Model Railroader July 2022

How-to Interested in organizing an operating weekend? When is the right time to get like-minded hobbyists together to run trains? Well, Senior Editor Eric White says there’s more to it than simply inviting people over. If you’re interested, go to Trains.com and search, What is an operating weekend on a model railroad layout? Here you’ll discover what it takes to plan such an event. Layout Visits Step into a miniature model railroad world with any one of our Layout Visit videos. You can sit up close with Hans Schlegel as he explains his HO scale Gogebic Iron Range layout, which features the Chicago & North Western and Soo Line railroad during the mid-1950s and early-1960s. Or jump on over to Appalachian railroading on Todd Smalley’s HO scale Chesapeake & Ohio Monroe Division model railroad.…

With the exception of our staff-built project railroad series, such as the recently completed N scale State Line layout, we generally steer clear of articles that are too long for one issue. It’s just not fair, we’ve reasoned, to tell part of the story and make folks wait a month to see how it all turns out. However, we’re willing to make an exception when, well, something exceptional comes along. Starting on page 34 and concluding in next month’s Model Railroader, the husband and wife team of Lou and Cheryl Sassi guide us through the creation of a realistic mill pond scene. Enjoy part one of Lou and Cheryl’s article and keep an eye out for the concluding installment in the August Model Railroader. We’re sorry to make you wait. But you know what they…

Rapido Trains announced that it will be offering a Procor 3,000-cubic-foot capacity sodium chlorate covered hopper in HO scale. The first release of the sodium chlorate covered hopper will be decorated for Procor (1998+ with UNPX reporting marks, Procor wordmark, and top handrails; 2000+ with UNPX reporting marks, no wordmark, and without top handrails) in six road numbers per scheme. Unlettered models painted aluminum with and without top handrails will also be offered. Additional features on the Procor covered hopper will include Sparger outlet gates; etched-metal running boards and placards; separate, factory-installed grab irons; full end cage details; and newly tooled 100-ton ride control trucks with HydraShox hydraulic snubbers. Single cars will be priced at $59.95, and six-packs will sell for $359.70. The release date has yet to be announced. For updates on…

Athearn Trains will be consolidating its product brands from five down to three. The company will now be using the Athearn, Athearn Genesis, and Athearn Roundhouse names for its HO and N scale locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, vehicles, and train sets. The Athearn Genesis brand will be used for the manufacturer’s premium line of models. The brand will cover steam and diesel locomotives, passenger cars, and freight cars in N and HO. Locomotives in the Athearn Genesis line will have road-name and roadnumber specific details, dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoders, and various light and sound features. The Athearn Roundhouse line will cover entry-level HO scale models and train sets. Locomotives in the line will have 21-pin NEM connectors and lightemitting-diode lighting. The Athearn line will cover all other products. HO scale models in…

HO scale Electro-Motive Division E1A and E1B diesel locomotives. Broadway Limited Imports offers these streamlined units decorated for Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (1940 orange-red warbonnet [A-B set and single A and B units], pre-1946 Signal Red warbonnet [A-B set, two single A units, and single B unit], and postwar Signal Red warbonnet [two A-B sets, two single A units, and single B unit]); Baltimore & Ohio (late blue, black, and gray scheme [A-B set and single A and B units]); and Gulf, Mobile & Ohio (late maroon-and-red scheme, single A unit). The HO scale A-B sets consist of a powered A unit and unpowered B unit. The E1s have an ABS body, die-cast metal chassis, a dual-mode Paragon4 sound decoder with Rolling Thunder, and Kadee-compatible metal couplers. The pricing structure is…

Bob Phelps, former principal product design engineer at Pritchard Patent Product Co. Ltd. (Peco), passed away at his home in France on March 23. He was 84 years old. Phelps joined Peco in 1964 as a product designer. Steve Haynes, sales manager at Peco, said, “Bob was a huge American model railroading fan and a very influential person within Peco. The introduction of the Streamline HO code 83 track line being very much a personal project of Bob’s.” Phelps retired from Peco in 2016. He received the National Model Railroad Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 2019. The award was presented during the National Train Show in Sandy, Utah. James (Jim) A. Sacco, 1956-2022 James (Jim) A. Sacco, founder of City Classics, died on March 6 after a multi-year battle with cancer. He was 66. Jim…