Model Railroader June 2020

Free computer desktop wallpaper Each month visitors to ModelRailroader.com can download a stunning trackside photo to use as a computer desktop wallpaper. This month, the featured wallpaper is this image from Lee Marsh’s Cascade Division. Super Simple Signals Our subscription video service, Model Railroader Video Plus features a wide variety of content from some of the most talented and innovative modelers in the hobby. In this featured episode of It’s My Railroad, host Steve Brown completes a simple signal installation. Get access to all the HD videos featured on MRVP. Sign up at MRVideoPlus.com/27deal. PRODUCT REVIEW Rapido MLW RS-18 Rapido Trains brings this Canadian road switcher to HO scale rails. The model also features an ESU LokSound decoder. Subscribers can check out an exclusive demo video. MORE THAN 500 PLANS Track Plan Database Looking for layout ideas? A good…

John Allen’s HO scale Gorre & Daphetid, profiled many times in the pages of Model Railroader over the years, was a fantasy world where cliffs climbed from floor to rafters with tracks winding ever upward in tier upon tier, crossing impossibly high bridges and skirting Devil’s Post Pile, a cone-shaped mountain that concealed an otherwise inconvenient ceiling support post. It should have looked like a cartoon of a railroad, but somehow it wasn’t. The world of the G-D Line was perfectly reasonable in the same way that dreams seem reasonable to a sleeping man. Pulling off that trick is why model railroads often describe Allen as an artist and his railroad as a masterpiece. It’s why he still inspires us today, When Lee Marsh was a child he came across photographs of…

Electro-Motive Division SD40-2 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes on this ScaleTrains.com Rivet Counter model include Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern; BNSF Ry.; Chicago & North Western; and CSX. New road numbers are offered on models decorated for Burlington Northern and Chessie System. The HO scale model has a detailed cab interior, see-through dynamic brake intakes with resistor grid detail, and directional headlights. Direct-current models with 21-pin connectors are priced at $159.99. Versions with a dual-mode ESU LokSound V5 sound decoders, PowerPack with two super capacitors, and dual cube-type speakers are $259.99. ScaleTrains.com Inc., 844-987-2467, scaletrains.com MOBILE UPDATES Scan the code to access Model Railroader’s weekly News & Products updates from your mobile device.…

Looking for places to showcase your modeling skills? Wm. K. Walthers Inc. and Micro-Mark are looking for you, as both companies are hosting model building contests. Walthers is hosting the inaugural National Model Railroad Build-Off. The contest will feature youth (14 and under) and adult (15 and older) individual and team categories. The requirements for the contests are to purchase an HO scale entry kit, build a module, and submit photos of the results. Prices for the entry kits and dimensions of the modules vary based on category. Prizes for the contest, which closes on May 15, are $500 for youth individual; $1,000 each for youth team and adult individual; and $2,000 for adult team. There will also be a people’s choice award. Additionally, winners receive prominent position in the Walthers 2021 Reference…

• Kankakee Foundry Association of American Railroads 41-foot steel gondola. Accurail HO scale model custom-decorated for the Kankakee Model Railroad Club. Kit, $25; assembled with Kadee couplers, $30. Shipping $5 per car. Checks payable to KMRC, 197 S. East Ave., Kankakee, IL 60901 • Nickel Plate Road Painesville, Ohio, tower. Laser-cut craftsman kit produced for Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society by Right on Track Models. Includes mailbox, roofing, window glazing and other details shown except for base plate. N scale, $37.95; HO scale, $49.95; and O scale, $64.95. Nickel Plate Road Historical & Technical Society, nkphts-shop.myshopify.com • Hanley’s Beer & Ale 40-foot double-sheathed refrigerator car. Accurail HO scale kit produced for the Providence Northern Model Railroad Club Inc. Two road numbers are offered. $25 per car plus $7.90 shipping (covers…

1 Freight cars. New Accurail HO scale kits include an American Refrigerator Transit Co. 40-foot refrigerator car ($19.98); a Chicago, Burlington & Quincy USRA 40-foot boxcar ($18.98); a Pittsburgh & Lake Erie 50-foot boxcar ($18.98); and a Family Lines System covered hopper ($20.98). Accurail, accurail.com 2 National Power & Light. Factory-assembled structure from Menards. This HO scale power plant ($69.99) has exterior lighting, animated sign and measures 51/8" x 8". menards.com/trains 3 Razor saws. Three-piece set produced by Excel Hobby Blades Corp. The razor saw set ($12.99) includes 42- and 46-tooth-per inch saws. KalmbachHobbyStore.com 4 Electro-Motive Division SD50. Wm. K. Walthers released this HO model decorated for Chessie System and five other lines. Mainline-series (direct current, $139.98; dual-mode sound decoder, $199.98). Wm. K. Walthers Inc., walthers.com 5 Coalveyor gondola. Joseph Transportation is one of…