John Pestana takes over from retiring Chris Clune at Exactrail

Model railroad manufacturer Exactrail has announced a change at the top. Software entrepreneur John Pestana is taking charge of the company’s day-to-day operations as Exactrail’s president and chief executive officer. Previous company head Chris Clune is retiring and “will continue to be a continued source of inspiration and direction for Exactrail’s precision product development team,” […]

Read More…

Lionel O gauge Vision Line GE Hybrid diesel

CTT-PR0211_090810B

EcoBoy, Sr. O gauge vision line GE Hybrid ES44AC by Lionel In the February 2011 issue, we reviewed Lionel’s O gauge GenSet locomotive – a fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly switcher that used multiple smaller diesel engines that kicked in as warranted. For switching or light roadwork, this is a clever and innovative approach to saving […]

Read More…

Atlas Model Railroad Co. NRE Genset diesel switcher

MRR-PR0311_01

Its basic lines may look like just another switcher, but this new Atlas HO scale model is of a 21st century locomotive with a unique, environmentally friendly design. The National Railway Equipment 3GS21B Genset switcher is in service on today’s railroads. The direct-current Atlas Genset has an eight-pin plug for a Digital Command Control (DCC) […]

Read More…

Bowser HO scale Baldwin VO1000 diesel locomotive

MRR-PR0311_04

Bowser HO scale Baldwin VO1000 diesel locomotive An upgraded HO replica of Baldwin’s VO1000, one of the manufacturer’s first diesel switchers, is available from Bowser. The model is based on Stewart Models tooling, and you’ll find a review of that model in the April 2001 Model Railroader. The HO scale version is available as a […]

Read More…

Bachmann HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP40 diesel locomotive

Bachmann HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP40 diesel locomotive

I purchased the DCC-equipped version of Bachmann’s HO scale EMD GP40 diesel locomotive as a replacement for the DC models that came with each of my Bachmann McKinley Explorer starter sets when the GP40 from the older set began to lurch along the track while running under DC power. Bachmann offers this model in several […]

Read More…

Märklin Trains exits bankruptcy

German model railroad manufacturer Märklin is putting insolvency behind it and moving forward with a restructuring plan approved by creditors in December. Under the plan, Märklin will pay 33 million euros ($43.6 million) to creditors immediately. According to German newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt, the secured creditors — banks including Kreissparkasse Göppingen, BW-Bank and Goldman Sachs — […]

Read More…

Rebuilding RDCs for a new generation

Web_1

Sign over car shop. Employee notifications are posted in English and French. Bob Johnston This unusual RDC4 originally built for Canadian Pacific will be refurbished for VIA’s Sudbury-White River, Ont., train. Bob Johnston A welder works on an RDC. Bob Johnston The new RDC engineer’s cab includes a computer display to monitor train performance. Bob […]

Read More…