ScaleTrains HO EMD GP30

Title screen of video showing HO scale diesel locomotive painted blue and black with white graphics.

The ScaleTrains HO scale EMD GP30 is the subject of our latest product review video. Join Editor Eric White as he discusses the history of the Electro-Motive Division four-axle road switcher and Conrail No. 2229; highlights the various separate, factory-applied details on the Rivet Counter line model; and demonstrates the sound and light functions. Then […]

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Locomotives We Love: Lionel No. 2245 Texas Special F3

red and cream model engine

Joe Algozzini, perhaps the preeminent expert on Lionel trains and accessories manufactured during the post-World War II era (1945-69) has been contributing deeply researched and thoughtfully written articles to Classic Toy Trains since its second issue hit newsstands in the spring of 1988. To be honest, Joe was laying the groundwork for what became the […]

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News & Products for the week of July 15th 2024

A model locomotive in a red and black paint scheme

News & Products for the week of July 15th 2024   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 July 15th […]

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MTH Premier SD35

Blue and white model train on layout

The MTH Premier EMD SD35 was announced in September of 2022. Previously run in 2020, these models again feature ProtoSound 3.0 technology and the great detailing we’ve come to expect from MTH.  The prototype was produced by General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division from mid-1964 through 1966. More than 350 of the 2,500 hp locomotives were built, […]

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NC&StL locomotives remembered

Diesel NC&StL locomotives with passenger train by signal and station

NC&StL locomotives were distinctive but disappeared all too soon.   The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway had its share of unique items and was a pioneer. Historian Dain L. Schult says the “NC,” as it was known, was the only southern road to try a Camelback and a duplex; neither type worked out. It […]

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RDC test on Baltimore & Annapolis

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On Dec. 9, 1961, Budd Company RDC1 demonstrator 2960 approaches a grade crossing in Glen Burnie, Md., during an 18-day experimental resumption of passenger service on former interurban Baltimore & Annapolis. Today, Glen Burnie is the end of a light-rail line from Baltimore. Ara Mesrobian photo […]

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WalthersProto HO EMD SD9

Capture of title screen from Product Review video.

A new run of the WalthersProto HO EMD SD9 was recently released. Join Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he provides a brief history of Great Northern No. 595, points out the many freestanding details on the six-axle road switcher, and demonstrates the various light and sound functions on the ESU LokSound 5-equipped model. Then see […]

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WalthersProto HO EMD SD9

Capture of title screen from Product Review video.

A new run of the WalthersProto HO EMD SD9 was recently released. Join Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he provides a brief history of Great Northern No. 595, points out the many freestanding details on the six-axle road switcher, and demonstrates the various light and sound functions on the ESU LokSound 5-equipped model. Then see […]

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Latest Metro-North anniversary locomotive honors employees

Blue and silver locomotive outside shop building

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — Metro-North Railroad’s fifth in a series of specially wrapped locomotives to honor its 40th anniversary has taken a slightly different approach than the first four units, honoring the commuter line’s employees rather than its predecessor railroads. The wrap on PC32AC-DM No. 214 uses a mosaic of photos of past and present […]

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Restaurants with model railroad layouts

An image of three cats on a model railroad layout

A rail-themed restaurant is a concept familiar to many rail enthusiasts. Perhaps you’ve dined at one yourself. Often located in a converted passenger station, the décor is themed, unsurprisingly, after railroads. Sometimes, these restaurants will feature authentic dining car plates from one or several railroads, and other such memorabilia. Sometimes, though, these rail-themed restaurants will […]

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Brian Sheron’s Long Island Rail Road

Title screen showing skyline, yard, and elevated line on an HO scale model railroad.

Brian Sheron’s Long Island Rail Road is a 27 x 48-foot HO scale model railroad that depicts Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and the north shore of Long Island. He built the layout, featured in the August 2024 issue of Model Railroader, in three phases. Brian started work on the model railroad in 1988 with the Port […]

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Milwaukee Road hostler

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A hostler at the Milwaukee Road’s engine terminal near 35th Street in Milwaukee uses a water crane to top off the tender of a steam locomotive. The Fairbanks-Morse diesel on the next track hints that steam is on borrowed time in this April 1951 photo. Linn H. Westcott photo […]

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