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BOOKS

2012 Carstens On30 Annual

Tony Koester
You've waited all year for it... The 2012 Carstens On30 Annual! Now in our seventh year of publication and featuring 116 pages of exclusive On30 model railroading content. We have everything you have come to expect from the On30 Annual, including gorgeous layout tours, in-depth construction features, and practical historical features. Building is fundamental to On30 and this year’s Annual is packed with great projects. Peter Reisiger takes us step by step through building Evanoff Pattern & Foundry. But that’s not all! Bill Iwan builds a heavy duty On30 flatcar, Jim Schulz and Dave Wingrove provide two fun railbus builds, Sam Swanson shows us how to spruce up commercial turnouts, Bob Bennett builds a waterfront, Al Sohl hides the edge of his layout and expands his yard with a mirror/bridge combo and Gil Flores shares his Mack wrecker and shows us a great technique for rusty metal. And that’s just a partial listing!
The Annual is known for great layouts and the 2012 issue is not exception. We are pleased to present for the first time in print the fabulous Cranberry Wharf by Danish modeler Troels Kirk. This layout is the talk of the internet, but wait until you see the rich beautiful photos in print. But we don’t stop there! You’ll also find Steve Austin’s Elkhorn Timber & Iron which can be visited during the 2013 NMRA National in Atlanta, and Chris Comport’s latest profession layout build, the Crown Valley District Ry. & Monarch Mining Railroad and professional structure builder Dennis Dunning shares his home layout.
Like plans to build from? Who doesn’t! We are happy to give the On30 modeler several detailed drawings this year. How about the entire business district of Sundance, Wyoming? Vic Worthington gives us the block of great false front buildings. And Chris Lane has an On30-sized water tank based on the D&RGW tanks at Villa Grove and Jacks Cabin.
Finally, did we mention layouts? Yes we did, but we understand that not everyone has space for room -sized monsters. That’s OK, because we have you covered there too. Buzz Allen’s diorama is a contest winner, yet is only 2 foot by 4 foot. Likewise, Lowell Ross’ Soggy Bottom Mining Company is super-detailed in a compact 14 inches by 6 foot, yet like Buzz’s, can be incorporated into a larger layout someday. We even have a micro layout from Tad Dowdy that could fit on a hat!

£ 14.50 (Incl. UK p&p)

Model Railroad Planning 2012

Use the innovative design ideas in Model Railroad Planning 2012 to get your layout plans off to a great start! Discover 11 buildable HO, N, and O scale track plans, practical advice, construction tips, and inspiring features that include:
* Andy Sperandeo’s multi-level 40’ square Santa Fe main line over torturous Cajon Pass
* New techniques for planning trackside structures using digital photos
* A novel double-mushroom design modeling the spectacular Canadian Pacific in British Columbia
* Achieving greater visual depth and space with open-sided structures

Model Railroad Planning 2012 also includes an exclusive BONUS PLANNING BOOKLET!

£ 6.00 (Incl. UK p&p)

New From Signature Press

Merchants Despatch, Its History and Equipment

by Roger C. Hinman
Merchants Despatch traced its origins to a railroad express service begun in 1855, with a connection to the American Express Company. From its earliest years it operated over the lines of the New York Central, and by 1871 its stock was owned by Vanderbilt Lines railroads. However, it was an independent part of the New York Central family. As such, it outlived the Central, and this book carries its history to the year 2000.
Initially the rolling stock of Merchants Despatch was box cars to carry railroad "fast freight," but by 1878 refrigerator cars were included. With the passage of years, the MDT fleet would become almost entirely refrigerator cars, maintained and many first built at the sprawling Despatch Shops in East Rochester, New York.
Through much of its history, MDT leased cars to railroads other than New York Central, and to a variety of private shippers, as well as managing its own fleet of thousands of cars. By the 1950s the fleet included bunkerless cars (insulated box cars) and would subsequently include auto-rack cars, a category of rolling stock which enabled MDT to survive the Penn Central and Conrail mergers. But once Conrail went to CSX and Norfolk Southern in 1998, MDT reached the end of its line in 2000.
Some 298 photographs, most previously unpublished, enrich this book, in addition to 44 drawings. More than 50 period documents and graphics enliven the text, accompanied by extensive rosters and tables of both car data and company information. Thoroughly researched in company records, this is an authoritative, well illustrated and complete history of Merchants Despatch. It presents both the long and complex corporate history, and also much information and many details about the design, construction, maintenance and operation of the vast car fleet.
Author Roger Hinman has published over 20 articles in model railroad and historical society publications, and is a railfan of many years standing. This is his first book.
The book will appeal to those interested in the New York Central and in freight cars, as well as to enthusiasts of railroad history. Anyone interested in North American freight railroading from 1870 to 2000 will find it a valuable addition to their library.

