Athearn N scale FP45 and F45

Athearn N scale FP45 and F45 The semi-streamlined successor to Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe warbonnet-clad F units, Electro-Motive Division FP45s served briefly in passenger service but had long freight-hauling careers, as did the F45. The Athearn N scale FP45 and F45 feature many prototype- specific details. Prototype. In 1966, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa […]

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Ask Trains from August 2005

Q Can you please explain the visual and mechanical differences among EMD’s SW-1500, MP15DC, and MP15AC switchers?– Andrew J. Jones, Wigan, England A Electro-Motive’s SW1500, MP15, and MP15AC were all 1,500-hp switchers, but the later MP series were significant upgrades to the older SW models. The SW1500, built 1966-1974, used a non-turbocharged 12-cylinder 645E engine. […]

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Ask Trains from November 2006

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 […]

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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 […]

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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.” […]

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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.” […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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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 […]

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