Tabla de contenidos para April 2023 en Model Railroader

Electro-Motive Division MP15DC diesel locomotive. This Atlas Master Line four-axle end-cab unit is available now. New paint schemes (all with ditch lights) on the HO scale MP15DC include First Union Rail (red and black and red and gray schemes), Larry’s Truck & Electric (silver, blue, white, and red), and The Prairie Lines (green and tan). New road numbers (without ditch lights unless noted) are available on models decorated for Missouri Pacific (blue), Norfolk Southern (black and white, with ditch lights), Reading Co. (dark green and yellow), Southern Ry. (black, imitation aluminum, and gold), and Southern Pacific (scarlet and gray). One to three numbers per scheme; also available undecorated in three body styles. The locomotive features three different hood styles and factory-installed wire grab irons. Direct-control models are priced at $179.95.…

Q I have made several stacks of scale 4 x 8 plywood for use as scenery on my HO scale layout. I place them as boxcar loads, but was wondering how lumber is shipped on the railroads? Was plywood in fact shipped in boxcars, or were other types of railcars used? David Bellamy, Caledon, Ont. A You don’t say what time period you model, but how lumber is shipped depends heavily on your layout’s era. As Jeff Wilson writes in his new book, Commodities by Freight Car (coming in early 2023 – keep an eye on the Kalmbach Hobby Store), railroads have tried lots of different ways to ship plywood and other wood products over the years. Wood and water don’t tend to get along well, so it’s always been…

Welcome to the final installment of the Bishop Street Branch project layout series. This month, we’ll cover two topics popular with modelers, structures and details. As a custom builder, I know these areas involve careful thought and planning at the pricing and cost proposal stage. The bulk of the cost of having a layout custom built is tied to time (which drives labor and overhead costs), not materials, as you might think. Since the amount of time a project takes to build drives the cost, staying on schedule is important from a business standpoint. The methods for keeping things moving, while maintaining quality, may give an idea or two to the average modeler. At the pricing stage, I create a spreadsheet showing the number and type of structures on the…

Unless a friend programs your locomotives, all modelers will need a programming track. A programming track is often needed to set a locomotive’s address and configure sounds. I still see questions about programming tracks, so it’s time to revisit this topic. Generally, programming isn’t difficult. To make it even easier, many modelers use JMRI’s Decoder Pro. If you can’t program everything on your locomotive while on the main, you will still need a programming track. A switch is also needed to keep from inadvertently reprogramming your entire layout. One form of programming is operations mode (also known as “programming on the main”) and doesn’t require a separate programming track. To use this method, your decoder needs to support it and you need to know the address of the locomotive that you’re…

Facts & features Price: Single car, $59.95; six-pack, $359.70 Manufacturer Rapido Trains 500 Alden Rd., Unit 21 Markham, ON L3R 5H5 Canada rapidotrains.com Era: July 2006 to present (as decorated) Road names: BNSF Ry., Carolina Power & Light (PGNX reporting marks), CIT Group (CEFX marks), Indiana Rail Road (“2,000,000th carload” slogan, one number), GATX Corp. (GGPX marks), Union Pacific (CMO marks), and Western Resources Inc. (KPLX marks). Multiple numbers per scheme unless noted. Features • 36" metal wheels • Body-mounted metal couplers • Weight: 5.3 ounces with load (1 ounce too heavy per National Model Railroad Association Recommended Practice 20.1) A FreightCar America AutoFlood III coal hopper has joined the ever-growing lineup of HO scale freight cars from Rapido Trains. The modern era car features a die-cast metal frame and floor,…

The Rail Center acrylic hobby paints line has joined the model railroad marketplace. Ammo by Mig Jimenez, a Spanish paint manufacturer, recently unveiled its new line of railroad colors. The paints are sold in 17ml plastic bottles with a flip-top lid and metal stirring ball. The colors can be applied straight from the bottle with a brush or, when thinned with Rail Center Acrylic Thinner, using an airbrush. The matte paint dries to the touch in one hour and cures fully in 24 hours (times may vary based on temperature and humidity). Once dry, the paint can be overcoated with acrylics, lacquers, enamels, or assorted weathering products. Modeling masking tapes and decal setting solutions can also be used on the paint once it has dried. The product range currently features…

Sometimes necessity leads to invention. I was working on a well car for my HO scale model railroad and wanted to add a flashing rear end device, or FRED, to one end. There was no place to conceal the flasher circuit in the well, so I thought about different ways to hide it. Then I hit on the idea of building a hollow pair of intermodal containers using paper, cardstock, and cardboard. The materials for this project are inexpensive and you may have most, if not all of them, already on hand. In addition to printer paper, cardstock, and cardboard, you’ll need a computer, printer or copier, and some common cutting tools. For this article, I’ll share how I modeled a pair of 48-foot smooth-side containers using the accompanying drawings. This…

