PREMIER LINE O GAUGE ALCO PA-PB FROM MTH Price: $479.95 (No. 20-20843-1 powered A unit), $199.95 (20-20843-3 unpowered B unit), $249.95 (20-20844-1 unpowered A unit) Min curve: O-31 Cmd Low: 6.22 smph Cnv Low: 8.4 smph, High: 90.9 smph Drawbar pull: 1 lb., 14 oz. Features: Cab unit has two can-style motors, ProtoSound 3.0 command […]
Section: Reviews
Woodland Scenics post office
BUILT-&-READY U.S. POST OFFICE FROM WOODLAND SCENICS Price: $129.99 (BR5864) Features: Fully assembled and decorated, illuminated interior, cardstock interior, freestanding mail box, designed for use with the Just-Plug lighting system. Back in the early 1990s, I was driving between Who-Knows-Where and Nowheresville, New Mexico. The terrain was bleak and, except for the road and utility […]
Book Review: Brian Solomon’s Railway Guide to Europe
Brian Solomon’s Railway Guide to Europe By Brian Solomon Kalmbach Publishing Co.; 416 pages, softcover, 6 x 9 inches; $24.99. www.kalmbachhobbystore.com Reviewed by Bill Hough Planning a rail-oriented trip to Europe is challenging, since most travel guidebooks are written for a general audience and don’t necessarily contain specific information that a railfan would like to […]
Rapido Trains HO Budd Rail Diesel Car
Rapido Trains HO Budd Rail Diesel Car The car that revived branchline passenger operations for many railroads after World War II stands ready to do the same for HO scale railroads. Rapido Trains has released a highly accurate model of the Budd Rail Diesel Car, or RDC, in three body styles. Available equipped with an […]
Special sneak preview: Iowa Scaled Engineering ProtoThrottle
Iowa Scaled Engineering ProtoThrottle Recently I tested a pre-production sample of the Iowa Scaled Engineering ProtoThrottle. This wireless Digital Command Control cab is designed to mimic a diesel-electric locomotive control stand in looks and operation. In both cases, the ProtoThrottle delivers. The receiver. The ProtoThrottle isn’t a standalone DCC system and doesn’t program decoders. The […]
Atlas HO scale AEM-7 electric locomotive
Atlas HO scale AEM-7 electric locomotive The AEM-7 may have been retired by Amtrak, but Atlas has brought back its HO model, with a new Electronic Solutions Ulm LokSound Select dual-mode decoder, for another run. Since Model Railroader last reviewed this model in the March 2000 issue, sound-equipped locomotives have proliferated. Bringing the model back […]
Quick Look: Bachmann HO scale bay window caboose
Bachmann HO scale bay window caboose Price: $59 Manufacturer Bachmann Trains 1400 E. Erie Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19124 www.bachmanntrains.com Era: 1952 to 1964 (as decorated) Comments: For those who want to add variety to their caboose fleets, these HO scale bay-window cabooses from Bachmann Trains are worth a look. The plastic models are built with […]
Eisenbahn Canada HO scale Pennsylvania class FF1 electric locomotive
The massive class FF1 was the Pennsylvania RR’s first heavy-duty, alternating current (AC) mainline locomotive. Eisenbahn Canada has released a museum-quality HO scale brass model of this pioneering electric. The model is exquisitely detailed with more than 1,250 parts and is available in three prototypical paint schemes. The prototype. In 1917 the Pennsylvania RR needed […]
Bachmann HO scale Sound Value GP30
Bachmann HO scale Sound Value GP30 The model features an accurately detailed plastic body shell with flexible plastic handrails. Bachmann Trains’ GP30 is now part of the Sound Value line of dual-mode Digital Command Control (DCC)-equipped locomotives. This model was first reviewed by now-retired senior editor Jim Hediger in the December 1988 Model Railroader. While […]
Tangent HO General American tank car
Tangent HO scale General American tank car The model includes fine rivet detail and accurately reproduces the radial-course tank. The straps that hold the tank to the frame are separate plastic parts. A tank car you won’t find anywhere else is available in HO scale. Tangent Scale Models’ 10,000-gallon radial course tank car is based […]
Quick Look: Walthers HO scale The UPS Store
Walthers HO scale The UPS Store Price: $39.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53218 www.walthers.com Era: 2003 to present Comments: An injection-molded plastic modern-era storefront is one of several new UPS-branded items available from Wm. K. Walthers Inc. The HO scale UPS Store is part of the Cornerstone Series […]
O gauge nuclear power Plant from Menards
O gauge nuclear power plant from Menards Price: $99.99 (No. 279-4433) Features: Nuclear reactor building, revolving light, two illuminated power transformers, employee and canine figures, cooling tower. Order online at www.Menards.com/Trains. Behold the No. 279-4433 Oak Point Nuclear Power Facility. While I suppose that nothing should surprise me when I open a large box from […]