Model Railroader

The model trains as decor series In a series of three articles, Trains.com Director David Popp explores the use of model trains as home decor. David looks into the Model Railroader archives to understand the history of coffee table layouts, showcases an elaborate seven-layered shelf layout encircling a dining room, and highlights various model train decorations included in the homes of Trains.com staff members. Gregg Condon’s Milwaukee Road in HO scale See Gregg Condon’s HO scale model railroad based on 1950s-era Milwaukee Road operations along the Shullsburg Branch in Wisconsin in action on Trains.com Video. This layout will be featured in Great Model Railroads 2024! MORE REVIEWS & VIDEOS • Videos• News & Reviews• Community• Shop & more.…

Model Railroader is headed toward its 90th anniversary. In 2017, we published our 1,000th issue. That’s a lot of ink on a lot of pages, and a good portion of it came from contributors to the magazine who were hobbyists, just like you! A recent e-mail asked about the whereabouts of some of the models that appeared in the magazine years ago. “(T)he other day I was going through my April 1968 issue, and came across some interesting articles. I came upon Model of the Month Award. William Albertson’s custom-built UP 8500 gas turbine. Fantastic details. Bill took 4 years to build it. Is Bill still around? What happened to his model? There are a lot of skilled modelers back then that I wonder what happened to the model and is…

Electro-Motive Division SD40 diesel locomotives. Broadway Limited Imports offers these six-axle road units decorated for CSX; Southern Ry. (with high short hood); Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Chesapeake & Ohio; Canadian National; Canadian Pacific; Conrail; Pennsylvania RR; Southern Pacific; and Union Pacific, in two road numbers per scheme. An undecorated version with C&O details is also available. The HO scale models have injection-molded plastic bodies, die-cast metal chassis, and Kadee-compatible metal couplers. Additional features on the six-axle road locomotive include a dual-mode Paragon4 sound decoder featuring Rolling Thunder, a GoPack capacitor pack, back-electromotive-force control, railroad-specific details, and individually controllable lighting. The Electro-Motive Division SD40 diesel locomotives are priced at $399.99 each. Broadway Limited Imports, 386-673-8900, broadway-limited.com Canadian Pacific Angus Shops vans. Rapido Trains has released a new run of these distinct…

In the May 2023 issue I reviewed the Athearn Genesis HO scale GP7. In the review, I noted the model had pressed steel stanchions instead of T-section stanchions. James Wiggin, associate brand manager for Athearn Trains, said the quality control review samples had the correct stanchions but the production models were shipped with the wrong parts. Athearn’s service department is aware of the situation and is offering the correct stanchions to customers who purchased GP7s from this production run. A proof of purchase is required. Contact athearnhelp@horizonhobby.com to get the replacement parts.…

Robert (Bob) Hundman, founder of Hundman Publishing Inc., passed away on April 22, 2023. He was 88 years old. Robert’s work appeared in the pages of the hobby press for nearly 50 years. His earliest published drawing, a Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range class M-4 2-8-8-4, was in the March 1958 issue of Model Railroader. Robert’s drawings would continue to appear in MR through the late 1970s. In 1980 Robert launched Mainline Modeler magazine. Nine years later he started N-Scale Magazine. In 1995 he acquired CTC Board Railroads Illustrated. His publishing company also produced model and prototype railroad books.…

A Canadian Pacific SD30C-ECO diesel locomotive is the latest addition to the Executive Line from Bowser. The HO scale six-axle road locomotive features a can motor with flywheels; Kadee couplers; and many separate, factory-applied detail parts. Canadian Pacific has 50 SD30C-ECO diesels on its roster. The railroad received the units in two groups. Units 5000 through 5019 were built at Electro-Motive Diesel’s (EMD) Mayfield, Ky., facility in 2012 and 2013. All but one of the locomotives were delivered to CP in 2013. The 5018 arrived in 2014. Locomotives 5020 through 5049 were rebuilt for EMD at Bombardier Transportation’s Sahagun, Mexico, plant. The units were delivered in 2015 and 2016. Assorted General Motors Diesel Division (GMDD) and Electro-Motive Division SD40-2s were used as donor units for the rebuild program. The trucks and frames from…