Rails in New England woods

model steam train on garden railway

Rails in New England: I lived in New England for 40 years. On a recent trip back to the northeast corner of the USA, I visited garden railways, mostly on the coast where trees often grow up to the shore. I also chanced upon some full-scale historic railways, which seemed to crop up everywhere. Predating […]

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New model trains for the week of February 22, 2018

Rapido Trains HO scale General Motors Diesel Division F7B and F9B diesel locomotives

Rapido Trains HO scale General Motors Diesel Division F7B and F9B diesel locomotives HO scale locomotives General Motors Diesel Division F7B and F9B diesel locomotives. Canadian National (F9B in as-delivered scheme and sergeant stripes, four road numbers each), Canadian Pacific (F7B and F9B in maroon with block lettering, maroon with script lettering, Action Red with […]

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Wisconsin Northern adds SD45Rs to roster NEWSWIRE

NewswireWisconsinNorthernFlares431Sas

Wisconsin Northern SD45 No. 43 virtually sparkles in new paint. The locomotive is one of two recently refurbished and purchased by the railroad. Steve Smedley CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — Add Progressive Rail Inc.’s Wisconsin Northern Railroad to the list of operators of rebuilt SD45R carbodies with the addition of twin units Nos. 43 and 45. […]

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New model trains for the week of February 15, 2018

Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale Alco RS-11 diesel locomotive

Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale Alco RS-11 diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Alco RS-11 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes: Apache, California Western, Conrail (Penn Central patchout), Delaware & Hudson (large numbers), Nickel Plate Road (broad stripes), and Norfolk & Western (blue “half moon” scheme). New road numbers: Missouri Pacific (blue and gray) and Southern […]

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Athearn Ready To Roll HO scale SD40-2

MRRPR0418_05

Athearn Ready To Roll HO scale SD40-2 Although it’s part of Athearn’s value-priced Ready-To-Roll series, this SD40-2 bristles with enough roadname-specific detail to satisfy most prototype-savvy modelers. The SD40-2 also marks a big upgrade for Athearn RTR locomotives. Instead of the SoundTraxx RTR decoder with limited functionality found in previous Athearn RTR releases, this new […]

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Atlas HO scale General Electric U33B diesel

MRRPR0418_01

Atlas HO scale General Electric U33B diesel locomotive The Rock Island was a mighty fine line, but by the time General Electric’s U33B locomotives were delivered in the late 1960s, the Rock was in a hard place. The 3,300hp diesels were designed for fast freight, but the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific was a granger […]

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Book Review: Guide to North American Diesel Locomotives

DieselLocomotives

Guide to North American Diesel Locomotives By Jeff Wilson Kalmbach Books; 350 pages, 400+ photos, softcover, 8.25 x 10.75 inches; $27.99. www.kalmbachhobbystore.com Back in the late 1950s/early 1960s, many “old guard” railfans held the opinion that the hobby of train watching would gradually die out concurrently with the demise of steam. In 1963, Lucius Beebe, […]

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