Model Train Stuff

The roaring twenties saw an increase in commuter rail traffic and the Pennsylvania Railroad was in need of a new locomotive for the job. Mechanical Engineer William F. Kiesel Jr. went to work designing a new engine using the E6 Atlantic's boiler as a base. The G5 was the result, becoming one of the largest and most powerful Ten Wheelers ever built! They had 68 inch drivers, smaller than the Atlantic, but the extra weight placed on the drivers provided up to 41,000 pounds of tractive effort, and provided for quicker acceleration. The Juniata Shops built 121 G5's between 1923 and 1929, and they were put to work on trains around Pittsburgh, PA, the New Jersey area, Chicago, IL, Fort Wayne, IN, and the Long Island Railroad. Author Alvin Staufer noted in his book "Pennsy Power", that a G5-led milk train also ran through rural Pennsylvania with a combine for the occasional passenger. Oftentimes it would be a hunter getting off at a clearing in the woods. The G5's were well-regarded by crews for their acceleration, reliability, and power. Retirement came between 1948 and 1955, but 3 examples were preserved today, namely #5741 which is on static display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

Broadway Limited Imports' HO Scale PRR/LIRR G5 features:
-Paragon4 Sound & Control System
-Synchronized Puffing Smoke with Chuff Sound
-Variable Puffing Smoke Intensity and timing
-Integral DCC Decoder with Back EMF for Industry Best Slow Speed Operation in DC and DCC
-Precision Drive Mechanism engineered for continuous heavy load towing and smooth slow speed operation
-5-Pole Can Motor with Skew Wound Armature
-Heavy Die Cast Boiler, Tender Body, and Chassis for Increased Tractive Effort
-Premium Caliber Painting with Authentic Paint Scheme
-Two tender variations – Accurate for pre-war and post-war details
-and more!

📦PRE-ORDER HERE:
https://modeltrainstuff.com/collections/broadway-limited-imports-ho-scale-pennsylvania-railroad-g5

Throughout history, the American boxcar has only grown in size. Its the quintessential railcar hauling all sorts of goods whether it be furniture, appliances, lumber, palletized products, auto parts, paper rolls, and more! 60 ft. boxcars became increasingly common throughout the 1960s, as larger loads necessitated larger cars. The 60' Plate F High Cube hosts double 8’ by 12’-4” plug doors and included floor anchors for additional load stability.

Walthers' HO Scale 60' High Cube Plate F Horizontal Post Boxcar features:
-Sides feature additional horizontal ribs
-Prototypically correct roof with both X and diagonal panels
-Separately applied latch bars
-Detailed underbody with cushioned underframe and brake gear with correct angle-mounted reservoir
-100-ton roller-bearing trucks
-Correct 36" RP-25 turned metal wheelsets
-Proto MAX(TM) metal magnetic knuckle couplers
-Minimum radius: 22" (24" recommended)

📦PRE-ORDER HERE:
https://modeltrainstuff.com/collections/walthers-ho-scale-60-high-cube-plate-f-horizontal-post-boxcar

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers and father figures! Do you have any model railroading memories with your dad, or are you a father getting your kids into model trains?

📷1931 Lionel Trains artwork

EMD's GP20 debuted in 1959 with 260 built up into 1962. After UP successfully experimented with turbocharged GP9s, EMD was motivated to turbocharge their next diesel offering in the form of the GP20. With a newly turbocharged 16 cylinder EMD 16-567D2 prime mover, it could produce 2000 horsepower at all altitudes, something its roots-blown equipped GP18 could not. The GP20 was also an early adopter of short-hood forward with a chopped nose being the standard. These units powered any number of road freights and switching or local duties. BNSF inherited a fleet of Santa Fe and Burlington Northern (ex-CB&Q) GP20's, being the last Class I to retire them in 1999. A number of these units are still operating on shortlines while others have been preserved at museums!

Atlas' N Scale EMD GP20 features:
• Golden-White LEDs
• Directional lighting
• Dual brass flywheels
• Low-friction mechanism
• Accurate painting and lettering
• Atlas Master® Silver version is Sound Ready and equipped with speaker for easy conversion to DCC sound
• Magnetic knuckle couplers

DCC OPERATION FEATURES (GOLD LOCOMOTIVES ONLY)
• Supports all DCC-programming modes
• DCC includes RailCom and RailComPlus, with 14, 28 or 128 speed steps and with 2-digit and 4-digit addressing.
• Flexible mapping of function keys F0 to F28.
• A total of 6 DCC function outputs are available, and all can be function mapped (disable, brightness, light effects) individually
• Follows all NMRA DCC standards and recommended practices.

📦ORDER HERE:
https://modeltrainstuff.com/search?pf_m_%3A%3Acustom%3A%3Astock_status=In+Stock&q=atlas+n+gp20

The modern tank car design as we know it has been a staple of freight trains since the early 1900s. Carrying anything from corn syrup, oil, or LPG, the tank car has only grown in size with increased safety measures put in place like improved lining and safer double shelf couplers. In 1947, American Car & Foundry introduced the 11,000 gallon tank car to handle the emerging petroleum industry. Thousands of cars were built throughout the 1950s and the following decades. Many were built with platforms and railings on the top for use at plants with no elevated loading/unloading facilities.

Atlas' HO Scale 11,000 Gallon Tank Car features:
-Finely molded handrails
-Tank fittings
-Safety placard holders
-Appropriate 50-ton friction-bearing trucks
-AccuMate(R) magnetic knuckle couplers
-Accurate painting and lettering
-Top platform as appropriate for each roadname.

