Santa Fe 2-10-4’s on PRR

Front of steam locomotive

In the Fall 2006 issue of Classic Trains, we look at the Santa Fe’s great steam designs during the tenure of Chief Mechanical Engineer Charles T. Ripley. See clips of the giant 5001- and 5011-class 2-10-4’s on home rails in New Mexico and on lease to the Pennsylvania Railroad in Ohio from the Herron Rail […]

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MR quick look: Kato USRA 2-8-2 heavy Mikado in N

Kato N scale USRA 2-8-2

Kato N scale USRA 2-8-2 Price: $175.00ManufacturerKato U.S.A., Inc. 100 Remington Road Schaumburg, IL 60173Description: Plastic and metal ready-to-run locomotiveComments: Kato has re-released its handsome N scale United States Railway Administration (USRA) 2-8-2 heavy Mikado. This new run of steam locomotives includes a version decorated for Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, as well as a painted […]

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Forney in On 2 1/2 looks and sounds great

Bachmann On21/2 Forney

Bachmann On21/2 Forney A 2-4-4T Forney with dual-mode Digital Command Control (DCC) and an optional sound system is Bachmann’s latest On2 1/2 offering. The model is available with either outside or inside main frames and with or without a Tsunami sound decoder, in decorated or painted but unlettered versions. A unique design. The Forney is […]

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PDF: Build a 1:20.3 scale Climax locomotive

Build a 1:20.3 scale Climax locomotive

Download the PDF of this project here. Note: This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Despite our […]

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Accucraft Big Boy locomotive

Gary Raymond 1:32 scale, gauge 1, ready-to-run Union Pacific “Big Boy” Accucraft Company 33268 Central Avenue Union City CA 94587 Price: $3,899; $4,330.00 with Phoenix sound systemWeb site: www.accucraft.com Predominately die-cast metal model of a Union Pacific 4000-series 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy” Locomotive; mostly metal and a few plastic detail parts; modular electrical connections; two motors […]

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Blackstone Models HOn3 K-27 2-8-2

Blackstone Models HOn3 K-27 2-8-2 Narrow gauge fans can now add a superdetailed die-cast metal K-27 to their HOn3 (HO scale, 3-foot-gauge) rosters with this new locomotive from Blackstone Models. The firm, which is a division of SoundTraxx, offers the model in a DC-only version or factory-equipped with its powerful Tsunami Digital Command Control (DCC) […]

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Lionel American Flyer S gauge 4-8-4 Northern

IN REAL RAILROADING, the wheel arrangement that probably came closest to perfection, in terms of either freight or high-speed passenger service, was the 4-8-4 Northern. Indeed, Alco built the first 4-8-4 in 1927, and by the end of the steam era, 36 railroads operated 1,126 of these machines. A surprisingly high number of Northerns – […]

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MTH Premier line O gauge 4-6-6-4 Challenger

TO ACCURATELY DESCRIBE the steam-era classic 4-6-6-4 Challenger, you’d have to use words right out of a luxury car ad: powerful, fast, sleek, and big. Conceived as a fast companion to the Union Pacific’s mighty 4-8-8-4 Big Boy, the Challenger was a heavy-hauling speed demon. Its success can be measured in numbers: 252 were built […]

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Bachmann HO scale 4-4-0

Bachmann HO 4-4-0

Bachmann HO 4-4-0 Steam fans now have a superdetailed American-type to add to their HO scale rosters. Bachmann’s Spectrum modernized 4-4-0 American comes equipped with a factory-installed dual-mode Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder, so the model is ready to run on DC or DCC layouts. American Standard. By the latter half of the 1800s, locomotives […]

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New technology in live steam

Jeff Young Full-size steam locomotives have been in existence for over 200 years, and live-steam models for nearly that long. On that basis, it might be easy to conclude that the hobby of small-scale live steam is one that would not see a lot of new technology. To the contrary, there have been a number […]

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