Kato N scale Amtrak ACS-64

Kato N scale ACS-64

Kato N scale ACS-64 with Amfleet I cars The first prototype Cities Sprinter locomotives have been on Amtrak property for little more than two years, and now N scale modelers can get their hands on one from Kato. Also known as the ACS-64, these locomotives will pull all non-Acela trains on Amtrak’s electrified Northeast Corridor. […]

Read More…

Book Review: Central of New Jersey Steam Locomotive Planbook

CNJSteamPlanbook

Central of New Jersey Steam Locomotive Planbook – Postwar Power, second edition By V.S. Roseman Anthracite Railroads Historical Society Inc., P.O. Box 519 Lansdale, PA 19446; 110 pages, 70 b/w photos; spiral bound, 8.5 x 11 inches; $25.98 www.anthraciterailroads.org Thirty-three years is a long time to wait for a book update, and for fans of […]

Read More…

Broadway Limited Imports Rolling Thunder subwoofer system

BLI Rolling Thunder subwoofer system

Price: $249.99 (subwoofer and receiver), $99.99 (receiver only) Comments: The physical size of the on-board speakers of locomotive models limits their ability to reproduce the low-frequency bass sounds of the prototype. The Broadway Limited Imports Rolling Thunder system wirelessly synchs an under-the-layout subwoofer with the firm’s new Paragon3 line of locomotives to reproduce the missing […]

Read More…

Video: Athearn HO scale SD40 with SoundTraxx DCC

Athearn HO scale SD40 with SoundTraxx DCC

The Athearn HO scale Ready-to-Roll Electro-Motive Division SD40 features many roadname-specific details. The model also features a SoundTraxx Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoder. Watch the SD40 work a freight train on the Model Railroader staff’s Troy Branch model train layout. […]

Read More…

Book Review: Streamliners

Streamliners_Solomon

Streamliners: Locomotives and Trains in the Age of Speed and Style By Brian Solomon Voyageur Press, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 400 Minneapolis, MN 55401; 208 pages, 115 color & 81 b/w photos; hardcover, 8.5 x 11 inches; $35 www.quartoknows.com Railroading in the U.S. saw rapid change between the 1930s and 1950s. That is likely […]

Read More…

Woodland Scenics O scale depot

woodland_depot

O scale depot from Woodland Scenics Price: $169.99 (no. BR5852) Features: Fully assembled, decorated and weathered model including interior and exterior lighting. Lighting compatible with Just Plug lighting system as well as transfer-supplied power. We all have a notion of what we want our layouts to look like, even if only in our mind’s eye. […]

Read More…

Athearn HO scale SD40

Athearn HO scale SD40

The Athearn Ready To Roll SD40 is also available decorated for Burlington Northern Santa Fe. There’s a lot to like about this newly tooled Athearn Ready-to-Roll HO scale Electro-Motive Division SD40. From its road-specific details to its SoundTraxx sound decoder, this model ticks many of the boxes on many modelers’ wishlists. The prototype. The six-axle […]

Read More…

Broadway Limited Imports HO scale Pennsylvania M1a

BLI HO scale Pennsylvania M1a

With the layout scenery shaking from the low-bass thumps of each exhaust stroke, and perfectly timed puffs of white smoke rising above the stack, I half-expected to smell cinders as Broadway Limited Imports’ latest HO scale model of the Pennsylvania RR M1a 4-8-2 rolled by. The model uses the same tooling as the BLI M1a […]

Read More…

BLMA Models HO scale 62-foot insulated boxcar

BLMA Models HO scale Santa Fe insulated boxcar

The BLMA HO scale model features many prototype-specific separately applied detail parts. A well-detailed injection-molded plastic model of Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe’s class BX-166 62-foot insulated boxcar is the latest offering from BLMA Models. The ready-to-run car features double plug doors framed by canted exterior posts, an assortment of separately applied details, and Kadee […]

Read More…