This is my third extreme weathered project, this time a heavyweight passenger car. This HO scale passenger car is a wooden kit made by Labelle. Some of the upper detail components were separately purchased brass parts, lower details are plastic. The doors I custom made using my home made CNC Mill-Laser. Wood is not very […]
After almost two years of building, here’s a brief photo update of “White Road Forest,” my small shelf layout. Having no place at home, I built the layout in the back of the warehouse where I work using some second-hand components (for lower cost). I made “the private spot” using a couple of shelves as […]
Name: Michael Marmer Railroad Name: American Flyer Railroad Location: Germantown, Maryland Scale: S Theme: Christmas Train Under Tree Description: The awaited 2017 American Flyer Christmas Train has arrived. It’s back under the 35 year old artificial Mountain King tree. It passes by Christmas Tree Village number two, as there seems to be no sign of […]
HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP40P-2 diesel locomotive. Southern Pacific (no. 3197 in American Revolution Bicentennial and scarlet and gray schemes; nos. 7600 through 7602 in factory weathered scarlet and gray) and Union Pacific (two road numbers). Light-emitting-diode headlights, vinyl m.u. hoses, and wire grab irons. Direct-current model, $189.98; with dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder, […]
Name: Michael Marmer Railroad Name: D&K Railroad Location: Germantown, Maryland Scale: S Theme: American Flyer Hudson Converted to DCC Description: This is a American Flyer Hudson converted to DCC using a Soundtraxx Tsunmai 1000 Decoder. At first I go through all the functions that the engine will do, bell, horn, light, dim, air sound, no […]
Menards O gauge illuminated vehiclesO Price: Autos 24.99, trucks, $29.99, No. 279-4062 4.5-volt three-outlet adapter $9.99, No. 79-4035 Plug and Play adapter kit $9.99 Features: Die-cast metal and plastic construction, front and rear lights, each vehicle has a male barrel plug connector pre-wired to the frame. I believe the first illuminated vehicles I saw were […]
MTH O gauge Union Pacific 4-6-2 Price: $499.95 (no. 20648-1) Min Curve: O-31 Cmd Low: 6.1 smph Cnv Low: 7.7 smph High: 64.1 smph Drawbar pull: 2.1 lb. Features: Two can-style motors, ProtoSound 3.0 command and sound system, smoke unit, coil coupler on tender Current-production road names: Baltimore & Ohio, Lehigh Valley, Norfolk & Western, […]
An NS 21st Century Steam excursion adds to the mileage totals for riders at Williamstown, Ky., in May 2014. Two photos, Robert S. McGonigal Railroads are all about places – where the rails go to transport freight and passengers. In the 1920s, the “Index of Railroad Stations” at the back of each edition of The […]
A Canadian National train heads north through Wisconsin over a bridge in 2015. Regardless of the location or railroad, bridges pose problems for track. Steve Sweeney Track can sag, bounce, and shift a bit, within reason. It flexes under the weight of heavy freight trains, but bridge ends don’t. And that’s a problem. When most […]
Horns are typically placed near the middle of the locomotive to minimize noise to the crew. New Canadian National ET44AC No. 3062 shows off its Nathan K5HLR2. Chris Guss A horn is one of the many safety appliances installed on a locomotive and is used to warn both the general public and railroad employees while […]
Auxiliary power units can be installed in a variety of locations, but are typically installed in the rear of the long hood, like this one on a Montana Rail Link locomotive. Tom Danneman Idling locomotives have been a regular part of the railroad industry since the switch from steam to diesel in the 1950s. Locomotives […]
Northshore Mining SD40 No. 651 leads a quartet of locomotives and iron ore near Toimi, Minn., in December 2010. Cold temperatures that make metal contract and ice expand are just the start of problems in winter railroading. Max Medlin “People and metal do not like cold weather,” says Mike Smith, vice president of network operations […]
