IN MY MIND, the pinnacle of diesel locomotion is the General Motors SD40-2. Back when I would trudge through snowbanks in Wyoming and North Dakota to snap pictures of trains, it was the SD40-2 that got my heart pounding, rather than endless streams of GP-whatevers. The SD40-2 is big and burly. The long fore and […]
ANYONE WHO HAS mixed toy trains and toy soldiers will appreciate Thor from Marx Trains. Thor is a nifty little sheet-metal throwback to prewar-style military trains that enabled countless kids to develop junior league tactical skills that proved we were wiser than the Kaiser. Marx built Thor in the tin lithograped style. The printed sheet-metal […]
A COMMON, IF UNGLAMOROUS feature of prototype railroading is killing weeds, the eternal foe of good track and roadbed. I’ve seen this task handled by everything from crews walking alongside a hi-rail vehicle with spray tanks on their backs to railcars equipped with what looked like small flamethrowers. MTH’s Premier Line is first to offer […]
WOW! MTH has raised the bar yet again for the level of detail on a die-cast metal steam locomotive. The MTH Y3 locomotive commemorates a notable U.S. Railway Administration standardized design from the World War I years made famous by the Norfolk & Western. In the article “The USRA 2-8-8-2” in the January 1985 issue […]
SOMEWHERE IN THE ANNALS of toy train history, a tiny celebrity steam engine got lost in the crowd. When it was found, it somehow got lost again. In 1999, MTH began producing an O gauge die-cast model based on the Baltimore & Ohio’s C-16 “Docksider” steam switcher. The biggest surprise was that this is a […]
THANKS TO MTH, hobbyists around the country are coming up with clever ways to integrate subways and elevated transit lines into their layouts. The latest entry in the subway sweepstakes is a set of O gauge R-36 cars. The first of 424 of the eye-catching blue-and-white R-36 cars began arriving in New York City in […]
Kevin Strong 1:24-scale water towerKamloops Junction Wood Products850 Ida LaneKamloops, British Columbia V2B 6V1 CanadaPrice: $119.99 Can.Note: Manufacturer is no longer in business Craftsman-level kit; pre-cut cedar stripwood; Sonotube section for the tank substructure; corrugated plastic sub-roof material; sandpaper roofing material; resin castings for the water spout, counterweights, and nut-bolt-washers; steel wire for the tank […]
Vance Bass 1:20.3 scale, Howe pony truss bridgeLone Star Bridge & AbutmentPO Box 122041Arlington TX 76012Price: Bridge, $395; abutments cost $95/pair. Prices include shipping in mainland US.Web site: www.lonestarbridge.com Howe pony truss bridge; made of mahogany with brass hardware and castings; based on the D&RGW bridge over Hermosa Creek, near Durango, Colorado; timber abutments optional. […]
SURE, EMD’S POPULAR GP7 and GP9 diesels sealed the fate of steam power. But often overlooked is Alco’s contribution in the battle against steam, the RS-1 road switcher. Atlas O has built a scale-sized model of Alco’s first real road switcher, the RS-1. Noted New Haven railroad historian J.W. Swanberg once wrote that the RS-1 […]
SEVERAL YEARS BACK, Lionel’s then czar of engineering, Bob Grubba, tantalized Lionel Collector’s Club of America conventioneers in Minneapolis with the hint of a new track system. When hobbyists asked him if it would be a solid rail system like that of Atlas O, he smiled and said, “Think more along the line of Super […]
IN 1996, THE FIRST MTH RailKing articulated locomotive – the no. 30-1107 Union Pacific Challenger 4-6-6-4 – rolled onto tinplate track and created quite a stir. Regardless of its reduced dimensions, no manufacturer had ever offered an articulated, die-cast metal steamer for the small layout, tight-radius crowd. Its success heralded 1997’s Allegheny 2-6-6-6, 1998’s Big […]
Marc Horovitz Miniature, flashing, crossing signalNorthwest Railroad Foundry and Supply6281 Oak Bay RoadPort Ludlow WA 98365Price: four-light unit (reviewed), $375; two-light unit, $239; wall-hung unit, $229; all prices + s&hWeb site: www.nwrfs.com Miniature flashing-light crossing signal kit (partially assembled); suitable for display or miniature railroad; metal, wood, and plastic components; lighting and wiring included; transformer […]
