Will the RTR plastic handrails fit the older "blue box"  SD45's ??   I heard that the RTR shell is a different mold.  Thanks PK

John Kennedy:,

I am dreaming of building a shelf layout (perhaps three scenes or towns) for a short line which hauled coal from mines in the foothills of ghe Alberta Rockies to the Canadian National main line west of Edmonton. The time period would be roughly 1900-1940. Equipment was small: 4:4:0, 2:6:0 and small gondolas. I expect I would join the scenes with a helix at each end as the trains climb into and out of the mountains.

Hi Folks,

I am planning my first layout using 2 foot wide modules, and need to understand issues with running narrow gauge engines backwards - specifically:

    Blackstone 2-8-0
    MDC 2-8-0
    PFM 25 Ton 2 truck Benson

The layout I am hoping to build will be point to point with both SG & NG trackage crossing many trestles and bridges in a very mountainous environment.  

Does anyone make a proper 50ft plug door box car in large scale? I see offerings of Railbox examples but aren't accurate to me (they have roof walks for starters).

It seems pretty hard to represent a modern standard guage shortline in large scale (1:24) these days without resorting to dodgy era combinations.

Is anyone aware of new offerings that I may have missed?