ONE OF THE MOST distinctive experimental locomotives of the 1930s was the Pennsylvania Railroad’s S1-class Duplex-drive 6-4-4-6 locomotive. Originally developed as a replacement for the railroad’s venerable K4s 4-6-2 Pacific locomotives, the big S1, of which only one was built, was designed to be a high-speed passenger engine, capable of hauling a 1,200-ton train at […]
PLANES, TRAINS, AND automobiles. Back in the 1950s, the birth of the Interstate Highway system launched the era of long-distance motoring while at the same time air travel became more affordable and more common for ordinary people. Planes and automobiles were on the upswing, but passenger trains were not. Most railroads still weren’t ready to […]
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, a manufacturer has a brilliant idea for a product that should have been obvious – but wasn’t – to everyone in the toy train hobby. The latest to accomplish this feat is Pride Lines. It did so by thinking small! Specifically, Pride Lines realized that a classic Lionel Standard gauge […]
YOU’VE BOUGHT A NEW O gauge steam locomotive and are checking off its features: Sound system? Yes.Command control? Yes.Coil coupler? Yes.Cruise control? No.Fan-driven synchronized puffing smoke? No. Train America Studios can turn no into yes with its Engineer-On-Board cruise control and its Turbo Smoke smoke generator. We had both installed in a K-Line scale Hudson […]
Kevin Strong 4′ steel through-truss bridge100 Year Bridge CompanySold exclusively through: B&E Junction17 W. Market St.York PA 17401Price: $74.95Web site: www.100yearbridge.com 4′ “galvannealed” steel through truss bridge (#948); tinplate-esque through-truss bridge cut from 20-gauge steel. Dimensions: length, 47½”; width, 9¼” (85/8″ horizontal clearance); height, 9″ (8¼” vertical clearance without track) Pros: Steel construction should hold […]
Kevin Strong Rubber roadbedLGB of America6444 Nancy Ridge DriveSan Diego CA 92121Price: $7.99/sectionWeb site: www.lgb.com 300mm (1′) rubber roadbed (# 61000) to match LGB 1′ sectional straight track (other roadbed sections are available to match all of LGB’s other track sections). Dimensions: Length, 300mm (approx. 1′); width, 138mm (5½”); height, 15mm (5/8″)Pros: Durable; crisp “ballast” […]
Marc Horovitz 1:20.3-scale figuresRailroad Avenue Model WorksBox 550Willits CA 95490Price $12 each + $6 s&h (minimum qty. for direct order: four)Web site: www.railroadavenue.com Cast resin, fully painted figures in 1:20.3 scale; eight currently available, all menPros: Well proportioned; interesting poses; subdued, realistic colors; figures are “weathered” for greater realismCons: Lips a little too red; some […]
Vance Bass Servo bracket unit for Accucraft RubyElectronic Model Systems22605 East La Palma Avenue, Ste. 516Yorba Linda CA 92887Price: $129 + shippingWeb site: www.rc-steamers.com Anodized aluminum bracket; two micro-servos; mounting hardware; mounts in Ruby cabPros: Compact unit makes easy work of installing R/C servos in a Ruby live-steam locomotive; elegant, sturdy, and attractive packageCons: None […]
Tower 55 HO GE ES44AC This superbly detailed model of a General Electric ES44AC heavyduty road diesel is the initial offering in a new line of HO plastic locomotives from Tower 55. Tower 55 is a subsidiary of Overland Models, a manufacturer of brass locomotives and rolling stock. The Explorer-series locomotive reviewed here includes an […]
Atlas HO scale EMD MP15 Here’s a great looking, smooth-running model of Electro-Motive Division’s versatile MP15 heavy-duty yard switcher. At first glance it may look like any other EMD switcher, but this one is a hauler capable of moving up to 42 free-rolling cars on straight, level track. Atlas offers the MP15 in a Silver-series […]
Con-Cor N scale Zephyr An excellent replica of a famous early streamlined passenger train – the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s Zephyr is now available in N scale. The drawbar-coupled, articulated three-car model combines fine detail, clever construction, and jaw-dropping performance – our sample crept at just 1 mph! The train. A joint project by the […]
THE Q1 DUPLEX 4-6-4-4 is a footnote to the Pennsylvania Railroad’s efforts to improve the performance of its M1-class locomotives. The railroad’s question: “Could a duplex-drive locomotive perform better than the railroad’s M1-class locomotive?” The answer was “yes, but…” The Q1 was completed in May 1942. Unfortunately, wartime restrictions limited the development of the new […]
