Model Trains News | Prism Hobbies

Delmarva Model Railroad Club showcases huge walk-around HO layout

A 2,700-square-foot, two-level HO railroad shows how walk-around aisles and elevation can make a club layout feel practical, immersive, and built for real operations.

Jamie Taylor•4 min read•01:36 AM

Read Full Article →

Watch

Watch: Model Trains

8 videos · Hover to preview, click to read · Swipe to explore

Delmarva Model Railroad Club showcases huge walk-around HO layout

Read the full article

Atlas production schedule tracks HO, N, O and Z scale releases

Read the full article

Trainshed model railway group prepares for larger than ever show

Read the full article

Model Railroader roundup tracks new releases and shipping updates

Read the full article

Bachmann’s On30 trench engine brings narrow-gauge realism to small layouts

Read the full article

Broadway Limited expands Union Pacific business fleet with HO power car

Read the full article

Rapido models Santa Fe repowered Alco PA and PB diesels

Read the full article

Bowser announces HO scale SD40-2, SD40-3 and SD40-2F diesels

Read the full article

More News

Scale Models

Atlas production schedule tracks HO, N, O and Z scale releases

Atlas’s production schedule turns release timing into layout strategy, showing when to wait for HO, N, O and Z pieces and when to swap in substitutes.

Nina Kowalski5m read

Community & Events

NMRA opens registration for 2026 Scenic City Express in Chattanooga

NMRA is promoting the 2026 Scenic City Express at $20, with a $15 one-day pass, as Chattanooga lands its first national convention. The week includes 200-plus clinic hours, layout tours and a public National Train Show.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Scale Models

Bachmann’s On30 trench engine brings narrow-gauge realism to small layouts

Bachmann’s On30 Class 10 trench engine is built for cramped curves, short trains, and hard-working industrial scenes, with military pedigree that adds real prototype pull.

Jamie Taylor5m read

Scale Models

Broadway Limited expands Union Pacific business fleet with HO power car

Broadway Limited’s HO UPP 2066 gives Union Pacific modelers a believable special-move core, with #101 “Lone Star” versions to match modern or 2001-2017 consists.

Sam Ortega2m read

Scale Models

Rapido models Santa Fe repowered Alco PA and PB diesels

Rapido’s Santa Fe PA/PB set captures the February 1955 repower that raised the roofline a foot, giving modelers a rare late-life passenger scene.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Community & Events

Trainshed model railway group prepares for larger than ever show

The Trainshed Model Railway Group is lining up a bigger show than before, with more participants and visitors expected and proceeds tied to Saint Catherine’s.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Scale Models

Bowser announces HO scale SD40-2, SD40-3 and SD40-2F diesels

Bowser’s HO SD40-2, SD40-3 and SD40-2F trio gives freight rosters three related six-axle diesels for manifests, rebuild-era scenes and Canadian Pacific power pools.

Nina Kowalski2m read

Scale Models

Walthers releases HO-scale rebuilt 53-foot Gunderson well car

Walthers has added a rebuilt 53-foot Gunderson well car in HO scale, aimed squarely at domestic double-stack and port-to-inland intermodal layouts.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Scale Models

Model Railroader roundup tracks new releases and shipping updates

Walthers' Proto Heavyweights and ScaleTrains' NS AC44C6M and Burlington Northern releases were the week’s sharpest signals in Trains.com’s July 20 roundup.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Scale Models

Rapido announces Southern Pacific HO scale 40-foot boxcars

Rapido’s new Southern Pacific HO 40-foot boxcars tap a nearly 5,000-car prototype fleet, giving layout builders a car that fits locals, yards and interchange cuts.

Nina Kowalski2m read

Scale Models

Chooch offers pulpwood load for 48-foot bulkhead flatcars

Chooch's pulpwood load turns a bare 48-foot bulkhead flatcar into believable forest-products traffic, a quick fix for logging spurs and paper-mill extras.

Sam Ortega2m read

Community & Events

Lombard Hobbies prepares July 27 reopening after website transition delay

Lombard Hobbies says its brick-and-mortar and online store will reopen July 27, with preorders safe and shipments still moving during the website rebuild.

Sam Ortega2m read

Scale Models

How Joshua Lionel Cowen turned toy trains into a lasting hobby

Joshua Lionel Cowen did not invent toy trains, but he made them electric, display-worthy, and easy to pass down. That is the formula that still shapes how Lionel gets bought, built, and collected.

