MTH ELECTRIC TRAINS owner Mike Wolf has a quest: to produce tooling for virtually every type of locomotive ever to ride the rails. This noble goal has enabled a unique locomotive to be offered at a price within the reach of most tight-radius operators. The RailKing line has been home to several unusual streamlined Hudsons […]
THE ONLY DISAPPOINTMENT I’ve had with the RailKing diesel line is the size of the locomotives. Don’t get me wrong, RailKing diesels have a lot going for them: quality, detailing, superb decoration, and low prices. But set your RailKing Dash 8 or SD60 side-by-side with a friend’s Premier line model and it becomes clear you […]
THE BUDD RAIL DIESEL Car (RDC) has a time honored place in railroading as well as toy train operation. Prior to World War II, America’s railroads tried to stem losses from passenger service on under-populated branch lines by use of various motorized car units that were collectively dubbed “doodlebugs.” These units often looked like baggage […]
MIKE WOLF SAID it: He wants to make one of virtually every locomotive that has ever run the rails of America. He and MTH have offered such unusual locomotives as the Baldwin AS616, the EMD BL2, and the Alco RS-27. Add to that list the AEM7 electric locomotive. This engine differs from the others, however. […]
IN THE WORLD of prototype railroading, these are exciting times indeed. If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to be in a railroad yard and see a modern Dash-9 or SD60, 70, or 90 resting next to an elderly Geep, you can easily see how far railroading has progressed in the past 30 years. These new […]
EVER NOTICE THAT when you visit a layout that has some sort of subway system designed into it, when you peek into the subterranean station, 9 times out of 10 you’ll see a trolley car darting through the dim light? Since 1998 MTH has had a remedy for this: a modern subway train can now […]
ONE OF THE BIG SURPRISES of the past holiday season was MTH’s Pennsylvania RR starter set (no. 30-4023-1). You buy a starter set with certain entry-level expectations. The kick in the pants with this set is how those expectations have been exceeded. Scoring big points on all counts, the Pennsy set packs plenty of attention […]
IN THE MODERN era few locomotives have been as successful as the EMD SD45. This 3,600-horsepower, C-C truck diesel took America’s railroads by storm, and more than 1,600 of all versions of this unit were sold between 1965 and 1975. If the unit had an undoing, it was its high-maintenance 645-series prime mover – a […]
STEAM VERSUS diesel, Godzilla versus Mothra, great taste – less filling. These are some of the significant battles of our time. Almost on cue, MTH Electric Trains and Lionel have released two O gauge locomotives that will challenge all but the gentlest of curves and the sturdiest of bridges. MTH offers the first three-rail model […]
WHEN I REVIEWED MTH’s reproduction of the 400E steamer two years ago, I praised it as a fun and economical way to get into Standard gauge. That didn’t set well with some folks, who, presumably had originals for sale. Well, I’ll run the risk of stirring up things again by suggesting that the MTH 260E […]
THE NORTH WESTERN’S E-4 class Hudson represents the high water mark of locomotive streamlining. In fact, when Superman’s creator coined the phrase, “faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive,” I suspect he had an engine like the North Western’s E-4 class Hudson in mind! The 4-6-4 locomotive was powerful and unique in […]
OPERATORS OF STANDARD gauge trains, your switch has arrived. Announced in the 1999 MTH catalog, the first mass-produced Standard gauge switch readily available since the 1930s showed up in hobby shops earlier this year. For years, fans of Standard gauge trains had two choices: resuscitate old products made by Ives, American Flyer, or Lionel, or […]
