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September 2007 • Volume 13, Issue 9 • The NewsMonthly for Model Railroaders • New Magazine Size!
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| The September 2007 issue contains the following special news coverage, reviews, and columns: | |
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• The National Train Show - Detroit: July 2007 • Kato’s EMD F3A Diesel Locomotive in N Scale • Bachmann's Fairbanks-Morse H-16-44 Diesel Locomotive in N Scale • M.T.H. Electric Trains' Premier EMD SD70Ace in O Scale • Atlas Model Railroad Company's GE U23B Diesel Locomotive in N Scale • Bachmann's Northern 4-8-4 Steam Locomotives in HO Scale • Walthers' Empire Builder F7A-B Set in HO Scale • Atlas Model Railroad Company's Turnouts, Wyes, and Crossings in N Scale • Model Rectifier Corporation's DCC Sound Decoder for Kato P42 and E8/E9 in N Scale • S&L Enterprises' Hidden Uncoupler Systems in N Scale and HO Scale • Zimo Agency of North America's DCC Decoder for Large Scale • Wiking's 626-01 Rosenbauer Panther ARFF in HO Scale • Classic Metal Works' 1936 Ford Fordor Sedan in HO Scale • Athearn Trains' Ford F-850s in HO Scale • Hundman Publishing's Norfolk & Western...Steam's Last Stand • SteamScenes' Union Pacific and BNSF 2008 Calendars • Walthers' Cornerstone Modulars for N Scale • Custom Model Railroads' Donaldson's Department Store Kit in HO Scale • TAMR Teen Association of Model Railroaders — A Column by Steven Goehring • N-Depth — A New N-Scale Column by Phil Scandura • At the Grade Crossing — A Column by Bill Cawthon • Thinking of DCC — A Column by John Sipple |
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Special Features
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The National Train Show - Detroit: July 2007 |
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Reviews
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Kato’s EMD F3A Diesel Locomotive in N Scale |
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Bachmann's Northern Fairbanks-Morse H-16-44 Diesel Locomotives in N Scale Review and photos by Phil Scandura The Fairbanks-Morse H-16-44 was initially introduced in 1947 and saw a number of revisions and upgrades between then until the last unit rolled off the line in 1963. Rather than consigning this historic first-generation diesel to the past, Bachmann Industries has recently released the switcher for N-scale modelers to enjoy. In this review, Phil Scandura puts the loco through the works comparing it to scale drawings, evaluating its DC performance and DCC capabilities, and, of course, treats us to plenty of prototype information. Pick up the newest edition for all the details. |
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M.T.H. Electric Trains' Premier EMD SD70Ace in O Scale Review and photos by David Otte With many bemoaning the lack of awe-inspiring modern locomotives and their disenchantment of present day railroads and railroading, models like M.T.H. Electric Trains’ new Electro Motive’s SD70ACe diesel in O-gauge tells a different story, according to David. The past held the great horsepower race, but in today’s world the environment is one of our biggest concerns, thus issuing the newest railroad race: an environmentally friendly one. Dave covers all the details from first impressions taking the hefty model out of its box to prototype information, as well as the particulars about the model’s appearance and performance. |
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Atlas Model Railroad Company's GE U23B Diesel Locomotive in N Scale Review and photos by Phil Scandura Atlas recently released the N-scale GE U23B, a model never before available in this scale from the folks at Hillside. Introduced in the late 60s by General Electric as part of the firm’s growing line of Universal Series locos, the U23B was the company’s response to railroads’ increasing demands for intermediate horsepower. Discover how Atlas delivers on prototype accuracy, performance, and DCC readiness in Phil’s review. |
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Bachmann's 4-8-4 Steam Locomotive in HO Scale Review and photos by John Sipple Bachmann’s old Northern 4-8-4 Steam locomotives have been given new life! The company has endowed them with improved drive mechanisms and DCC decoders — straight from the factory. John takes a comparative look the new AT&SF 3783, New York Central 6009, Espee GS-4 4446 in Daylight colors, and the GS-5 4459 in mountain service black. Learn what they have in common, and how they’re different in his review. |
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Walthers' Empire Builder F7A-B Set in HO Scale Review and photos by John Sipple After a long wait, Walthers has released a Limited Edition Empire Builder F7 A-B Set featuring 14:1 ratio helical gearing with Quantum DC/DCC sound to head up the famous passenger train. Plus, John takes a look at the final two passenger cars and lets us know what cars ran in what consist during the Builder’s lifetime. Get all the details plus some stunning photos in the newest edition of Model Railroad News. |
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Atlas Model Railroad Company's Turnouts, Wyes, and Crossings in N Scale Review and photos by Phil Scandura Atlas Model Railroad Company is still expanding and improving their quality line of track products with the release of their New Code 55 and Code 80 Track pieces. Expand your layout’s capabilities with solid, reliable, trouble-free track suggestions from Phil. |
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Model Rectifier Corporation's DCC Sound Decoder for Kato P42 and E8/E9 in N Scale Review and photos by Phil Scandura Phil explains how Model Rectifier Corporation’s latest decoder design puts DCC sound within reach of all N-scale modelers with their true drop-in sound decoder. This new offering replaces the factory light board in Kato’s P42 and E8/E9 locomotives. Obtain installation and performance details in his review. |
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S&L Enterprises' Hidden Uncoupler Systems in N Scale and HO Scale Review and photos by Phil Scandura The Totally Hidden Uncoupler from S&L Enterprises is packaged as a starter set that includes four rare-earth magnets, a steel mounting plate, and complete instructions. Gain details on installation and fine-tuning this system based on Phil’s experience. |
