Q As a boy, I used to watch the magnificent Southern Pacific cab-forward steam locomotives on their way to Donner Summit in Northern California. Someone referred to them as Mallets. What’s the true definition of a Mallet? — C.W. Haffey, Bakersfield, Calif. A By definition, a Mallet (mal-LAY) is an articulated, meaning the two engine […]
Type of Train: Steam Locomotive
Bachmann side rod gas-mechanical locomotive
Kevin Strong 1:20.3-scale, gauge 1, side rod, gas-mechanical locomotiveBachmann Industries1400 East Erie Ave.Philadelphia PA 19124Price: $275Web site www.bachmanntrains.com Plastic and die-cast-metal industrial gas-mechanical switcher; two powered axles; cab interior; smoke unit; directional lighting; two sets of knuckle couplers; polarity switch; DCC-ready using NMRA standard 8-pin plug. Dimensions: length, 7¾” (over footboards); width, 3¾”; height, 5″. […]
MTH Electric Trains HO scale Mohawk 4-8-2
MTH Electric Trains HO scale Mohawk 4-8-2 Hudsons and Niagaras made the headlines on the steam-era New York Central, but Mohawks and Mikados made the profits. Plastic models of Hudsons, Niagaras, and H-6 Mikes have been available for several years, but Mohawks were available only in brass. Now the MTH HO L-3 and L-4 Mohawks […]
O gauge 4-6-4 Royal Hudson by MTH
LIKE THE UNITED STATES, much of Canada is flat and empty with a humongous mountain range over on the left side. Factor in absurdly bad winters, and railroading in Canada requires industrial-strength solutions. It takes quite a bit of effort to haul people and things today, and it was not any easier in the steam […]
International Hobby Corp. HO scale USRA Light Mikado
International Hobby Corp. HO scale USRA Light Mikado This 2-8-2 Mikado is a medium-size steam freight locomotive that comes ready-to-run and performs extremely well. It includes a Digital Command Control socket for easy conversion to DCC. The model comes decorated in 11 road names and includes a USRA 32-foot rectangular coal tender. Made by International […]
UP plans tour for steamer 3985 NEWSWIRE
OMAHA, Neb. – Union Pacific “Challenger” steam locomotive No. 3985 will tour the Midwest this fall, covering 1,750 miles in 23 days and visiting towns in Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota. To help people track the trip, UP has installed a global positioning satellite transmitted in one of the train’s cars and will use it to […]
O gauge 2-10-0 by MTH
Okay, so Czar Nicholas II lost the Bolshevik revolution and allowed Russia to slide into four generations of murderous totalitarian rule. But let’s not dwell on the negative – look at the bright side: American railroads got all those 2-10-0s Decapods that were built in the United States to help the Russians fight the Kaiser […]
Accucraft 4-4-0
Marc Horovitz 1:20.3 scale, gauge 1, live-steam 4-4-0Accucraft33268 Central AvenueUnion City CA 94578Price: $1,895Web site: www.accucraft.com All metal, live-steam model of a Baldwin 4-4-0; sprung chassis; sprung tender trucks; fittings include throttle, safety valve, water glass, pressure gauge, lubricator; single-flue boiler; butane fired; simple-eccentric-with-reversing-link reversing, controlled from the cab; painted and lettered; some minor assembly […]
Aristo-Craft C-16 locomotive
Kevin Strong 1:24 scale, gauge 1, ready-to-run 2-8-0 (with wood-style caboose)Aristo-Craft Trains698 S. 21st St.Irvington NJ 07111Price: $420Web site: www.aristocraft.com Plastic, electrically powered model of the C-16 class (formerly class 60) locomotive of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad; comes with a matching plastic model of the D&RG wood long caboose; minimum radius, 2′. Dimensions […]
Bachmann HO scale “Van Sweringen” Berkshire 2-8-4
Bachmann HO scale “Van Sweringen” Berkshire 2-8-4 The “Van Sweringen” Berkshire 2-8-4 was one of the last great steam locomotive designs. This Bachmann HO scale Berkshire is an accurate depiction of the prototype. The model features a dual-mode decoder that automatically switches between DC and Digital Command Control (DCC). Van Sweringen Berkshires. The prototype for […]
Mountain Model Imports On3 K-36
Mountain Model Imports On3 scale K-36 Mountain Model Imports, a division of Precision Scale Company, has released an On3 Denver and Rio Grande Western K-36 Mikado. The prototype locomotives were massive (for the narrow gauge) Baldwin built outside frame Mikados, and were the last new built locomotives received by the D, in 1925. They have […]
O gauge 4-12-2 by MTH
All right, already. The Union Pacific was the Big Cheese of big steam. Sure, the Pennsy might have had a zillion K4s and their 4-4-4-4s did turn heads, but it was the UP that had the most amazing giant freight haulers. The O gauge world recognizes this with models of the FEF-class 4-8-4, the large […]
