New model trains for the week of May 28, 2020

HO scale locomotives 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Baltimore & Ohio; Chesapeake & Ohio; Great Northern; New York Central; Pennsylvania RR; and Union Pacific. One road number per scheme. Die-cast metal boiler and frame with brass details, light-emitting-diode headlights, can motor, and front and rear metal couplers. Can be controlled with […]

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New model trains for the week of May 21, 2020

Rapido Trains HO scale Alco/Montreal Locomotive Works FA-2, FPA-2, FB-2, and FPB-2 diesel locomotives

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP59 and GP60 diesel locomotives. GP59: Electro-Motive Division demonstrator and Norfolk Southern (Operation Lifesaver 25th anniversary scheme and Southern Ry. heritage scheme, one number each). GP60: BNSF Ry. (Heritage III in two numbers, Vermont Ry. patchout in one number), CSX (dark blue and yellow), Denver & Rio Grande Western (black […]

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Atlas N scale 4,180-cubic-foot-capacity Airslide covered hopper

MRRPR0720_403

Atlas N scale 4,180-cubic-foot-capacity Airslide covered hopper Underbody details include separate, factory-applied outlet gate piping, hopper outlets, underframe slope braces, and the cylinder/brake assembly.   Atlas Model Railroad Co. has added a new model to its expanding N scale lineup, the General American 4,180- cubic-foot capacity Airslide covered hopper. The model, based on a mid-1960s […]

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Modeling the mighty Pennsy in a small space

Pennsylvania RR Juniata Division

A version of this article appeared in Model Railroader’s special issue from 2018: Build a Small Railroad.  Pursuing my hobby concurrently with my military career meant I needed a portable model railroad that could still suggest the scale and intensity of a gigantic prototype in an impossibly small space. I found what I needed in […]

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New model trains for the week of May 14, 2020

Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale Electro-Motive Division SD35 diesel locomotive

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD70MAC diesel locomotive. Alaska RR (blue-and-yellow scheme), BNSF Ry. (green-and-cream warbonnet in one road number, Heritage III in three numbers), Burlington Northern (as-delivered green and cream scheme, three numbers), CSX (dark blue and yellow with “boxcar” herald), Mexican Rail Transportation (gray and red Kansas City Southern-style scheme, three numbers), and […]

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How to cast plaster rocks for model railroad scenery

Pouring Hydrocal into a rubber rock mold

Rubber rock molds and hydrocal plaster make it easy to add exposed rockfaces and other dramatic scenic elements to your model train layout   Nothing says “impressive” quite like a rugged mountain range full of jagged rock faces. Though mountains appear solid to us, many are just individual layers of rocks, stacked one on top […]

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