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Zimo Agency of North America's DCC Decoder for Large Scale Review and photos by John Sipple One of John’s favorite locomotives out in the garden is his old Bachmann Shay No. 9. Until now, it hadn’t been a candidate for DCC sound, but with the release of Zimo’s new Large Scale decoder, John decided to take a risk. Was the risk worth it? Pick up the September edition of MRN to read about John’s experience. |
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Wiking's 626-01 Rosenbauer Panther ARFF in HO Scale Review and photos by Bill Cawthon You see them on the news, racing out on the tarmac whenever there’s an airport emergency landing. They are giant machines, capable of moving quickly either on or off the pavement and ready to begin fighting the flames even before they have come to a stop to give rescuers a few extra moments to rescue passengers and crew. They are the Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting trucks, called ARFFs, for short. Now Wiking has released its own version of these monster trucks in HO Scale, imported by Models 11. Learn about the European prototypes, and the future of ARFFs on American airport fleets in Bill’s review. |
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Classic Metal Works' 1936 Ford Fordor Sedan in HO Scale Review and photos by Bill Cathon Classic Metal Works’ newest arrival is its 1936 Ford Fodor Sedan, available in Raven Black, Poppy Red, Washington Blue, and Yellow Cab Company. Get prototype history, as well as details on the model’s appearance in Bill’s review to find out what you need to do to add some era-appropriate vehicles to your steam-era layout. |
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Athearn Trains' Ford F-850s in HO Scale Review and photos by Bill Cathon The latest member of the growing Athearn Fire Department is a Ford F-850 pumper in HO Scale. This is an older-style fire engine dating from the days when a pumper’s main job was to get water on the fire. Said to be suitable for the years 1968 to present, Bill takes a look at the tooling, the details, and places this truck in its specific time frame, offering insight into the prototype. Find out more this in this month’s issue of Model Railroad News. |
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Hundman Publishing's Norfolk & Western...Steam's Last Stand by Mallory Hope Ferrell Book Review by John Sipple Hundman Publishing's Norfolk & Western...Steam's Last Stand by Mallory Hope Ferrell is a 320-page pictorial study of the final years of America’s last steam powered railway from 1945 to 1960. Read John’s review for more details on this popular railroad’s tale as told by Mallory Hope Ferrell. |
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SteamScenes' Union Pacific and BNSF 2008 Calendars Review by John Sipple SteamScenes is offering BNSF and its Heritage; A SteamScenes Calendar 2008, and Union Pacific Then and Now, A SteamScenes Calendar 2008. Check out John’s opinion of these calendars, in plenty of time to order before the New Year. |
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Walthers' Cornerstone Modulars for N Scale Review and photos by Phil Scandura The latest entry into the brick prefab market is Walthers’ Cornerstone Modulars, first introduced in HO scale and more recently in N Scale. Benefit from Phil’s experience in planning and building from these varied packaged structure parts for your scratch-building and kit-bashing needs. You’ll also get a chance to see what some other prize-winning modelers have come up with on their own! |
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Custom Model Railroads' Donaldson's Department Store Kit in HO Scale Review and photos by Rich Cobb Custom Model Railroads recently released the Donaldson Department Store, a six-story building kit that will fit into any HO-scale city, regardless of the era modeled. The prototype of the model was built in 1886 for The Golden Rule in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Provide a pleasant shopping experience for your citizens, after taking advantage of advice from Rich’s review. |
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Opinions
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Editorial online Click to read and respond to this month's Getting the Whole Story by John Sipple e-mail Editor John Sipple at Editorial |
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Letters online
Read all the letters that appear in our September 2007 issue. |
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Columns
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Teen Association of Model Railroaders (TAMR) — A Column by Steven Goehring Weathering, So Easy A Teenager Could Do It Tired of all your rolling stock looking like it just came off the assembly line? Steven offers six easy steps to weathering rolling stock without the use of expensive equipment in this month's TAMR column. e-mail TAMR tamr visit TAMR www.tamr.org |
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N-Depth — A New N-Scale Column by Phil Scandura Mini-Review of the Digitrax DN123K3 for Kato NW2 Change is inevitable, and so was a name change for our new N-scale column. Find out the reasons and check out Phil’s first experience with Digitrax's DN123K3 drop-in decoder for the Kato NW2. e-mail Phil |
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At the Grade Crossing — A Column by Bill Cawthon GCLaser and RPS Come Through Are you on a quest for a livestock truck? How about a Ford Super Duty Pickup? What about a high-railer? Bill shares several finds in this month's column, and where to get them. e-mail Bill at Gradecrossing |
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Thinking of DCC — A Column by John Sipple Understanding DCC's Achilles' Heel DCC is fast becoming a standard for many modelers and is being offered built-in to more and more models each year. Yet despite this medium’s ease of use and popularity, it has an inherent flaw. John explains the Achilles' heel of the DCC operating environment in this month's column. e-mail John at dcc |
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Events & Activities online
This monthly department is packed with plenty of model railroading events and activities. Make plans to attend one in your area. You’ll be glad you did. Read this month's Events, or send us your Event info. |
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Archives - Back Issues
Click to see the main contents of Model Railroad News' past issues: Archives and information on how to order back issues. |
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