Sam Ortega5m read

Scale Models

Bowser adds HO scale N9 transfer caboose for freight layouts

Bowser’s HO N9 transfer caboose comes in 37 road-numbered versions, with magnet-wand lighting and FRA markers aimed at Penn Central and Conrail freight scenes.

Sam Ortega2m read

Scale Models

Athearn announces 13K acid tank cars for two scales, late-era service needs

Athearn’s new UTC 13K acid tanks cover HO and N, with late-1970s-to-1990s prototypes that fit bridge traffic, refineries and fertilizer moves.

Sam Ortega2m read

Scale Models

Athearn unveils FMC 5077 boxcar with era-spanning roadnames

Athearn’s new FMC 5077 boxcar leans hard into believable freight service, with weathered roofs and roadnames that fit shortlines, interchange work, and ugly everyday consists.

Sam Ortega2m read

Scale Models

Athearn announces Santa Fe GP7u models spanning multiple eras

Athearn's Santa Fe GP7u release stretches one rebuilt road unit across the 1970s to BNSF-era layouts. Detail choices and paint schemes make it a flexible roster slot.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Scale Models

TMC launches exclusive Rapido Class 46 with HM7000 sound for TT:120

TMC’s exclusive TT:120 Class 46 46026 adds HM7000 sound to Rapido’s Peak debut, giving buyers DCC-ready, LokSound or app-control options.

Sam Ortega2m read

Scale Models

Rapido Trains UK enters TT:120 with Class 45 and 46 locomotives

Rapido's TT:120 debut lands with Class 45 and 46 Peaks, plus DCC Sound, HM7000 and prices from £159.95 to £259.95.

Sam Ortega2m read

Scale Models

KATO reissues 500 Series N500 Shinkansen in N scale for 2026

KATO’s reissue puts the 500 Series Nozomi back on shelves in November 2026, with an eight-car W4 set and a single-car version aimed at collectors and operators.

Sam Ortega2m read

Scale Models

PECO adds Wallace and Gromit vans to OO9 range

PECO’s Wallace and Gromit OO9 vans turn a novelty crossover into usable 009 stock, with a five-wagon set and a 50-year Aardman tribute.

Sam Ortega2m read

Scale Models

Rapido Trains UK expands OO freight range with 1907 RCH wagons

Rapido Trains UK’s new 1907 RCH 7-plank OO wagons come in 18 decorated versions, giving pre-Grouping layouts a believable mix of coal, merchant and industrial traffic.

Sam Ortega2m read

Equipment & Tech

Digitrax Details Wiring Best Practices, Tools for Reliable DCC Layouts

Digitrax provides a set of detailed application notes and knowledge base articles that explain how to wire layouts for Digital Command Control, with clear recommendations on bus wire sizes, feeder spacing, power districts and testing. This guidance matters because using the right gauge, multiple feeders and districting reduces decoder resets, voltage drop, and persistent shorting, saving time and frustration for anyone converting from DC or building a new DCC layout.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Scale Models

Fleischmann’s July N scale arrivals span DB, SBB, and MAV-Start models

Fleischmann’s July N scale batch is strongest where operators need quick, believable consists: the DB commuter set and two DCC-sound electrics do the heavy lifting.

Sam Ortega5m read

Layouts

PECO expands TT:120 scenery range with laser-cut tunnel portals

PECO’s first TT:120 tunnel portals come in brick and stone, with wing walls, parapets and a flexible insert to hide bare track ends. The range is the start of 15 laser-cut scenic kits.

Nina Kowalski2m read

Layouts

John Allen’s Gorre & Daphetid still shapes model railroad design

John Allen's Gorre & Daphetid still teaches modelers how to make scenery, weathering, and operations work as one railroad.

Nina Kowalski6m read

Scale Models

10 Techniques for Realistic Freight Car Weathering for HO, N, O Modellers

Learn 10 practical techniques to weather freight cars realistically, with product picks, tools, and step‑by‑step methods tailored for HO, N, and O modellers.

Jamie Taylor6m read

Layouts

NMRA beginner's guide simplifies starting in model railroading

The NMRA's Beginner's Guide lays out essentials for new modelers and practical next steps, from picking scale to basic tools and starting layout sizes.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Equipment & Tech

Comprehensive DCC resource hub simplifies digital upgrades for modelers

Model Railroader and Trains.com offer a centralized DCC hub with beginner articles, videos and wiring guides to help modelers adopt digital control.

Jamie Taylor2m read