Blackstone Models HOn3 UTLX tank car Price: $54.95 (unweathered), $59.95 (weathered) ManufacturerBlackstone Models210 Rock Point Dr.Durango, CO 81301www.blackstonemodels.com Era: late 1930s to early 1960s Comments: A frameless tank car that hauled oil from Chama and Farmington, N.M., to the refineries at Alamosa, Colo. is the latest HOn3 ready-to-run freight car from Blackstone Models. The Union […]
Many years ago I read an article about railroad roundhouses in North Dakota. The article made the point that they were located about every 100 miles because steam locomotives continually shook themselves apart and needed to have maintenance before they could be reused. Well, that made sense of a sort. And since even smaller engine […]
How do you put down ballast on your O gauge railroad? Depending on the scope of the project, I may use either a plastic cup – or a cut-open one-gallon water jug filled with ballast. I pour it down on the track and then use a paintbrush for general shaping and tamping, and maybe an […]
Not long ago, businesses that received or generated moderate levels of rail traffic called the local railroad for switching duties. Others had their own switcher. Other firms with less, though steady traffic had another recourse for motive power: the Trackmobile.First developed in the late 1940s, the Trackmobile was a dream come true for firms with […]
You know I’m not sure if I ever saw a General Electric U25B diesel locomotive operating in revenue service. Oh, back in the day, I have a hazy memory of perhaps seeing one in a backshop deadline, although that may have been another four-axle GE model. But during my prime railfanning period (1978-85), I believe […]
Ballast King’s O gauge ballast spreading car is an interesting and really fun way to ballast your railroad’s right-of-way. […]
Odyssey in O gauge […]
Ballast King’s O gauge ballast spreading car is an interesting and really fun way to ballast your railroad’s right-of-way. […]
Atlas HO scale turntable This product is a good, inexpensive direct-current powered turntable for the modelers who don’t a lot of money to spend. It features a handwheel to control by hand. The roundhouse slots have As and Bs to show how to install track. The table itself has no pit, but looks fine and […]
Norfolk & Western J-Class 4-8-4 No. 611 rolls north on the Southern Railway main line, Aug. 22, 1982 during the engine’s three-day move from its restoration in Birmingham, Ala., to its birthplace in Roanoke, Va. The engine has an eight car train high above the James River. William D. Middleton photo […]
N&W’s eastbound Pocahontas descends Christiansburg Hill toward Roanoke on April 21, 1971 – ten days before Amtrak. J. David Ingles The air was chilly and damp as I stood beneath the eaves of the weather-beaten depot in Lynchburg, Va. I was waiting for the train that would take me back to Cincinnati one last time. […]
This HO scale Alco HH-660 from Atlas Model Railroad Co. includes a QSI Quantum Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoder. Listen to this HO diesel locomotive as it switches freight cars on this model train layout. […]
