the still-unscenicked section of my model railroad, which will eventually depict several areas of […]

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Coast Mail at Guadalupe

Coast Mail at Guadalupe

Mt-4 SP 4360 detaches from #72 and picks up two carloads of strawberries in the yard at Guadalupe Calif., in April 1954. Because they were so delicate, strawberries were carried in express reefers on first-class trains. This video was filmed on the still-unscenicked section of my model railroad, which will eventually depict several areas of […]

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B&M NH Mainline – Ballasting the Track

Hand adding ballast to model track

This is the second part of a two-part series where I demonstrate the process I used for ballasting the track on my B&M NH Mainline. This video details the four step process shared by Cody and others: Glue down cinders if appropriate; ballast the track center; light ballast on roadbed shoulders; and final ballast on […]

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BNSF Coal Operations

N scale coal operations

The bulk of my layout is set in Wyoming with a bit of Colorado and Nebraska. Coal is a key source of revenue for the BD&O. Here we see a BNSF Coal Train arriving at Cowboy Coal in Campbell County, Wyoming, then departing for Power Plants to the south. Video by Brian Olson. […]

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