12 train sets for the holidays

Color photo of HO scale train set box with painted box art and display windows for models.

If you’ve read Model Railroader magazine for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed the hobby journey for many of our authors started with a train set. For baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, the set was often produced by Lionel or American Flyer. Fast forward a generation or two, and those sets were […]

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Snow squall

20191119

During a Lake Erie snow squall at Stony Point, Pa., about 12 miles west of Meadville, K-5 Pacific-type No. 2924 stands in the siding as an unidentified K-5a dashes past with an eastbound train. The railroad had 160 locomotives of the 4-6-2 wheel arrangement in five classes and multiple subclasses built by Baldwin, Lima, Richmond, […]

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News & Products for the week of November 20th 2023

A series of 3 boxcars in varying paint schemes

News & Products for the week of November 20th 2023   Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of November 20th […]

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Do it yourself locomotive restoration

pile of green toy trains

Do it yourself locomotive restoration Yes, you can do it yourself! Restoring old tin trains is not as difficult as the popular folklore would have you believe. It doesn’t require any special skill or knowledge that you can’t master. Nor does it entail exotic or expensive equipment. Anyone can do it with simple household tools […]

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Jerry Strangarity’s Reading Co. in HO scale

Title screen from Jerry Strangarity's HO scale Reading Co. layout visit video.

Jerry Strangarity’s Reading Co. in HO scale last appeared in the November 2010 issue of Model Railroader magazine. Since our last visit, he’s completed three more scenes on the layout: West Philadelphia, Reading/Hamburg, and Birdsboro. Enjoy this video showing a mix of steam and diesel locomotives running through eastern Pennsylvania in the 1930s and 1940s. […]

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Jerry Strangarity’s Reading Co. in HO scale

Title screen from Jerry Strangarity's HO scale Reading Co. layout visit video.

Jerry Strangarity’s Reading Co. in HO scale last appeared in the November 2010 issue of Model Railroader magazine. Since our last visit, he’s completed three more scenes on the layout: West Philadelphia, Reading/Hamburg, and Birdsboro. Enjoy this video showing a mix of steam and diesel locomotives running through eastern Pennsylvania in the 1930s and 1940s. […]

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Fall journey along the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad

Experience the breathtaking beauty of fall in Chama, New Mexico, as you embark on a train journey through stunning mountain peaks of the Western U.S. Ride aboard the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, covering 14 miles from Chama to the summit at Cumbres Pass. Ascend over 2000 feet on a 4% grade, accompanied by a captivating […]

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News & Products for the week of November 13th 2023

A model caboose in a yellow paint scheme

News & Products for the week of November 13th 2023   Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of November 13th […]

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Soo Line No. 1003 steams through central Wisconsin for 110th year

Steam locomotive sits on display.

HARTFORD, Wis. — A weekend of operations for Soo Line steam locomotive No. 1003 stretched from its home in Hartford to as far as Fairwater, Wis., approximately 50 miles northwest. The Mikado-type 2-8-2 is in its 110th year, having been constructed in March 1913 by the American Locomotive Company in Schenectady, N.Y. Making the most […]

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