£ 45.00 (Incl. UK p&p)

New From Withers Publishing

Diesels of the Reading Company - Volume 1
Paul K. Withers

This 320-page hardcover book covers the Reading diesel fleet from the start of dieselization 1926 through the late 1950s through text, photographs (more than 700), diagrams, and specifications. Heavily illustrated, the book also contains 32 pages covering Reading's distinctive stream locomotive fleet, from camelbacks to homebuilt 4-8-4s.

£ 45.00 (Incl. UK p&p)

New DVDs

The Pokey – Elkhorn Grade
by Highball Productions

Norfolk Southern’s Pocahontas District recently had clearances raised for double stacks as part of the Heartland Project. Elkhorn grade between Bluefield and Iaeger is the steepest part of the Pokey, giving even NS’s latest SD70ACe’s a workout with heavy coal trains as they wind through the valleys and through the small towns of West Virginia. This is helper country, with two to three units pushing heavy trains up the grades.

1 hour 45 minsColorNarration on/off Widescreen
Regular price £21.00
NEW RELEASE OFFER UNTIL 26TH FEB 2012 - £20 (free UK & European p&p)

ALSO AVAILABLE IN BLU-RAY!
Blu-Ray Price £22.00 (FREE UK & Europe p&p)
BLU-RAY 16:9 1080i HIGH DEFINITION DVD'S
Regular and up-converting DVD players will NOT play Blu-ray DVD's, you must use a Blu-ray DVD player. Before ordering please check your player and make sure that it will play BD-R DVD's.

Point of Rocks Hot Spots
by Highball Productions

CSX’s Metropolitan Sub to Washington and the Old Main Line to Baltimore diverge at Point of Rocks, Maryland. MARC commuter trains use the station, and Amtrak’s Capitol Limited passes through daily. CSX runs locals, manifests, coal trains, autoracks and intermodals. We also take a look at Harpers Ferry, with it’s big bridge over the confluence of the Shenandaoh and Potomac rivers.

1 hour 40 minsColorNarration on/off Widescreen
Regular price £21.00
NEW RELEASE OFFER UNTIL 26TH FEB 2012 - £20 (free UK & European p&p)

BARGAIN DVD

Union Pacific’s Clinchfield Challenge
by Pentrex

Union Pacific Challenger 3985 made its first-ever venture east of the Mississippi River in November 1992 when it traveled off line onto CSX rails. This historic event was prompted by the 50th running of the Santa Claus Special, a tradition of the former Clinchfield Railroad that was being carried on by Clinchfield successor CSX. Each year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, Santa and his helpers would ride the special train, tossing candy and gifts to the children of the coal mining towns that lined the route from Shelbiana, Kentucky to Kinsgport, Tennessee.
At one time the Clinchfield Railroad owned six of the big Challenger engines and used them to haul Appalachian coal. It seemed appropriate then for UP and CSX to work jointly to bring a Challenger back onto Clinchfield rails again. Before that could happen, the 3985 would have to undergo a name and numbering change. Leaving UP rails in Memphis, Tennessee, the Challenger traveled to Huntington, West Virginia, where it was converted to ÏClinchfield 676.Ó After leading the Santa Claus Special, ÏClinchfield 676Ó ran an employee special out of Kingsport. The 4-6-6-4 is a sight to behold as it works up through the twisting, rugged Appalachian Mountains. The sound of the steam whistle echoing through the hollows will take you back in time, and the small coal mining towns that dot the route will remind you of another era in American railroading. All the excitement of big Clinchfield steam is here for you to savor and enjoy!

120 minsColorNarration
Regular price £22.00
SPECIAL OFFER UNTIL UNTIL 26TH FEB 2012 - £15 (free UK & European p&p)

BOOK FROM CARSTENS

The Overland Route Union Pacific Railroad

by Ross Grenard and John Krause
Big power and long trains are a trademark of this great American carrier. See it in the last great days of steam and its transition to diesel. See Big Boys, Challengers, 9000s, 800s, the famed passenger fleet, plus early diesels from EMD and Alco, the Gas Turbines and much more.
83pp, 120 b&w photos, 11" x 8", softcover

£ 10.50 (Incl. UK p&p)

SPECIAL OFFER DVDS

Windy City Rails Volumes from CVision

Windy City Rails Volume 1
by CVision

C. Vision Productions takes you there in this multi-volume series covering some of the most well-known and hidden hot spots in Windy City Rails!
Volume 1 visits the Tower B-12 Vicinity in Franklin Park and Turner Junction in West Chicago. B-12 has seen many changes in the years and the action today is just os exciting! Canadian Pacific, Metro, Indiana Harbor Belt and Canadian National ore the regulars at B-12. Fallen Flag locomotives from the current railroads make frequent appearances including Soo Line and Illinois Central. Other railroads visit the B-12 area including CSX, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and Iowa Chicago & Eastern.
Then it is off to West Chicago. Here, the Elgin Joliet & Eastern's Turner Tower is still in operation as it protects the crossing with the Union Pacific's ex-Chicago & North Western Overland Route. Along with the EJ&E, numerous high horsepower Union Pacific trains pound the diamonds at Turner. Metro also uses this route providing a flurry of activity. You will even see Union Pacific's Olympic and United Way locomotives heading up a mixed freight!

