2006 National Train Show final report: Part 1

Alco RS-32 and RS-36 diesel locomotives

The 2006 National Train Show was held July 7-9 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in conjunction with the National Model Railroad Association National Convention in Philadelphia. We saw several new products at the show, so many that we had to split our report into two sections. Be sure to click on the link at the […]

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2006 National Train Show final report: Part 2

Baldwin 2-4-4T Forney steam locomotive

Baldwin 2-4-4T Forney steam locomotive O scale locomotivesBaldwin 2-4-4T Forney steam locomotive. On2-1/2. Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes and painted black but unlettered. Digital Command Control-equipped, five-pole skew-wound motor, light-emitting-diode headlight, separately applied details, and vestibule cab with operating doors and interior detail. Inside- and outside-frame versions available. $275. Bachmann 0-6-0 and 2-6-0 saddle-tank steam […]

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MTH Premier line O gauge New Haven EP-3 electric locomotive

THE PENNSYLVANIA Railroad GG1-class locomotive would almost certainly win the title of best all-around North American electric-profile locomotive, both in terms of performance and popularity. But who would have thought that a rather Plain Jane New Haven Railroad boxcab was the progenitor of the Pennsy classic? The New Haven Railroad wasn’t a fan of motor-generator […]

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Ready Made Toys O gauge “Buddy” Rail Diesel Car

WHO WOULD HAVE thought that oddball tooling from 50 years ago would ever become a hot product in the digital era? Not me. But that’s the case with the most recent rendering of the Budd Co.’s Rail Diesel Car, known in railroad slang as an RDC or a Budd car. Ready Made Toys first made […]

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MTH Premier line O gauge Sounder F59PHI

OUR CANADIAN COUSINS need to stand up and take a bow. The EMD F59 was commissioned by and developed with Toronto’s GO (for Government of Ontario) Transit railroad. The commuter authority needed a 3,000-horsepower locomotive with a separate head-end power generation system packaged in a full-cowl body with safety-cab front. The F59 was the winning […]

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2006 National Train Show preliminary report

Richmond Locomotive Works 4-4-0 steam locomotive

The 2006 National Train Show is being held July 7-9 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in conjunction with the National Model Railroad Association National Convention in Philadelphia. The following products listed below are just some of the new items announced today. Look for more National Train Show coverage next week. Richmond Locomotive Works 4-4-0 steam […]

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Distinctive diesels

FT 103

Four-unit locomotive No. 103 of GM’s Electro-Motive Corporation. Electro-Motive FT Tagged “the diesel that did it” by David P. Morgan, longtime editor of Trains Magazine, in a 1960 feature story, four-unit locomotive No. 103 of General Motors’ Electro-Motive Corporation was outshopped at a Grange, IL, plant in November 1939 (the firm later became GM’s Electro-Motive […]

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F7: The most famous face in railroading

EMD F7

Missouri-Kansas-Texas FP7A No. 78-C shows off the locomotive’s famous bulldog nose at Oklahoma City, Okla. Bill Bryant “COVERED WAGONS.” “CARBODY UNITS.” “STREAMLINERS.” “F UNITS.” Call ’em what you will, when you’re talking the F-for-freight series from General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division, you’re talking the most famous diesel in railroading. Maybe “F” should stand for Face. It’s […]

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Aristo-Craft Dash-9 locomotive

Marc Horovitz 1:29 scale, gauge 1, ready-to-run Dash 9 dieselAristo-Craft Trains698 S. 21st St.Irvington NJ 07111Price: $380 (UP, BNSF, SF, $400)Web site: www.aristocraft.com Mostly plastic model of a Dash 9-44CW diesel locomotive; modular electrical connections and car body; two, three-axle power trucks with ball bearings; two motors per truck; bright-white LED directional front and rear […]

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USA Trains GP30

Marc Horovitz 1:29 scale, gauge-1 GP30USA TrainsPO?Box 100Malden MA 02148Web site: www.usatrains.comSee your local dealer for price and availability Plastic model of an EMD GP30; two motors; eight-wheel drive; four traction tires; directional lighting; fan-driven smoke unit; interior cab lighting; detailed cab interior; metal handrails; opening cab doors; hook-and-loop couplers installed, knuckles also supplied; engineer […]

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Third Rail O gauge brass GE C44-9W diesel

AT A UNION PACIFIC yard in Chicago, I recently saw the face of railroading today side by side with that of yesterday. A huge Chicago & North Western Dash 9 was idling next to a rusty, battered old North Western GP9. The difference was like night and day. Similarly, the difference between 3rd Rail’s brass […]

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USA Trains Large scale 44-ton switcher

USA TRAINS CONTINUES to crank out well-made large scale diesels. The company’s locomotives have earned a reputation for realism, quality components, top notch decoration, and value. USA Trains’ latest venture is the 44-ton diesel switcher, and it appears to fit right in to the company’s line of good running engines. The 44-tonner is an engine […]

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