August 08

Boy have we been busy! Lots has been going on at the model works this year. Our latest rolling stock products are starting to make their way out the door as kits. The PRR GRA and ACL K7 gon kits are now complete. We will be updating the site and webstore with pricing and options later this month.

ACL K7 42' lowside steel gon

We ran two sets of decals for the K7. We did an 'as built demo version' and the 1940's rebuilt scheme too. Both are shown in the pics below. These cars are made to fit either 2 or 3 rail trucks with Kadee or 3 rail couplers.

PRR GRA 43' Drop-End Composite Gon

Currently we have this kit available with revenue service graphics. We are currently working on MoW service artwork and will have those decals available in the near future. In the meantime, enjoy these pics of the built up kit in 2 rail. The first shot shows the ends in both vertical and dropped position. It's up to you the modeler to decide how you want to use this car.

B&O M-53 Wagontop Boxcar Progress

We also have some initial pics of the car that everyone seems to want. The B&O M-53 wagontop boxcar patterns, molds, and initial castings are done. We're finishing up the graphics for the decals. The kits will be available October 1, 2008 or before.

Ever want to own one of Norm's buildings?

One of the newest editions to the building line is Norm's Place. Many of you are familiar with O scale modeler Norm Charbonneau's fantastic layout. Norm modified one of the old Archie's Bar kits by adding a shed and sign. We are delighted that we will begin offering a new version of that building in both kit and RTR version. It will be known as Norm's Place. The pics below show the shed as a stand-alone and as part of Norm's Place. We will soon be adding more and better pics of the completed building including a hanging sign on the front.

The story here is that Norm wanted to hide the concrete side patch that is simulated on the original bar kit. So in order to compliment the building while hiding the patch, Norm designed and built the little shed that is on the side. We will include several different beer labels and styrene so that you, the modeler, can create a sign to hang out front showing one of your favorite brews. If you don't like the brews that we provide, we'll put up a tutorial on how you can go online to harvest images of your favorite beer and make your very own sign.

Development on our company store continues. Customers will be able to see detailed shots and better descriptions than what we currently offer on our ebay store.

We will introduce a modern era ASEA-RTE transformer later this fall. We currently offer a 1930's era Allis-Chalmers Transformer. This will round out our large transformer offerings in O Scale by covering both steam and modern eras. Both transformers will be available in kit and RTR form. Not only do they serve well as loads but they can also help to supply high voltage power to the heavy industries of your layouts.

Our Trainloads.com division is relentless in creating new products to load your rolling stock with. Our latest creation of Steel slabs and billets are designed to fit 40’ and 52’ O Scale gondolas.

A side note to the buildings. Many customers who have purchased Downtown Deco kits have been sending their kits to us in order to have us build and paint them. We are building a new page for the site showing some of this commission work. If you already have a kit and need to have it painted, assembled, even kitbashed into something else, please contact us. We would be happy to discuss your project with you.

Finally, we wish to thank our many wonderful customers for continuous growth this year.