Lionel’s 2020 Vol. 1 catalog celebrated the firm’s 120th anniversary, and what a catalog it was. For me, the most distinctive offering wasn’t a single locomotive, but a single style of locomotive: The Southern Pacific’s venerable GS (General Service or Golden State) line of 4-8-4 Northern steam engines. I don’t believe any manufacturer (in any […]
The Lionel LionChief Plus 2.0 0-6-0T steam locomotive is an attractive O gauge model with lots of nice features and a moderate price. The engine was originally listed in the 2019 Vol. 2 catalog and again in the 2020 Big Book. Due to shipping delays, it’s just becoming available. It comes lettered for Atchison, Topeka […]
Bachmann’s latest N scale locomotive is a classic. New York Central’s J-3a Super Hudson, designed to lead the railroad’s top streamlined passenger trains, incorporated all the best steam technology available to the Central’s designers. The result was an iconic locomotive that would epitomize the idea of steam power for generations to come. Bachmann’s N scale […]
Model Rail Offers at www.modelrailoffers.co.uk for £149.00 plus shipping (approximately $200 as of this writing). Pluses Hefty die-cast construction, smooth operation, and great detail Minuses DC-operation only. Circuit board issue requires replacement (available from Model Rail Offers) for use with DCC Verdict Solid running model of a British Railways steam-era light-duty locomotive Overview You couldn’t […]
Fire up the turbine, it’s time to melt some bridges on your N scale layout with ScaleTrains.com’s Rivet Counter line Union Pacific (UP) Standard Gas Turbine locomotive. These models come with an optional ESU LokSound 5 mini Digital Command Control (DCC) dual-mode sound decoder. Prototype history You can’t really melt any bridges with this model, […]
The Canadian is out and it’s roaming the Canadian Canyons layout in the Model Railroader workshop! See Rapido Trains’ all new streamliner is here and Cody Grivno and Eric White take a look at the 10-car set and the add-on sets. […]
As a fan of the immediate post-merger Burlington Northern, I was excited by a recent email from Tangent Scale Models in which the company announced its release of a 40-foot Pullman- Standard combination-door boxcar in HO scale. The company offers the model decorated for Northern Pacific (NP), Milwaukee Road, and Union Pacific in 12 road […]
Well, it’s an exciting day in the workshop. We’ve got a brand new HO scale kit from Accurail. It’s the American Car & Foundry 2,970-cubic-foot capacity two-bay Center Flow covered hopper. Let’s take a closer look at the model. This is an easy-to-build injection-molded plastic kit. It features a mix of molded and modeler-installed parts. […]
Facts & figures Price: $39.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53218 walthers.com Era: 1940s-present Features Art Deco styling Footprint: 6.875” x 7.875” Full-color decal signs Injection-molded plastic in three colors plus clear Where do all those ’57 Fords on your layout come from? If you model in HO […]
In 2019, CSX Transportation unveiled its Pride in Service locomotives, three General Electric (GE) ES44ACs painted to commemorate the service of military, first responder, and police personnel. Now, HO scale modelers can add these colorful locomotives with available dual-mode sound decoders to their fleets, thanks to ScaleTrains.com. The prototype. General Electric introduced the ES44 line […]
An HO scale Electro-Motive Division SD80MAC diesel locomotive is the newest addition to the Athearn Genesis 2.0 series. The model features prototype-specific details, light-emitting-diode (LED) lighting, illuminated number boxes and ground lights, and see-through etched-metal pilot steps. A short-run diesel. The mid-1990s saw longtime locomotive manufacturing rivals Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and General Electric in another […]
A lightweight Pullman-Standard coach that saw service on the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Union Pacific, and others is available in N scale for the first time thanks to RailSmith Models. Built to PS plan 7510 starting in June 1946, these 56-seat day coaches replaced heavyweight coaches on name trains after World War II. A streamlined […]
