Meet Gerry Leone

Meet Gerry Leone: man’s face peeking from behind model structure

Meet Gerry Leone How did you get started in the hobby? Although my dad had a Lionel layout in our basement, I was not involved with it. I just played with the loop around the Christmas tree. At one point, he traded his Lionel stuff for a Tyco HO starter set and bought an older […]

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How to add DCC sound to a compact HO switcher

ThinkaBachmannHOscaleGeneralElectric44tonswitcheristoosmallforDCCsound

How to add DCC sound to a compact HO switcher: When Bachmann introduced an HO scale General Electric 44-ton switcher, I knew it would make a great addition to my Boston & Maine roster. The model includes a Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder, and I bought a version in the B&M livery. Out of the […]

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News & Products for the week of January 23rd 2023

An image of a model locomotive

News & Products for the week of January 23rd 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of January 23rd 2023.   […]

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Model railroad snow plow rolling stock

Photo of HO scale snow plow painted Oxide Red and yellow on white background

In model railroad snow plow rolling stock round-up, we thought it would be fun to take a look at models of snow fighting equipment available in N, HO, and O scales. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list. Rather, it’s a look at some of the ready-to-run models and a few kits that […]

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News & Products for the week of January 16th 2023

An image of a model locomotive

News & Products for the week of January 16th 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of January 16th 2023.   […]

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Model railroad snow products

Let’s Make a Scene with Kathy Millatt Part 15

Winter is my favorite season, especially for watching trains. The snow gives everything in the background and foreground a pure, white canvas. Snow in the air gives photographs depth. Iced-over bodies of water give an awesome effect. It seems like snow scenes are quite rare when it comes to HO and N scale layouts, and […]

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Rehab My Railroad | Rehab Effort Recap, Episode 16

Work on the HO scale Milwaukee, Racine & Troy (MR&T) Jones Island project has come to a close, so it’s prime time for David Popp and Eric White to survey the 14 x 3-foot finished layout section! Follow along as the two hosts, along with Cody Grivno and Ben Lake, point out specific scenes and […]

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Electro-Motive Division E8 executive units from Rapido

An image of various model locomotives.

Rapido Electro-Motive Division E8 executive units Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: A-A two-unit set, DC, $459.90; DC/DCC, sound, $669.90. Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Electro-Motive Division E8 executive units feature: Correct HEP muffler and hatch Roof-mounted cooling coils, non-skirted fuel tanks Heavy die-cast chassis Numerous road-specific […]

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A John Armstrong inspired layout

Two trains passing each other on model train layout

A John Armstrong inspired layout: In March of 1952 Model Railroader magazine began a series called Track Plan of the Month. A frequent contributor was John Armstrong, an undisputed genius of model railroad planning. Armstrong designed two track plans for the September 1953 issue. John rotated the center line of the layouts’ footprints 45-degrees and […]

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Modeling Amtrak’s “rainbow” fleet

Red and yellow locomotives leading passenger train with cars of several colors.

What is Amtrak’s “rainbow” fleet? Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971, and at the time had only one piece of equipment sporting Amtrak’s first logo, E8 No. 4316. This engine is currently offered by Rapido. All of the passenger equipment came from the railroads that joined to form Amtrak, including over 400 from the […]

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