The FreightCar America (FCA) 52-foot, 100-ton bulkhead flatcar with side stakes is the third HO scale freight car released by Otter Valley Railroad, a hobby shop located in Tillsonburg, Ont. Features on the newly tooled model include an injection-molded plastic body, die-cast metal underbody, and trucks with rotating bearing caps. The prototype We received two […]
A sample of the Rapido Trains HO scale RS18u diesel locomotive recently arrived at our offices. Join Model Railroader Senior Editor as he takes a closer look at CP Rail No. 1826. He’ll point out features on the model, demonstrate some of the sound and light functions, and use the locomotive to power a short […]
Lionel brass hybrid Strasburg 90 2-10-0 The history of Strasburg RR No. 90 starts with the Great Western RR, which purchased the standard light 2-10-0 Decapod from Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1924. After 40 years of traveling through the mountains of Colorado, the steam engine was sold to the Strasburg RR in 1967 for $23,000, […]
Tangent Scale Models, known for its line of highly detailed N and HO scale injection-molded plastic freight cars, is now offering a General American Transportation Corp. (GATC) 1928-design 6,000-gallon, three-compartment tank car in brass. The tank cars, available in two-rail O scale (5’-0” gauge wheels) and Proto:48 (4’-8” gauge wheels), were produced by Sam Model […]
The Atlas N scale EMD SD9 is back, this time with a factory-installed speaker in Silver Series models and a LokSound V5 sound decoder in Gold Series models. Join Model Railroader senior editor Cody Grivno as he takes a closer look at the sound-equipped Burlington Northern sample we received. Check out the sound and light […]
This is the one I’ve been waiting for: The Lionel VisionLine Big Boy. Anyone in model railroading knows that the Big Boy is an incredibly popular model. Only 25 of these 4-8-8-4 steam locomotives were built by The American Locomotive Company (Alco) with a primary purpose for high-speed freight and climbing grades over the Wasatch […]
The NCE PowerCab Digital Command Control (DCC) system is popular for its ease of use, menu-driven prompts, and reliable programming capabilities. However, it does have a few limitations: It only has about 1.8 amps output; it doesn’t have separate programming and main track power connections; and the PowerCab throttle must remain plugged in at all […]
Grand Trunk Western is among the paint schemes offered in the latest run of WalthersProto HO scale EMD GP9 diesel locomotives from Wm. K. Walthers Inc. Senior editor Cody Grivno takes a look at the sound and light features on the four-axle diesel and uses the road locomotive to work the interchange yard at Jones […]
Rapido HO scale Northeastern caboose review: After locomotives, the next most distinctive thing on a railroad was its cabooses, and the new Rapido HO scale Northeastern caboose is one of the best models of this classic and widely used rolling office. Prototype history The Reading Co. started building steel eight-wheel cabooses in 1924 following, mostly, a […]
Menards has started offering starter sets, and their Track Inspection Set is one of the newcomers to that area. But instead of a locomotive and pieces of rolling stock in the box, you’ll find something a little different. This set includes a track maintenance truck and a track inspection vehicle, and no locomotives. Both vehicles […]
The Pullman-Standard (PS) 40-foot PS-1 boxcar, a staple on prototype railroads from the late 1940s through the 1980s, is now available as an easy-to-build HO scale kit from ScaleTrains. The injection-molded plastic model, which uses former MTH Electric Trains tooling, features a one-piece body, various modeler-installed parts, and a freestanding brake system. Prototype history Pullman-Standard […]
Samples of the newly tooled Rapido Trains HO General Electric U25B diesel locomotive recently arrived at the Model Railroader offices. Join senior editor Cody Grivno as he points out features on the road units, demonstrates some of the sound and light functions, and operates a short freight train. We received samples decorated for Atchison, Topeka […]
