Q On the front of a typical diesel locomotive are six “hoses.” Please define their purpose. Further, above the coupler is what appears to be a shorting hose. What is that? – Howard Beard, New Port Richey, Fla. A What you’re seeing is two sets of three hoses that are part of a train’s air-brake […]
Type of Train: Diesel Locomotives
Walthers HO scale Fairbanks-Morse H-10-44 diesel switcher
Walthers HO scale Fairbanks-Morse H-10-44 diesel switcher A semi-streamlined carbody developed by famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy made the Fairbanks-Morse H-10-44 a distinctive entry into the diesel switcher market. Many H-10-44s had careers that spanned 40 years. The new Proto 2000 from Walthers HO scale H-10-44 is available in a version that includes a dual-mode […]
Atlas O Electro-Motive Division MP 15DC diesel switcher in O scale
Atlas O Electro-Motive Division MP 15DC diesel switcher in O scale While this superb MP15DC model may look like a yard switcher, it rides on GP-type trucks that also suit it to road service. Atlas O Electro-Motive Division MP 15DC diesel switcher in O scale While this superb MP15DC model may look like a yard […]
Video Extra: Santa Fe PA’s in action
In his article “The First PA’s” in the Winter 2008 issue of Classic Trains, author Peter A. Hansen examines Alco’s first postwar passenger diesels, Santa Fe Nos. 51L, 51A, and 51B. Here are scenes of Santa Fe PA’s in action from Herron Rail Video’s DVD program “Glory Machines, Vol. 5.” […]
Video Extra: Santa Fe PA’s in action
In his article “The First PA’s” in the Winter 2008 issue of Classic Trains, author Peter A. Hansen examines Alco’s first postwar passenger diesels, Santa Fe Nos. 51L, 51A, and 51B. Here are scenes of Santa Fe PA’s in action from Herron Rail Video’s DVD program “Glory Machines, Vol. 5.” […]
O gauge EMD BL2 diesel from Williams by Bachmann
THERE WAS A SHORT TIME when the influence of General Motors’ automotive engineering was felt in the real world of locomotion. The two most significant of those designs were the Aerotrain streamliner and the BL2 diesel road switcher. The concept behind the BL2 was, more or less, to take the mechanicals of an F unit […]
Ask Trains from October 2008
Q My 5-year-old grandson asked me, “Where do engineers go to the bathroom?” I told him that locomotives probably have a restroom similar to those on airplanes. What restroom facilities are available on locomotives, and where are they located? Who runs the train in his absence? Are comfort breaks governed by either federal or union […]
Rapido HO scale TurboTrain
Rapido HO scale TurboTrain With a recorded speed of 170.8 mph, the TurboTrain remains the fastest passenger train to run on North American rails, and that was 40 years ago. The Rapido HO TurboTrain includes a dual-mode Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoder and is available in all the different prototype versions. For this review […]
News & Products for September 4, 2008
HO scale locomotives Northern Pacific Electro-Motive Division F7 diesel locomotives. “Main Street of the Northwest” slogan. Five-pole skew-wound motor with flywheels, prototype-specific details, and magnetic knuckle couplers. Sound-equipped units have individual sound boards installed in both A and B units. A unit only: without sound, $139.98; with sound, $209.98. A-B set: without sound, $279.98; with […]
1948 20th Century Limited is Next Walthers Name Train
Walthers is pleased to officially announce its newest HO Scale name train – the world-famous 20th Century Limited. Like its famous prototype, the First Edition 20th Century Limited is completely “New from Diesels to Lookout Lounge!” For the first time, modelers can build a complete and affordable Century fleet with authentic replicas of the 1948 […]
Oso Railworks, Inc. Acquires NorthWest Short Line (NWSL)
Oso Railworks, Inc. of Hamilton, Montana, is pleased to announce that it hasacquired Seattle-based NorthWest Short Line in its entirety. All of NWSL’s operations will bemoved to Hamilton, MT, where production of NWSL’s entire product line will continue. NorthWest Short Line has a 50-year tradition of excellence, producing precisiondrivetrain components and wheelsets in virtually all […]
Atlas O F2/F3 diesel
Atlas O F2A in O scale With the distinctive rumble of a 567 diesel engine, this O scale F2A replicates the sounds of a first-generation EMD F unit. The Atlas O model features a QSI Quantum sound system with programmable effects in both DC and Digital Command Control (DCC) modes. The prototype. Beginning with the […]
