Route 66 – the two-lane highway that winds its way from Chicago to Los Angeles – has been immortalized in popular music, literature, and television. Who doesn’t remember the Joads making their way west on the Mother Road of the U.S. in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath or Tod and Buz tooling along in […]
Bachrus speedometer If you want to run your locomotives together in a consist, you need to be sure they will go the same speed at the same Digital Command Control speed step. The new Model Train Speedometer from Bachrus Inc. can help you do this. Speed matching involves programming your locomotives so they can run […]
Kato N scale N scale El Capitan From their sleek, silver, fluted sides to their detailed interiors, this N scale El Capitan is an accurate model of one of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry.’s most famous long-distance trains. The ready-to-run Kato passenger cars make it easy to operate a full Hi-Level El Capitan […]
Athearn HO scale FP7 diesel locomotive Whether hauling a passenger train at speed or rumbling along with a local freight, this new HO scale FP7 sounds as good as it looks. Part of Athearn’s high-end Genesis line, the FP7 features many roadname-specific details. The model is available with a SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Command Control (DCC) […]
Walthers HO scale Pullman 4-4-2 sleeper car The Union Pacific’s classic City trains are the next series of HO scale passenger cars coming from Walthers, and the first car to arrive is this Pullman-Standard 4-4-2 luxury all-room sleeper. Unlike earlier releases of this car, this ready-to-run model features factory-installed handrails. Built in 1942, this lightweight […]
See these two articles on Doug Tagsold’s Denver, Front Range & Western. Doug Tagsold’s Denver, Front Range & Western Railfanning in Colorado […]
Smoking like Alcos do, a pair of Western New York & Pennsylvania diesels storm eastbound past Almond, N.Y., on Sept. 20, 2009. WNY&P is an Alco-only short line operating over a portion of the Erie empire. Photo by Richard S. Perry […]
While I have been a part of the toy train hobby, I have attended many train shows and met other train lovers. And I’ve come to realize that there are hundreds of us that don’t know enough about the value and rarity of different O and S gauge trains. We may not even be aware […]
John Helmstetter receives a ceremonial check for $40,001 on Nov. 9, 2009. From left to right: Frank Fowler of Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, John Helmstetter, trip promoter Carl Franz, trip promoter Bill Larduskey, and Steve Barry of Railfan & Railroad. Jim Larduskey John Helmstetter’s cattle watch their new home taking shape, as more than 120 […]
Unpainted Atlas HO scale RSD-12 diesel locomotive Blane Pebesma The Atlas RSD-12 has some detail; molded-on grab irons, separately applied brake wheel, clear window glazing, places for M.U. hoses, and it sells for about $70.00. Although this model is a discontinued product, it has a Kato motor, twelve-wheel electrical pick-up, twelve-wheel drive, non-directional headlights, and […]
The stack-top addition to John J. Craig Co. Shay No. 2147 may have caused more sparks than it arrested. T. G. King photo, C. K. Marsh Jr. collection Hard by the campus of the 1950’s-era University of Tennessee lay the modest Knoxville terminal of the storied Smoky Mountain Railroad. Several postwar railfan students, including me, […]
Good lighting helps Flemming Örneholm hide the compact covered corner in his background. Coved corners help to reinforce the feeling of great distance that’s produced by a good backdrop. Large layouts with plenty of real estate often use wide, gently curved panels to make these inside corners disappear. But modelers with small layouts can’t afford […]
