2013 Marklin HO Museum Wagon Pictures

The first preview of the 2013 Marklin HO Museum Wagon has surfaced.  The set 'appears' to be based on the Albrecht Braun Stone/Concrete company from Lonsee. Founded in 1875 the company was honoured by the Wurttemberg crown, hence the crest on the wagon. It includes a lidded wagon and a truck with what looks to be a concrete block or stone load.  Once we have the final details from Marklin we will update this post.  Usually the Marklin Museum Wagons are only available to visitors to the Marklin Museum/World of Experience but we are generally able to bring in limited quantities into our store.  Stay tuned for availability and pricing as details emerge.

Product Feature - Noch Laser Cut Minis for HO and N

Some of the most popular elements of our store layouts, both on our Noch pre-formed layouts in HO and N and our Karl Gebele built display layout, are the finely detailed plants and vegetation. Many of these details are created from the Laser Cut Minis line from Noch.  First launched in 2009, these amazing products won a Product of the Year award from Eisenbahnmagazin for Model Railroad Scenery that year and are one of our best sellers for scenery products.

Made from blends of tear-proof paper and cardstock and easily affixed with a drop of white glue, Laser Cut Minis can add a level of detail not previously available to any HO, TT or N scale layout.  Add amazing flower boxes and vegetable gardens to your towns and reeds, ferns, and lilypads to riverbanks and woods. Noch has recently expanded the line to include small laser cut structures such as a bee-keepers hutch, a railroad signal box, a bus-top as well as non-vegetation details such as patio slabs, lumber, marker posts and more!  Click here to see all the Noch Laser Cut Minis on our store website. We stock the full line!

Click the image for a larger view

Product Spotlight - Our New Noch HO "Tannau" Display Layout

We recently received a new addition to our store - a brand new factory-built Noch HO Tannau layout.  We will be bringing the layout to the Trains 2012 show this weekend (November 10th and 11th, 2012) in Burnaby BC along with a completed N-scale Noch Traunstein layout so if you are in town, stop by and say hi!

If you can't make it this weekend here are a few photos of the Tannau layout, finished with Noch laster-cut structures and accessories (click any photo for a larger view). This is one on Noch's newest pre-formed layouts and is a great way to get started in HO scale without needing a lot of space. 

Product Spotlight - ESU SwitchPilot Servo Accessory Decoder

We have just posted a new video to our YouTube channel taking a look at the ESU 51802 SwitchPilot Servo accessory decoder.  Small, inexpensive servo motors are the ideal choice for all sorts of layout animation and motion.  They are also a particularly good turnout or switch motor when combined with a digital decoder such as the SwitchPilot Servo.  They allow you to throw the turnouts on your layout with a realistic slow speed similar to much more expensive stall motor switch machines.  With a bit of ingenuity, you can create a servo linkage to control just about any element of a model railroad from various scales and sizes of turnouts to animation such as adding opening doors to an engine shed or controlling road crossing barriers.  The ESU 51800 standard Switchpilot accessory decoder also comes with two servo outputs in addition to it four standard outputs, making it ideal if you already own motors for your turnouts but want to experiment with servos as well!

Customer Layout - A Noch HO Preformed Layout in Florida

We brought in this Noch HO scale preformed layout earlier this year for Dan Rudolph of Florida and he and his wife have done a fantastic job building and detailing it.  The model railroad is a great example of the fun and detail that can be had with a Noch preformed layout in a small space, even using Marklin HO scale track and trains.  The Noch layout shown is the 81710 Schönmühlen Layout and can be built in either HO or N scale (or TT but no track plans are provided by Noch).  We try to keep a number of Noch N/Z preformed layout in stock at all times. Due to the large size we usually do not keep many HO layouts in stock but can order in any layout as needed. 

Want to see a Noch layout in person? If you are in the Vancouver area for November 10th and 11th, come see us at the Trains 2012 show in Burnaby, BC.  We will be bringing completed Noch HO 'Tannau'  (Marklin digital) and N-scale 'Traunstein' layouts with us to the show!