📦ORDER HERE:
https://modeltrainstuff.com/search?page=1&q=atlas+ho+11%2C000+gallon+tank+car&pf_m_%3A%3Acustom%3A%3Astock_status=In+Stock&pf_m_%3A%3Aproduct%3A%3Ascale=HO

🎥NEW VIDEO! High Iron Highball: Railroad Signals🚂
https://youtu.be/XoDIzXlaEZ8

With thousands of trains running on the rails at any given time, how do you prevent them from running into each other? Join our very own John Weigel as he talks about how railroad signals went from cloth covered peach baskets to LED displays that light up the night.

The covered hopper was first introduced in the mid to late 1930s featuring hatches on the roof to load bulk materials with chutes on the bottom for unloading via gravity. PRR's H30 was an early example, built in 1935. Other car manufacturers began producing their own 2 bay covered hoppers in the following years. Come the late 1940s and 50s, covered hoppers grew in popularity hauling agricultural products, cement, sand, sugar, lime, and more! In the 1960s, American Car & Foundry introduced the Centerflow design featuring a rounded body to provide additional structural strength, and gravity unloading was made faster and easier. Since then, the hopper has drastically grown in size and new designs have taken over the rails.

📦PRE-ORDER HERE:
https://modeltrainstuff.com/products/preorder-micro-trains-ho-220010008-2-bay-covered-hopper-kit-burlington-northern-ex-slsf-419256

Moving livestock by rail dates back to the 1830s with open topped cars that had partially enclosed sides. By 1860, boxcars with wood or iron-barred ventilation doors became the standard. Cattle were herded onto livestock trains or placed within a manifest as a high priority block and moved to eastern markets for processing. Along the way, animals would be fed and watered, but conditions were still less than ideal with a noisy, cramped, and rough ride, leading to unfortunate and unnecessary injuries and loss of life. Little attention was given to the improvement of stock cars. The addition of a drovers caboose to livestock trains improved conditions, with dedicated crews providing food and water to the animals. Experimental bi-level stock cars were developed in the 1960s, but stock cars largely faded away by the 1970s-80s with the introduction of mechanical re**er cars to move meat, and trucks taking over the movement of livestock. Union Pacific briefly experimented moving pigs by rail at the front of intermodal trains in the late 80's, but this was discontinued in 1995.

Broadway Limited Imports' N Scale 40' Wood Stock Car features:
-Based on the Pennsylvania Railroad K7A stock car design
-Sound-equipped versions sold individually; non-sound versions sold in two-packs
-Integrated motion-activated sound system (sound-equipped versions)
-Authentic livestock sounds for prototypical sound-equipped versions
-Holiday-themed sound cars feature custom seasonal audio
-Motion-responsive sound intensity for added realism
-Adjustable sensitivity and volume using included magnetic tool
-Operates on both DC and DCC layouts (no DCC sound control)
-Precision paint, color, and lettering schemes
-Accurately modeled with numerous separately applied details
-and more!

📦PRE-ORDER BY: SEPTEMBER 3rd, 2026:
https://modeltrainstuff.com/collections/broadway-limited-imports-n-scale-40-wood-stock-cars

The Milwaukee Road debuted 75 home-built rib-sided cabooses in 1939. Ribbed steel side sheets were meant to strengthen the caboose's structural integrity all while keeping it lightweight. They also saved money by using smooth riding passenger car trucks. These bright orange cars could be found trailing behind on any number of trains up until the 1970s-80s. The St. Maries River Railroad also acquired a small lot of these cabooses.

Walthers' HO Scale Milwaukee Road Rib-Side Caboose features:
-One time run of these road numbers, order now - limited quantity available!
-Based on Milwaukee Road's home-built cars
-Prototypes used system-wide from 1939 to 1980s - later sold to other lines w/ several preserved today
-Authentic rib side body in early coal or later oil stove variations
-Factory-installed wire grab irons, railings and ladders
-Detailed underbody with separate brake gear
-Correct Milwaukee-style trucks
-33" RP-25 turned metal wheelsets
-Proto MAX(TM) magnetic metal knuckle couplers

📦ORDER HERE:
https://modeltrainstuff.com/search?page=1&q=walthers+ho+milwaukee+road+rib+side+caboose&pf_m_%3A%3Acustom%3A%3Astock_status=In+Stock

🎨NEW PAINT SCHEMES🎨
Broadway Limited Imports has added Wisconsin & Southern, Kansas City Southern, Grand Trunk Western, and Conrail #9's 1997–1999 appearance to their lineup of HO Scale Track Inspection Cars!

Track inspection cars are a unique car among the collections of railroads. Railroad executives are carried along in prestigiously furnished interiors with a large viewing window at the rear. These historic cars have been modernized and refurbished with modern takes on classic paint schemes, new window layouts, and refreshed interiors.

Broadway Limited Imports' HO Scale CSX and Conrail Track Inspection Car features:
-Beautifully Detailed and Accurately Modeled to Conrail and CSX Appearances
-Precision Paint, Color, and Lettering Schemes with Properly Colored Interiors
-Many Separately Applied Details Including Handrails, Grab Irons, Antenna and Conduit Arrangement, and -Various Underbody Detail
-Detailed Interiors Prototypical to Each Car
-Proper Underbody Detail per the Prototype
-Finger Touch Control of Exterior and Interior Lights. Lights Include Front Lights, Interior Lights, Track -Lights, Tail Lights, and Spot Lights (where applicable)
-Interior Lights are Dimmable with Finger Touch Control
-Two Operating Kadee-Compatible Couplers
-Compatible Tracks: Code 70, 83, 100 Rail
-Minimum Operating Radius: 18 in.

📦PRE-ORDER BY AUGUST 27th, 2026:
https://modeltrainstuff.com/collections/broadway-limited-imports-ho-scale-track-inspection-car