Athearn HO AT&SF 50-foot ice reefer

Athearn HO AT&SF 50-foot ice reefer

Athearn HO AT&SF 50-foot ice reefer A distinctive ready-to-run plastic model of a World War II-era 50-foot steel refrigerator car is now available in HO scale. It features new plastic body tooling, formed wire grabs, cleanly molded details, and magnetic knuckle couplers. The prototype. In early 1940, in anticipation of heavy war-time traffic, the Atchison, […]

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Micro-Trains Line Z scale EMD GP35 diesel measures up in every way

Micro-Trains Line Z scale EMD GP35 diesel

Micro-Trains Line Z scale EMD GP35 diesel This extremely accurate model of an Electro-Motive Division GP35 is detailed enough for even the most demanding modeler. Rivets are visible (with a magnifying glass, unless you have young eyes), dimensions are right on, and the delicate, etched-metal handrails are accurate down to the number of stanchions. Micro-Trains […]

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Digitrax HO scale DCC sound decoders have landed

Digitrax HO scale DCC sound decoders

Digitrax HO scale DCC sound decoders New to the ever-expanding market of Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoders is the Digitrax SoundFX. These decoders produce realistic sounds, come with a 28mm, 32O speaker, and are designed to fit newer Kato HO scale locomotives that feature fuel-tank speaker enclosures. The firm’s first three SoundFX decoder offerings […]

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2006 National Train Show final report: Part 1

Alco RS-32 and RS-36 diesel locomotives

The 2006 National Train Show was held July 7-9 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in conjunction with the National Model Railroad Association National Convention in Philadelphia. We saw several new products at the show, so many that we had to split our report into two sections. Be sure to click on the link at the […]

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2006 National Train Show final report: Part 2

Baldwin 2-4-4T Forney steam locomotive

Baldwin 2-4-4T Forney steam locomotive O scale locomotivesBaldwin 2-4-4T Forney steam locomotive. On2-1/2. Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes and painted black but unlettered. Digital Command Control-equipped, five-pole skew-wound motor, light-emitting-diode headlight, separately applied details, and vestibule cab with operating doors and interior detail. Inside- and outside-frame versions available. $275. Bachmann 0-6-0 and 2-6-0 saddle-tank steam […]

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2006 National Train Show preliminary report

Richmond Locomotive Works 4-4-0 steam locomotive

The 2006 National Train Show is being held July 7-9 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in conjunction with the National Model Railroad Association National Convention in Philadelphia. The following products listed below are just some of the new items announced today. Look for more National Train Show coverage next week. Richmond Locomotive Works 4-4-0 steam […]

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Steam locomotive profile: 0-4-0

Baltimore & Ohio 0-4-0 Tom Thumb

Baltimore & Ohio constructed this replica of the 0-4-0 Tom Thumb, its first steam locomotive. The original Tom Thumb was built in New York by inventor Peter Cooper, and made a successful first trip on August 25, 1830, when it pushed an open car hauling 18 passengers from Baltimore to Ellicott’s Mills. Early four-coupled locomotives […]

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Styled to sell: The names behind the Streamlined Era

Zephyr and M10000

The Streamlined Era For the industrial designer, no object was as enticing, dramatic, or attention-getting as the streamlined passenger train. Pulling together contemporary aeronautical theory and function, American designers in the 1930s created a whole new breed of streamlined trains with names such as Zephyr, Comet, Mercury, and 20th Century Limited — names that implied […]

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Steam locomotive profile: 0-6-0

Rock Island USRA 0-6-0 switcher No. 283

Rock Island switcher No. 283 was one of ten USRA 0-6-0s delivered to the railroad in 1919. W. Krambeck The 0-6-0 began life as a road engine in the late 1830s but was built only in limited numbers. Like the 0-4-0, the 0-6-0 could not easily traverse the poor track of the day, and within […]

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