Like many of his fellow model railroaders, Tony Donatelli’s initial exposure to model trains was a Lionel train set given to him by his parents while he was a young boy. His first attempt at HO modeling was a 4 x 8 folded dogbone layout he built in his Kentucky apartment and stored under his bed. This first effort allowed him to experiment with scenery techniques while honing his structure-building skills. His second attempt, also HO, was a switching layout with a brief lifespan due to a relocation to Rhode Island after his military career. Tony’s interest in mountain railroading began while he was attending Norwich University in Northfield, Vt. The Central Vermont tracks ran through the college campus, and the CV was still running steam at that time. Watching…

Facts & features Price: Silver series (DC), $149.95; Gold (DCC sound), $259.95. Undecorated models are $10 less. Manufacturer Atlas Model Railroad Co. 378 Florence Ave. Hillside, NJ 07205 shop.atlasrr.com Era: 1974-present (CN version, 1976-1999 as decorated) Road names: Canadian National (“zebra stripe” paint scheme, four road numbers; “URL” scheme, three numbers), Guilford (gray and orange), Huron Central (orange, black, and yellow, two numbers), Pan Am (blue and white). Three numbers per scheme unless noted; also available undecorated (two body versions). Features • ESU LokSound Digital Command Control sound decoder (Gold series version) • Etched metal cab sunshades (user installed) • “Scale Speed” motor • Speaker installed on DC version • Two prototypically specific body styles • Weight: 2.5 ounces • Wire nose grabs • Working ditch lights, as appropriate A…

Facts & features Price: $49.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53218 walthers.com Era: 1989 to present Road names: Amtrak (phase 3, 4, and 6 paint schemes). Also available painted silver but unlettered. Features • Available as coaches or food service cars• 36" metal wheels, in gauge • Proto-Max metal couplers, mounted at correct height with close-coupling drawbars installed • Improved underbody with center sill crossmember details • Interior seats and factory-installed diaphragms • Starter points for grab irons and mounting points for lighting kit, both sold separately • Weight: 7 ounces (.25 ounces over NMRA RP-20.1 recommended weight) A new run of Amtrak Horizon fleet coaches has been released by Wm. K. Walthers in its WalthersMainline series. The HO scale models feature a revised body,…

My son Freddy and I freelanced a Pennsylvania RR-Reading Co. interchange. Dave Frary’s books inspired structures and scenery, with Model Railroader articles building our knowledge as we went. Freddy soon had me bewildered with the arcana of DCC, but I still hold my own in the paint shop. Today’s weathering products elevate realism beyond my imagination at his age. Yet techniques and materials that are centuries old still serve. Gouache (rhymes with wash) is a venerable and versatile coloring aid. Museum guide-books use the term gouache, but we all knew it as our kindergarten watercolors. Craft stores carry amateur gouache sets that cost little and last long. Our Staedtler Aquarelle set was a disused birthday present that inspired curiosity. Unlike some modeling experiments, it turned out exceptionally well – and…

Facts & features Price: $29.95 Manufacturer Bowser Manufacturing Co. Inc. 1302 Jordan Ave. Montoursville, PA 17754 bowser-trains.com Era: early 1980s to present (as decorated) Road names: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (two paint schemes); Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern; Conrail (two schemes); Denver & Rio Grande Western; Erie Lackawanna; Louisville & Nashville; Maine Central; Morrison Knudsen; Ontario Northland; Penn Central; Reading & Northern; and Seaboard Coast Line. Three to four road numbers per scheme. Features • 33" metal wheelsets• Body-mounted plastic couplers • Weight: 2.9 ounces (.4 ounce too light per National Model Railroad Association Recommended Practice 20.1) A second run of HO scale 70-ton two-bay ballast hoppers is now available from Bowser Manufacturing Co. Inc. The model is based on the company’s American Car & Foundry (ACF) two-bay covered hopper…

It’s an overcast morning in Kingfield, Maine, and the enginehouse crew is up bright and early to make sure that Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Forney No. 6 is ready to roll for a day’s work. The scene takes place on Lou Sassi’s On30 scale SR&RL layout, which was featured in Great Model Railroads 2020 (and numerous how-to articles in MR). Lou shot the photo. His wife, Cheryl, scratchbuilt the layout’s many trees. Send us your photos Trackside Photos is a showcase for the work of Model Railroader readers. Send your photos (digital images 5 megapixels or larger) to: Model Railroader, Trackside Photos, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612; or upload them to fileupload.kalmbach.com/contribute. For our photo submission guidelines, contact senior associate editor Steven Otte at sotte@kalmbach.com.…

“It’s great to see you again! How’s the Someday Central coming along? Is it running yet?” “Well, I have been giving it a lot of thought lately. I see that a model manufacturer has announced that they are thinking of producing second-generation Geeps lettered for the SC. That’s exciting news.” “I thought you had quite a few locomotives already.” “Well, yes, I do. None of them have been painted and lettered yet. I need to get a paint spray booth and an air brush.” “You could test run your railroad as each section comes on line using any old locomotive, right?” “Well, right. But I’m really looking forward to the day when I can run 30-car trains behind a consist of GP30s, all painted and lettered for the Someday Central…