Model Railroader May 2022

Our president, Jason Shron, founded Rapido Trains Inc. largely so he could have his own model of the United Aircraft TurboTrain, his favorite train since he was a child. But Jason was very inexperienced when he first produced this model in 2008. Now we are delighted to announce a vastly improved model of this unique passenger train! Our model features a new drive system; new coupling system; new lighting system; improved speakers; and ESU Loksound V5 sound decoders in both Power Dome Cars. We are applying our 18 years of model train manufacturing experience to bring you a model worthy of the name Rapido. Please reserve your TurboTrain today! rapidotrains.com • facebook.com/rapidotrains…

Trackside Photos Looking for modeling inspiration? Take a look at what other model railroaders are building on their layouts in Trackside Photos. On our website, you can view a gallery of images from the print version, plus bonus photos available only online! Go to Trains.com and search for “Trackside Photos” to find a collection of photo galleries from past issues of Model Railroader. And, of course, you can look even farther back in our online Archive. Go to Trains.com, select MODEL RAILROADER MAGAZINE from the menu, and select ARCHIVE ACCESS. Jim Herzog’s Shamokin Division If you want to see more of Jim Hertzog’s HO scale Reading Co. Shamokin Division, head to Trains.com and look up the November 2018 Model Railroader. Jim’s article “Ride along on a mine run” includes the Shamokin Division’s full…

There’s something in this issue that’s been missing from our pages for far too long. On page 12, you’ll find a news report from the 2022 Amherst Railway Society’s Railroad Hobby Show, held in late January in West Springfield, Mass. There were plenty of new products announced at the show, which are covered in this issue and on Trains.com. It’s always fun to see what’s new in the hobby but let’s take a moment and appreciate the Amherst folks for going forward with a major train show, something largely absent from the hobby since the start of the COVID pandemic in early 2020. The Model Railroader staff is currently making plans to attend the National Model Railroad Association’s annual convention Aug. 7-13 in St. Louis along with the National Train Show, Aug. 12-14. Our…

Amherst show report HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP30 and GP30B diesel locomotives. ScaleTrains.com made a splash when it announced its latest HO scale locomotives. The Rivet Counter line GP30s will be decorated for Union Pacific (as-delivered A unit, as-delivered B unit [freight and passenger], and no. 844 [Nevada State Railroad Museum edition with ditch lights]), Chicago & North Western (Original Yellow and Original Yellow repaint), CSX (RDMT slug/stealth), Denver & Rio Grande Western (billboard and Flying Grande lettering), Norfolk & Western (Pevler Blue), and Pennsylvania RR (Brunswick Green). Features on the model will include a detailed cab interior with a separate floor, seats, and control stand; light-emitting-diode lighting; and era-specific treadplate patterns. Direct-current models with a 21-pin connector will be priced at $194.99. Versions with a dual-mode ESU LokSound sound decoder with…

What does a scale test car do? Q What was the purpose of a scale car? Was it to check the track? Where was it located in the train? Were all Class 1 railroads required to have these cars? Were there measuring instruments in those cars? I do realize that with today’s technology they are obsolete. Gilles Bouthillier A Those cars are far from obsolete. You might get a clue what these cars are for if you heard the full name: scale test car. Bulk materials like coal, grain, wood chips, gravel, and sand are shipped by weight. In order to know how much coal or whatever is being shipped, the car must be weighed, first empty, then loaded. In both cases, a scale track is used. Cars are pulled or shoved…

Water scenes on a model railroad are always showstoppers. Most visitors immediately reach out to touch the water’s surface to see if it’s real or not. For a long time, I tried every technique I could think of to avoid using resin because I thought it would be too hard to work with. But as I have since learned, resin is easy to use. Thanks to some modern products on the market, resin water scenes are almost foolproof to create. The Rock River bridge is a signature scene on our N scale State Line Route project railroad, and following are the steps I used to create it over the span of just a couple of days. These are easy to do and yield great finished results. STEP 1 FLAT & SMOOTH Before even…