Broadway Limited Imports HO scale UP 4-8-2 steam locomotive A Union Pacific class MT-73 available in multiple versions joins Broadway Limited Imports’ HO scale steam roster. The detailed model, which features a dual-mode BLI Paragon2 sound decoder and a synchronized puffing smoke unit, operates smoothly on both Digital Command Control and direct-current (DC) layouts. The […]
Section: Reviews
Walthers HO scale Amfleet coaches and club cars
Walthers HO scale Amfleet passenger cars Walthers, like prototype builder Budd Co. before it, has built on its Metroliner multiple-unit cars to bring newly tooled Amfleet equipment to HO. The cars are offered in both Amfleet I and II body styles. The Amfleet I models depict an 84-seat coach and an Amcafe. The Amfleet II […]
Kato N scale Electro-Motive Division F2 and F3 diesel locomotives
Kato N scale Elective-Motive Division F2 and F3 diesel locomotives Electro-Motive Division’s F series diesels are perhaps the most recognized locomotives in the world. Kato USA is offering a newly tooled N scale version of the F2/early F3 diesel in two-engine sets, wearing the vivid liveries characteristic of the booming postwar era. Kato’s models are […]
Fox Valley Models N scale RD-4 hopper
Fox Valley Models N scale RD-4 hopper Price: $18.95; 12-pack, $227.40 Manufacturer Fox Valley Models P.O. Box 1970 Des Plaines, IL 60017 www.foxvalleymodels.com Era: 1990s to present Comments: A modern-era coal hopper has been added to the Fox Valley Models N scale freight car lineup. The car, based on a Trinity Industries prototype, accurately features […]
Atlas HO scale 40′-6″ postwar boxcar
Atlas HO scale 40 ft 6 inch postwar boxcar Price: $27.95 Manufacturer Atlas Model Railroad Co. 378 Florence Ave. Hillside, NJ 07205 www.atlasrr.com Era: 1945 to late 1970s Comments: Atlas now offers a transition-era 40-foot boxcar in its Master Line of ready-to-run rolling stock. The Association of American Railroads 40′-6″ postwar boxcar, originally offered as […]
Video: TCS WOWSound steam DCC decoder
The Train Control Systems WOWSound Digital Command Control decoder includes many realistic sound effects. Check out this demonstration of a WOWSound decoder that’s been installed in a Broadway Limited Imports Santa Fe 2-10-2. The decoder includes adjustable sound effects and the Audio Assist programming feature. […]
Bachmann HO scale Bethlehem Steel 100-ton 3-Bay hopper
Bachmann HO scale Bethlehem Steel 100-ton 3-bay hopper The HO scale Bethlehem Steel 100-ton-3-Bay Hopper is a release from the “Bachman Silver Series” rolling stock line. The car I am reviewing is decorated for the regional railroad of “Wheeling And Lake Erie Railway.” The paint is crisp and the colors match the rail colors exactly, […]
Bachmann HO scale GP30 diesel locomotive
Bachmann HO scale GP30 diesel locomotive Bachmann has revised and updated its HO GP30 locomotive. The original GP30 body was brought out by Lionel in the late 1970s, and Bachmann has equipped it with a succession of underframes, motors, and mechanisms. As of 2014, there is a revised and updated version of this model, with […]
O gauge assembled wood dairy barn from Menards
Price: $69.95 (No. 2791992) Features: O gauge-compatible, wood construction, fully assembled and decorated, exterior lights. Order online now at www.menards.com, or visit your local Menards closer to Christmas. When Menards, a regional home improvement chain, stuck a corporate toe in the water of selling seasonal train sets, it was great. When they began selling custom-run […]
O gauge RailKing line GP7 from MTH
Price: $319.95 (no. 30-20190-1) Features: O-31 operation. Scale dimensions, two can-style motors, coil couplers, smoke unit, ProtoSound 3.0 command and sound system Current production run road names: Amtrak, Baltimore & Ohio, Chicago & North Western, and Ontario Southland Ry. At some point in the 1980s, it occurred to me that I wasn’t seeing as many […]
Athearn HO scale GP40-2L diesel locomotive
Athearn HO scale GP40-2L diesel locomotive For the first time in plastic, a Canadian National GP40-2L is available in HO scale. Athearn Trains’ Genesis series brings out-of-the-box superdetailing to a new level, and this Canadian-built variation of an Electro-Motive Division GP40-2 is no exception. The Digital Command Control version includes a dual-mode SoundTraxx DCC sound […]
Train Control Systems WOWSound DCC decoder
Train Control Systems WOWSound DCC decoder After years of making Digital Command Control motor decoders, Train Control Systems enters the world of DCC sound in a big way with its WOWSound line of decoders. TCS uses microSD card technology to give the WOWSound decoders enough storage space for full-CD quality audio files. I tested the […]