Sidetrack Laser HO,N & O Scale Laser Cut Model RR Kits O Scale
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even coverage from in a thin coat. Those that custom paint models will know exactly what I am talking about. Like all of the other Micro-Trains heavyweight passenger cars before this one, the car is well detailed. The grab irons are finely molded in plastic, the rivets are prototypically small but still visible, and on the roof, drip rails, vents and the panel seams are all mod- eled, as well. Each end of the car is equipped with plastic diaphragms and Micro-Trains couplers. On the Union Pacific car, the couplers are molded in gray to match the car. Looking into the vestibule from the end of the car, one can see the inner door leading into the body of the coach. Even that door has the joints and the recess of the wooden construction modeled.
Underneath the car, all of the neces- sary hardware is rendered accurately, with air tanks, air brake hardware, battery boxes, etc. These cars had lots of mechanical equipment in order to keep the cars comfortable in all weath- er, night and day, and Micro-Trains has done a fine job of representing this equipment. When you view the car from the side, you can see all of the ap- pliances hanging below the sides and that just adds to the overall “heft” of the model. Being called a heavyweight, the visible model really does appear to look heavy. The car rides on Micro- Trains six-wheel, drop equalizer trucks that are also molded in UP gray. A photograph that I stumbled on (while black and white) appears to show that the trucks were black. I could only find that one photo, so at this point I am not convinced which is correct. The roof of the car can be pulled off rather easily, exposing the interior of the car. Its molded in a light blue- green color and has all of the car seat- ing, as well as car end compartments, present. Long window strips of clear molded plastic are pinned between the car’s side and the interior. This win- dow “glass” sits nicely in place and looks great from outside the car. It is possible to light the cars using prod- ucts from various sources. With the nice interior in this car, it is most defi- nitely worth doing.
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I often think about where we N scale modelers were only a few years back. This is a golden age. Now Micro-Trains has hit a home run out of the ballpark with their multiple heavyweight car of- ferings and this paired window coach is just the latest in a long string of much needed cars. I am really looking forward to what Micro-Trains has to offer next. I am quite certain that it will be just as great as this car and the past heavyweight releases. The Union Pacific 78-foot, heavyweight paired window coach is available now and sells for $28.50. See the company’s website to check the prices of the other road names.—SCOTT LUPIA
Climax 70-ton, three-truck loco- motive: HO scale
Mfd. by Bachmann Trains, 1400 East Erie Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19124;
www.bachmanntrains.com Bachmann has introduced a Class C (three-truck) version of their HO Cli- max locomotive that comes factory equipped with DCC and Soundtraxx Tsunami sound. Only a few scale plans and only three Class C Climax locomo- tives survive today. The first is the 1909 75-ton No. 3 of the Northern Cali- fornia Lumber Co., a Fruit Growers Express Co. locomotive now on display in Los Angeles, and the 1919, 70-ton Moore-Keppel & Co. No. 6 currently now being restored at Cass, West Vir- ginia as their No. 9. In addition, the 1928 70-ton Hillcrest Lumber Co. No. 3 (later renumbered 10) is now operating at the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad. Bachmann has made a good choiceto use the very typical locomotive at Cass as their prototype. The Climax locomo- tive, like Ephraim Shay’s invention of 1877, was the creation of a lumber man seeking a better way to haul logs out of the woods. Charles Darwin Scott built a tram road circa 1875 for his log- ging business near Spartansburg, Pennsylvania, and by 1878 he had cre- ated a locomotive to improve opera- tions. Believing he had a marketable design, Scott took his plans to the Cli- max Manufacturing Co. in Corry, Pennsylvania, which was already pro- ducing stationary steam engines.
MAY 2012
We've moved! PO Box 335
Conner, MT 59827
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