Walthers HO scale Magnolia Hotel Price: $34.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53201 www.walthers.com Era: late 1800s to 1950s Comments: The Magnolia Hotel is one of the latest structure offerings from Walthers. The injection-molded plastic kit, part of the Cornerstone Main Street USA series, features a decorative peaked-roof cornice […]
Section: Reviews
ExactRail HO scale TrentonWorks 67′-11″ bulkhead flatcar
ExactRail HO scale TrentonWorks 67′-11″ bulkhead flatcar Price: $38.95 Manufacturer ExactRail 251 W. River Park Dr., Ste. 300 Provo, UT 84604 www.exactrail.com Era: 2005 to present Road names: TTX (“Forward Thinking” herald or black rectangle herald with three white or five yellow reflective stripes). Multiple road numbers per scheme. Comments: A common modern-era bulkhead flatcar […]
Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale 50-foot boxcar
Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale 50-foot boxcar An HO scale model of a 70-ton double-door boxcar used by western railroads to transport wood products and other freight is now available from Atlas. The 5,077-cubic-foot-capacity boxcar is based on a prototype built by FMC during the mid- to late 1970s and features a one-piece injection-molded […]
Book Review: Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line
Norfolk & Western’s Clinch Valley Line by Ed Wolfe, Charles Wilson, Jr., and Paul Mandelkern HEW Enterprises, 116 Oakview Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 1521; 432 pages, 384 b/w and 48 color photos; hardcover, 8.5 x 11 in.; $65.00 Ed Wolfe has established himself as an outstanding researcher and writer in Appalachian railroad history with five different […]
Book Review: Railroads for Michigan
Railroads for Michigan by Graydon M. Meints Michigan State University Press, Suite 25, Manly Miles Building, 1405 S. Harrison Road, East Lansing, MI 48823-5245; 640 pages, 180 black-and-white photos; hardcover, 8.5 x 11 in.; $49.95. Michigan’s railroad history is well served by “Railroads for Michigan,” a sprawling new survey by historian Graydon M. Meints. From […]
Video: Blackstone Models HOn3 2-8-0 Consolidation
The Blackstone Models HOn3 (HO scale 3-foot gauge) 2-8-0 Consolidation features a SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder. We ran the superdetailed steam locomotive on Blackstone’s new ProTraxx HOn3 click track. […]
O gauge RailKing SW1 switcher by MTH
The holidays are past, the tree is down, and the radio station is done with Christmas music for another 11 months. Yet you haven’t quite stored the train set you bought for (a) the kids, (b) the grandkids, or (c) yourself. Maybe it will be a good idea to set up a little railroad. Maybe […]
Throttlepack AC100 transformer by MRC
Throughout the year people call our magazine to ask which transformer they should use for a new (usually small or first-time) layout. I’ve been asked if an MTH Z-4000 or a Lionel ZW was needed for a 4 x 8-foot layout. The answer: Unless you know for a fact that in the near future your […]
O gauge RailKing SW1 switcher by MTH
This compact diesel locomotive has an eye-catching paint scheme and plenty of technology under the hood. […]
Blackstone Models HOn3 2-8-0 steam locomotive
Blackstone Models HOn3 2-8-0 steam locomotive There’s a new HOn3 Consolidation out, and she’s a beaut. Blackstone Models’ narrow gauge Denver & Rio Grande Western/Rio Grande Southern class C-19 Consolidation has die-cast metal construction, a plastic tender, plenty of wire and cast-metal details, and a SoundTraxx Digital Command Control sound decoder. The prototype. The locomotive […]
Athearn Genesis GP50 diesel locomotive
Athearn Genesis GP50 diesel locomotives Not to be confused with the earlier Ready-to-Roll model, this Genesis-series GP50 from Athearn features all-new tooling for both Phase I and Phase II versions and many prototype-specific details. Our test samples came equipped with feature-laden SoundTraxx Digital Command Control decoders. A DC version with a DCC socket that accepts […]
Blackstone Models ProTraxx HOn3 snap-together track
Blackstone Models ProTraxx HOn3 snap-together track Price: $18.25 (4-pack), $89.95 (20-piece set) Manufacturer Blackstone Models 210 Rock Point Dr. Durango, CO 81301 www.blackstonemodels.com Comments: Blackstone Models is making narrow gauge modeling, once the province of hand-laid track, easier with its line of snap-together HOn3 ProTraxx. The code 70 track features attached plastic roadbed molded to […]