Click above to see the layout video on YouTube

Updated: We got in touch with Dan and he graciously allowed us to post some of his photos of his layout as well. Click on the full-screen icon in the lower right of the window below for a larger view.

Product Feature - Viessmann E-motion Series

We have just received a new 23 minute (!) long video from Viessmann demonstrating the full line of eMotion products as well as the HO scale Plasser & Theurer Stopfexpress 09-3X track maintenance car with its animated ballast tampers.  This is an amazing product line and has been one our best-sellers since it launched. Figures range from firemen to farmers to chickens and a rearing horse, and other products include fountains, railroad water cranes, a children's see-saw and even a helicopter with moving blades. Like the Faller Car System, these products allow you to add animation and movement to your layout beyond your trains. They are also a guaranteed highlight if you have children or other visitors to your layout.

Product Feature - The Viessmann 09-3x Stopfexpress Rail Stabilizer in HO Scale

Available now in our store!

This has to be one of the more exciting products we have seen in the store this year. The Viessmann 2906x series are detailed and animated scale models of the Plasser & Theurer 09-3x Stopfexpress modern track stabilizer. This track maintance car aligns rail and tamps and levels track & ballast in one continuous operation. The prototype can be found on modern railways around the world.

Using ESU Switchpilots for bi-polar Switch Machines

ESU 51800 Switchpilot

One of our favorite products is the ESU Switchpilot line of accessory DCC/Motorola decoders. The basic ESU Switchpilot (ESU # 51800) can control 4 twin-coil switch machines or 8 electrical loads such as lights, uncoupling tracks etc.  It also comes with two connections for controlling servo motors (which can be used for animation or throwing turnouts). The Switchpilot Servo (ESU # 51820) is the all-servo version of the Switchpilot decoder with only 4 servo connections.  Both versions offer a wealth of programming options that let you completely customize the way the decoders operate. We don't know of any other accessory decoders that feature the wide range of control and customization that the Switchpilot offers.  Additionally ESU also produces the optional Switchpilot Extension (ESU # 51801) which adds 4 twin relay outputs linked to the Switchpilot/Switchpilot Servo 4 main outputs.  These relays are great for isolating electrical loads, polarizing turnout frogs, or any other wiring situation you may encounter.

Product Feature – Trix Wheel Cleaners in HO / N

Most model railroaders are aware of the need for clean track to keep your trains running. Stalling & lurching locomotives can be one of the most frustrating aspects of the hobby, particularly with today’s digital sound-equipped locomotives.  One factor in smooth running that is often forgotten about is cleaning locomotive wheels. Having pristine track is not going to help if your locomotive is running on ‘tires’ of dirt and grime that are preventing the electricity and DCC signal from reaching the decoder and motor.   The fact that most European models in N and HO come equipped with rubber traction tires on some driving wheels means keeping the remaining pickup wheels clean is doubly important.

The best tool we have found for cleaning locomotive wheels is the TRIX wheel cleaner brush.  Available in N scale and HO (not for Marklin AC, sorry), the Trix wheel cleaner is compact to store and does not need any messy fluids or disposable cleaning pads.  Simply place the wheel cleaner on your track and track power is transferred to a pair of narrow ‘brushes’ (made of soft brass wire). Holding your locomotive pickup/driving wheels gently on the brushes while the power is applied and wheels are turning will gently scrub the grime from the surface of the wheels. 

The flexible bristles of the brushes are very effective at making sure the entire wheel surface is clean, something that can be difficult to achieve with hand cleaning or other tools.  For longer or fragile, hard to hold locomotives, multiple cleaners can be easily be connected together to create one longer wheel cleaner.

You can buy the Trix 66602 HO and Minitrix 66623 N scale wheel cleaners on our store’s main web site. Add one to you next order!

 - Chris C.