Model Railroader February 2022

Meet the Modeler Model Railroader’s very own Contributing Editor Lou Sassi is up next for questioning in the Meet the Modeler article series, conducted by Rene Schweitzer. Read along as this talented hobbyist explains everything from his biggest modeling successes and mistakes, to describing his very first childhood train set! Videos of Lou’s incredible On30 Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes layout are also available for viewing within the article. Trains.com visitors get access to eight free articles each month. Expert tips There comes a point in every modeler’s journey when, while building a layout, you need to cut some track. But fear not. While it may seem like a tricky subject for a beginner to tackle, Trains.com Executive Producer David Popp is here with a video to help! Follow alongside David as he…

The Severna Park, Md., Model Railroad Club is an example of building for the long haul. Founded in a local hobby store in 1964, the fledgling club quickly outgrew its space and moved into a historic railroad depot in 1966, and there it has remained for 55 years. That’s an impressive run by any measure. How do they do it? By keeping the best of the past, including the stub-end station at Chesapeake (a fictional city based on Baltimore) that dates all the way back to the original hobby store layout, and the highly detailed structures crafted by longtime member Logan Holtgrewe. Club members also avoided the trap of leaving their layout unchanged until it gradually became more of a museum piece and less of an operating model railroad. Major updates include a mine…

Eastern Seaboard Models, known for its N and Z scale products, announced that it will be entering the HO market. The firm’s initial offerings will be Magor and Pacific Car & Foundry 40-foot XIH heated, insulated plug-door boxcars. The first cars will be a circa 1950 Bangor & Aroostook Magor boxcar and a circa 1953 New York, New Haven & Hartford PC&F car. Both cars will be decorated in the red, white, and blue “State of Maine” scheme in four numbers per road name. Features on the ready-to-run cars will include an injection-molded plastic body, etched-brass see-through running boards and brake platform, body-mounted Kadee Quality Products Co. no. 148 whisker couplers, InterMountain Railway Co. American Steel Foundries A-3 50-ton solid-bearing trucks with low-profile metal wheelsets, and Hi-Tech Details air hoses. The Eastern Seaboard…

HO scale Fairbanks-Morse H-16-44 diesel locomotive. Paint schemes on the latest run of this Atlas Master Line locomotive include Milwaukee Road; Central of New Jersey; Long Island Rail Road; New York Central; New York, New Haven & Hartford; Pennsylvania RR; and Southern Ry. The HO scale model is offered in two road numbers per scheme and features bi-directional dual-mode red and green light-emitting-diode marker lamps, a die-cast metal underframe, and Accumate couplers. Direct-current models with factory-installed speaker are priced at $169.95. Versions with a dual-mode ESU LokSound sound decoder sell for $279.95. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, shop.atlasrr.com HO scale locomotives • North County Transit District Sprinter articulated two-unit diesel railcar. Directional red-and-white lights; illuminated, detailed interior; tinted window glazing; European deep wheel flanges; and rooftop air conditioners. Non-sound (one road number), $299.99;…

Athearn announced that it will be adding a Union Pacific Electro-Motive Division (EMD) SD59M-2 diesel locomotive to its Genesis 2.0 line. The HO scale six-axle road locomotive is based on prototypes rebuilt from EMD SD60M phase II diesels. The newly tooled Athearn Genesis 2.0 model will include separate, factory-applied uncoupling levers, m.u. hoses, eye bolts, and sander lines; a detailed cab interior; and Celcon handrails. Other features will be etched-metal see-through walkway steps; illuminated number boxes and ground lights above the front trucks; rotating bearing caps; a flared radiator section; a detailed 4,500-gallon safety fuel tank with fuel fillers, fuel gauges, and breather pipes; all-wheel drive and electrical pickup; RP-25 contour wheels; a die-cast metal frame; and light-emitting-diode headlights and ditch lights. Athearn will be offering the HO scale model in four…

Q I have a couple of 25-ton cranes on my layout. While running them in a work train, the hooks swing, giving them an unrealistic look. Are the hooks normally tethered to the boom when the cranes are being transported? I couldn’t find any photos of actual cranes during transport. Steve Favale, Buffalo, N.Y. A When a crane is moved, it’s important to tie down the boom so the crane doesn’t turn and swing out over adjacent track or other trackside obstructions. For transit, the boom is lowered all the way and tiedowns attached to the sides of the boom. Those tie-downs are then hooked to the front corners of the crane’s deck and the boom is raised slightly to tighten them. The hook end of the boom generally rides above a…