40-foot high-cube intermodal container Scale: O (1:48) Price: $26.95; eight-pack, $215.60 Era: Present day Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205, 908-687-0880, shop.atlasrr.com Features: Detailed door rods, landing pads, and corner posts Based on International Organization for Standardization Type 45G1 Available fourth quarter 2022 Road Names: ZIM (Z Factor, brown and […]
Guide to Electro-Motive E and F units Book: Guide to Electro-Motive E and F units Author: Jeff Wilson Price: $27.99 Manufacturer: Kalmbach Media, 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612, 262-796-8776, KalmbachHobbyStore.com Topics covered: How E and F units came to be Introduction to freight Post-war passenger boom Freight dieselization Demise of E […]
Power-LOC figure eight expander set Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $59.98 Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com Power-LOC figure eight expander set features: Nickel silver rail, brown ties, and gray plastic roadbed Snaps together without tools or rail joiners Set includes two 9” straight sections, six 18” radius […]
Diesel servicing kits Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Diesel sanding tower, $17.98; Modern diesel fueling facility, $37.98 Era: 1950s to present (sanding tower); present day (modern diesel fueling facility) Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com Diesel sanding tower features: Injection-molded plastic kit Detailed safety cage ladder and supply […]
Funnel-Flow tank car Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $49.98 Era: 1973 to present (era varies depending on paint scheme). Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com Funnel-Flow tank car features: Etched-metal walkways and platforms Factory-installed grab irons Train pipe and brake rigging underbody details Prototype-specific manway and safety valve […]
60-foot bulkhead flatcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $39.99 (Primed for Grime, $44.99); three-pack, $99.99 (Primed for Grime, $111.99) Era: Late 1960s to 1990s (era varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com 60-foot bulkhead flatcar features: Injection-molded plastic body Separate, factory-applied end details and brake wheel 33” machined […]
What was your first train set (or locomotive)? In the second grade, I started reading Model Railroader in the school library. After a year of heavy lobbying, I got my first Tyco HO train set for Christmas in 1973. It had a powered Santa Fe F7A locomotive with a “dummy” F7B unit painted in the red-and-silver warbonnet […]
Bay-window caboose Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $36.99 Era: 1970s to 1990s (era varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com Bay-window caboose features: Separate, factory-installed smokejack and brake wheel End handrails and ladders Clear window glazing Body-mounted McHenry scale couplers Injection-molded plastic body Caboose trucks Available June 2023 Road […]
40-foot flatcar with airplane load Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $46.99 Era: Late 1960s+ Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com 40-foot flatcar with airplane features: Separate, factory-installed brake wheel Removable plane load (plane has spinning propeller and detachable wings) Machined metal RP-25 contour wheels Body-mounted McHenry scale couplers Injection-molded plastic body Available June […]
20-foot refrigerated intermodal container Scale: O (1:48) Price: $24.95; eight-pack, $199.60. Era: Present day Manufacturer: Atlas O, 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205, 908-687-0880, shop.atlasrr.com Features: International Organization for Standardization Type Code 22R1 Composite materials sandwich-sides design Picture window refrigeration unit with separate parts Road Names: Cosco (white and blue), China Shipping (white and green), “K” […]
American Z Line May 2022 Scale: Z (1:220) Price: Contact manufacturer Era: Northern Pacific Electro-Motive Division F7A and F7B, 1944 to 1970; Atlantic Coast Line, mid-1940s to 1967 Manufacturer: American Z Line, 6142 Northcliff Blvd., Dublin, OH 43016, 614-764-1703 Electro-Motive Division F7A and F7B diesel locomotive features: 7mm can motor Dual flywheels Directional light-emitting-diode lighting […]
Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $52.95 Era: 1979 to present (era varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Tangent Scale Models, P.O. Box 6514, Asheville, NC 28816, 828-412-3886 Pullman-Standard 4,750-cubic-foot capacity three-bay covered hopper features: Kadee scale couplers See-through etched metal running boards and crossover platforms 100-ton Barber S-2 trucks with prototype-specific rotating bearing caps and separate […]
