Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe mechanical reefers from Rapido Trains

Drawing of orange boxcars in different paint schemes

Santa Fe RR-56/60/61 mechanical reefer Scale: N (1:160) Price: Single car, $41.95; four-pack, $167.80 Era: 1955+ (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Santa Fe mechanical reefer features: Separate, factory-applied door posts, door latches, and uncoupling levers Underframe piping and equipment Cushion draft gear detail Positionable roof […]

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Union Pacific General Electric standard turbine from ScaleTrains

Long yellow diesel locomotive and fuel tender

Union Pacific General Electric standard turbine Scale: N (1:160) Price: Direct current with Next18 connector – without tender, $144.99; with tender, $189.99. With ESU LokSound 5 Micro Digital Command Control and sound decoder with Full Throttle, Next18 connector, and sugar cube speaker – without tender, $244.99; with tender, $289.99. Era: 1950s to 1962 (varies depending on road number) […]

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N scale Procor 5,820-cubic-foot capacity covered hopper from Rapido

Drawing of covered hoppers in multiple paint schemes

Procor 5820 covered hopper Scale: N (1:160) Price: Single car, $39.95; three-pack, $119.85; six-pack, $239.70 Era: 1977 to present (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Procor 5820 covered hopper features: Round, round with ribs, or 20” vented cover roof hatches as appropriate Pneumatic or Miner outlet […]

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Bay State Model Railroad Museum N scale layout

An overall view of a U-shaped N scale model railroad featuring a city in the foreground and mountains behind

The New England & Pacific, the Bay State Model Railroad Museum N scale layout, was featured in Great Model Railroads 2023. The Bay State Society of Model Engineers, the club that builds, maintains, and runs the museum’s layouts, was founded in 1968. The museum, in Roslindale, Mass., has four layouts in O, HO, HOn3, and […]

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JST-Next18 adapter kit from SoundTraxx

Socket for digital command control decoder

JST-Next18 adapter kit Price: $16.96 Manufacturer: SoundTraxx, 141 Burnett Dr., Durango, CO 81301; 970-259-0690; soundtraxx.com Features: Allows use of TSU-N18 in almost any N scale model Next-18 socket Six functions Solder pads for additional functionality Dimensions: 16 x 9.5 x 5mm Max function current: 100mA per output Release date: Available now News & Products is a regular feature of […]

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Gunderson Auto-Max articulated auto rack from Athearn

Drawing of white auto rack car with red "Kansas City Southern" billboard lettering

Gunderson Auto-Max articulated auto rack Scale: N (1:160) Price: $54.99 Era: 1999+ to 2016+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com Gunderson Auto-Max articulated auto rack cars feature: Separate, factory-applied brake wheel and brake details Simulated corrugated roof Full articulation with flexible diaphragm Safety striping 70-ton […]

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Pullman-Standard 5,277-cubic-foot capacity waffle-side boxcar from ExactRail

Model of boxcar with video game controller grafiti on the side

Pullman-Standard 5,277-cubic-foot capacity waffle-side boxcar Scale: N (1:160) Price: $29.99 Era: 1974 to present (depending on scheme) Manufacturer: ExactRail, 525 E. 1860 S., Provo, UT 84606; 866-945-1701; exactrail.com Pullman-Standard 5277 boxcar features: Factory-installed Micro-Trains No. 1015 couplers Body-mounted draft-gear box American Steel Foundries 70-ton Ride Control trucks CNC-machined 33” metal wheelsets Road names: Southern Ry. (1976 […]

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Five modeling ideas from a General Electric Dash 9-44CW

Photo of six-axle road locomotive on sunny day

Five modeling ideas from a General Electric Dash 9-44CW: In late June 2022, my wife, kids, and I visited my brother- and mother-in-law in Milbank, S.D. The parsonage they live in conveniently overlooks the BNSF Railway Appleton Subdivision, which runs between its namesake in Minnesota and Aberdeen, S.D. When I woke up on the morning […]

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Let’s Make A Scene: Episode 5

Let’s Make a Scene with Kathy Millatt Part 5

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Kathy shifts her attention away from trees to focus on modeling bushes. In this episode, she shares a variety of materials and techniques used to shape the vegetation that grows along the forest floor. Naturally, Kathy also shows where and how to place […]

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