New model trains for the week of April 21, 2016

HO scale locomotives General Electric U33B and U36B diesel locomotives. U33B: Penn Central, Reading & Northern (two road numbers), and Rock Island (maroon and yellow). U36B: Auto Train and Seaboard Coast Line (American Revolution Bicentennial scheme in one number and yellow and black). Four numbers per scheme unless noted; undecorated models also available. Prototype-specific details, […]

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Athearn HO scale SD40

The Athearn Ready To Roll SD40 is also available decorated for Burlington Northern Santa Fe. There’s a lot to like about this newly tooled Athearn Ready-to-Roll HO scale Electro-Motive Division SD40. From its road-specific details to its SoundTraxx sound decoder, this model ticks many of the boxes on many modelers’ wishlists. The prototype. The six-axle […]

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Kato HO scale GP35 diesel locomotive

Kato HO scale GP35 diesel locomotive The 2015 version of Kato’s GP35 features a printed-circuit board with an eight-pin socket for a Digital Command Control decoder. The Kato HO scale GP35 features many separately applied detail parts including the handrails and air horn. After a long hiatus, the Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotive has returned […]

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WalthersProto HO scale EMD GP30 diesel locomotive

WalthersProto HO scale GP30 diesel locomotive Featuring a high level of protoypical detail and available with a SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Command Control decoder, the WalthersProto HO scale GP30 captures the sights and sounds of its second-generation prototype. The decoder delivers realistic sound on direct-current and DCC layouts. In the early 1960s, General Electric had severed […]

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New products for the week of November 20, 2014

Athearn Trains HO scale Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe CF7 diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe CF7 diesel locomotive. New road names: BNSF Ry. (Heritage I) and Watco (three Santa Fe patchouts, one number each). New road numbers: Amtrak and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (round cab in pinstripe scheme, angled […]

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Vermont Rail System locomotive roster

NOTES: 1. Owned by Ogdensburg Bridge & Port Authority 2. Lettered Washington County Railroad 3. Painted in 50th anniversary scheme 4. Built as ACL GP7 No. 103 in 1950, rebuilt by SCL to GP16 ABBREVIATIONS: CLP – Clarendon & Pittsford Railroad GMRC – Green Mountain Railroad NY&OC – New York & Ogdensburg Railway VTR – […]

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New products for the week of July 31, 2014

HO scale locomotives AEM-7 electric locomotive. New fictional paint schemes: Great Northern, Lackawanna, Milwaukee Road, Pennsylvania RR, and Reading Co. Two road numbers each. New road numbers: Amtrak (as delivered or Acela) and NJ Transit. Three numbers each. Operating pantographs, separately applied wire grab irons, and Accumate couplers. Direct-current model, $179.95; with dual-mode ESU sound […]

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Rice Harbor freight car roster

1930s-era freight cars and locomotive on Model Railroader‘s Rice Harbor project layout. Accurail No. 2500 series Norfolk & Western USRA twin hoppers (2) No. 4111 Virginian 40-foot outside braced-boxcar with wood doors and wood ends No. 4311 New York Central 40-foot outside-braced boxcar with wood doors and metal ends No. 43041 Pennsylvania 40-foot outside-braced boxcar […]

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The cat’s out of the bag

Anything in the path of fast-moving N&W class J was sure to sustain significant damage. W. A. Akin Jr. Back in the glory days, the speed limit for passenger trains on Norfolk & Western’s Bristol Line was 65 mph. Several of the trains, including 45 and 46, the streamlined Tennessean, did considerable station work en […]

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MTH HO scale GP35 diesel locomotive

MTH HO scale GP35 diesel locomotive A horn blast and the rumble of a 567 diesel signal the arrival of this HO scale GP35 locomotive from MTH. The model’s proprietary Digital Command System (DCS) features realistic sound on direct-current (DC), Digital Command Control (DCC), and DCS layouts. The prototype. Between October 1963 and January 1966, […]

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Highest points and steepest grades on America’s classic railroads

Railroad names: Georgia Railroad, Great Northern, Gulf, Mobile & Ohio, Illinois Central, Kansas City Southern, Lehigh Valley, Louisville & Nashville, Maine Central, Milwaukee Road, Missouri Pacific, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, Monon, Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis, New Haven, New York Central, New York, Ontario & Western, Nickel Plate, Norfolk & Western, Northern Pacific, Pennsylvania, Reading, Rock Island, Rutland, […]

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Dad, trains, and me

In a photo by his dad, 11-year-old Michael Landry stands in Pontiac, Mich., with the Grand Trunk Western 4-8-4 they rode from Detroit on March 24, 1960. Hank Landry There I am, 11 years old, dwarfed by the Grand Trunk Western 4-8-4 on the next track during its stop at Pontiac, Mich., on March 24, […]

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