105 minsColorNarration
Regular price £21.00
SPECIAL OFFER UNTIL 26TH FEB 2012 - £15 (free UK & European p&p)

Windy City Rails Vol 2, "Stateline & Jay Tower"
by CVision

Our first stop is at Stateline Interlocking near Hammond, Indiana. Straddling the Illinois and Indiana border, Stateline was once the World's largest mechanical interlocking. This location was once home to 30 diamond crossings and has now whittled down to only 8. However, don't let the downgrade fool you, this location still has over 100 trains a day from the CSX, Norfolk Southern and Indiana Harbor Belt.
Then we head to Chicago Heights, Illinois at Jay Tower. This location is the crossing of the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern and the Union Pacific/CSX. The variety of trains at this location makes it a favorite among many area railfans! Bright orange locos from the EJ&E, along with the high horsepower monsters from the UP and CSX thunder over the diamonds at Jay Tower. Our cameras were even treated to a couple appearances of the Union Pacific's Katy and MoPac Heritage Locos!

118 minsColorNarrationon
Regular price £21.00
SPECIAL OFFER UNTIL 26TH FEB 2012 - £15 (free UK & European p&p)

Windy City Rails Volume 3
by CVision

In this program, multiple mainline crossings at the always busy Blue Island Junction. This location, most often distinguished by the big steel bridges spanning the Calumet Sag Channel, has a multitude of activity from host roads Indiana Harbor Belt, CSX, Canadian National and Metro's Rock Island District, which passes over the south end of the junction. Throw in a wide variety of pool power and the appearance of run-through moves by roads Canadian Pacific, Union Pacific and BNSF and you will see why Blue Island Junction is such a great Chicagoland hotspot.
In addition, shortline and regional action was found, including appearances from the Iowa Interstate and Chicago Rail Link. Add in predecessor power from the UP BNSF and the CN, and you will witness the cornucopia of action that this legendary hotspot is known for.

113 minsColorNarration
Regular price £21.00
SPECIAL OFFER UNTIL 26TH FEB 2012 - £15 (free UK & European p&p)

Windy City Rails Volume 4 "BNSF's Triple Track"
by CVision

In this program, videographer Marshall Beecher takes his cameras to several locations along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe's Triple Track Main from Chicago to Aurora. This ex-Chicago Burlington and Quincy main line does double duty as it hosts trains traversing to and from the Twin Cities on the Aurora Sub and Galesburg on the Mendota Sub. Numerous high priority intermodal, coal and general freight trains share these rails with Amtrak and Metra. Run-through trains from the Canadian National and Union Pacific also operate on the Triple Track. At the east end near Union Avenue, witness several of Union Pacific's 'Z' trains which cross the Triple Track, and see U.P. movements with several of their Heritage locomotives! All this movement makes the Triple Track one of the busiest main lines in the Chicago area.
Just about every kind of locomotive that the BNSF rostered in 2007 can be seen in this program! Add in all that variety along with over 150 trains featured in this show and you have one of the best BNSF programs anywhere!!!

112 minsColorNarrationon
Regular price £21.00
SPECIAL OFFER UNTIL 26TH FEB 2012 - £15 (free UK & European p&p)

Windy City Rails Volume 5 "Dolton, Jct."
by CVision

Dolton Junction, a busy multi-diamond crossing located 20 miles from Downtown Chicago, was a place once synonymous with railroad greats like the Pennsylvania, Chicago and Western Indiana, Missouri Pacific, Louisville and Nashville and the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal. Times have changed, mergers have occurred and some track arrangements have been made, but one constant remains at Dolton: the endless parade of trains by this still-manned IHB interlocking tower. The Pennsylvania 'Panhandle' Route, now mostly abandoned, has given way to 'hot bottle' moves of the Norfolk Southern on what little bit of this route still exists. Conrail's presence, which was commonly found on the tracks of the Indiana Harbor Belt have also given way to trains of the NS. Missouri Pacific's merger has made their rails now those of Class 1 giant Union Pacific, as they now run the route that was once MoPac/L&N (nee-Chicago and Eastern Illinois) and C&WI. L&N and B&OCT moves are now under the umbrella of CSX, and account for many moves seen on a variety of routes through the busy plant. The Indiana Harbor Belt, which has resisted the change that many other routes have had, was and still is a very busy line, mingling their own traffic with hosted moves from CSX, Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and even shortline Chicago, Ft. Wayne and Eastern. Dolton's close proximity to UP's Yard Center, CSX's Barr Yard and IHB's Blue Island Yard assists in making this place an outstanding hotspot. Throw in pooled and run-thru power from Santa Fe, BNSF, KCS, FerroMex, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific and the Indiana Railroad's use of Montana Rail Link power and you will witness firsthand why this location is a railfan's paradise.

120 minsColorNarrationon
Regular price £21.00
SPECIAL OFFER UNTIL 26TH FEB 2012 - £15 (free UK & European p&p)

Buy ALL 5 Volumes for just £65