Model Railroader August 2022

Expert tips Need to ensure your track stays in gauge? Printed-circuit board (PCB) ties can solve a magnitude of problems on layouts. They’re used around the frog to keep the closure rails, guardrails, and frog all in position. You can use them for swing gates or lift spans, they can hold the point rails together as a switch rod, and much more. Just go to Trains.com, click on the Model Railroader tab, then the How To tab, and scroll over to Expert Tips. Editor Eric White walks you through the process. You can find other expert modeling tips here as well. Midday Modeler Hey friends! Come join us for a sneak peek. Midday Modeler is a new, regular video segment, recorded live and unscripted at Kalmbach Media via Facebook on Wednesdays at 1…

A favorite railroad of many readers graces this month’s cover. In photos and articles over a span of more than 40 years, Eric Brooman has kept us posted on developments on his HO scale Utah Belt. Eric’s commitment to continually updating his free-lanced railroad to replicate present-day trends in motive power and operation sets this layout apart. In addition to new locomotives and rolling stock, Eric adjusts traffic levels, and even changes industries. As Eric writes in his article starting on page 34, “Even though my layout was finished long ago, keeping the era current gives me a regular stream of projects to keep the model railroad fresh.” The Utah Belt will be on the layout tour for the 2022 National Model Railroad Association National Convention in St. Louis August 7-13. Like the Utah Belt,…

The June 2022 issue has a great article on Jason Shron’s Kingston Sub VIA layout. As a Canadian who’s had a lot of experience with the Windsor, Ontario, VIA station, I noted how authentic Jason’s depiction of Kingston Station is – especially its parking lot, as shown on page 39. The parked vehicles are so close to each other that it’s almost impossible to avoid dents in your car as the idiot in the vehicle next to you flings open their door. I wish I were kidding; parking spaces at the Windsor station are miniature and the traffic flow when a train arrives is chaotic! Jim Yaworsky, Windsor, Ontario Thanks for the time travel Thank you so much for letting me go back in your time machine. “What time machine?” you ask. The time…

Walthers has added a modernized 40-foot American Car & Foundry boxcar to its popular HO scale Mainline series. Road names in the first release of boxcars will include Erie Lackawanna, Green Bay & Western, Illinois Central, Lehigh Valley, Penn Central, Pennsylvania RR, Reading Co., and Southern Ry. Each road name will be offered in three road numbers. An undecorated model will also be available. Features on the new injection-molded plastic model will include a 10-panel body, tall ladders on the B (brake wheel) end, short ladders on the A end, 8-foot Youngstown doors, and late Stanray 4/4 improved Dreadnaught ends. Up on top, the boxcar will have a Stanray diagonal-panel roof without running boards or mounts and a molded corner grab iron on the B end. The modernized boxcar will be fitted with…

Rapido Trains is offering exclusive paint schemes on its N and HO scale AutoFlood III rapid-discharge coal hoppers through Heartland Hobby Wholesale. The modern coal hopper will be decorated for Alliant Energy, FirstEnergy Generation Corp., Mitsui Rail Corp., and Xcel Energy. The cars will be offered in six to 12 road numbers per paint scheme. Features on the N and HO scale coal hoppers include die-cast metal frame and floor; interior rivet and K-member details; Barber S-2 100-ton trucks with metal wheels; separate, factory-applied crossover platforms and uncoupling levers; and a removable coal load. Single cars will be priced at $40.62 (N scale) and $62.45 (HO scale). Six-packs will sell for $243.70 (N) and $374.70 (HO). For more information, visit rapidotrains.com or hhwonline.com.…

N scale Pennsylvania RR P5a electric locomotive. This Broadway Limited Imports model is in stores now. The N scale P5a electric is offered in freight and passenger versions in multiple paint schemes and road numbers. A version painted Dark Green Locomotive Enamel but unlettered is also available. Features on the N scale model ($369.99) include separate, factory-applied handrails, grab irons, horn, and bell; a die-cast metal body and chassis; and a dual-mode Paragon4 sound decoder with Rolling Thunder. Broadway Limited Imports, 386-673-8900, broadway-limited.com HO scale locomotives • Electro-Motive Division SD40T-2 diesel locomotive. Potash Corp. (gray and orange, two road numbers); Denver & Rio Grande Western (black and orange); Southern Pacific (“Kodachrome” scheme, fictional “Black Widow” scheme in two numbers, and scarlet-and-gray scheme with speed lettering); and Union Pacific (Armour Yellow and Harbor Mist…