North
Dakota's largest dealer
for brass model trains,
steam and diesel locomotives,
passenger cars, rolling
stock and kits.
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Welcome to our website!
Dakota Brass is
now in its 25th year of
business. My brass
collection started 50
years ago when my wife
bought me an NJCB Long
Island G-53sd
Ten-wheeler as a wedding
gift. It was a very nice
model in its day, but
brass models have only
gotten better since
1974. The pieces that
are being produced now
are truly better than
museum quality. The
research that goes into
the production of these
models gets better with
each succeeding year.
The level of detail and
the variations that are
offered are incredible.
The engineering of the
mechanisms, the quality
of the paint and
lettering and the
elecltronic packages
that accompany many of
these models is way
beyond what I started
with 50 years ago.
Moreover, the body of
work that has gone into
our hobby means that
with a little
perseverance, you can
find an amazing number
of prototypes to
collect. If you
prefer the retro
approach of finding a
relatively raw model and
doing the detailing and
finishing yourself,
there are plenty of
models to choose from as
well, often at
surprisingly reasonable
cost. These are works of
art that with care and
patience, generally
become very reliable
working models. Thanks
to the internet, even if
you can’t afford to buy
them, you can still
enjoy looking at them.
The newer models
are clearly becoming
more expensive, and
unfortunately harder to
come by, as the number
of builders has declined
and the production runs
are less frequent. As a
result, more of today's
brass market is focusing
on previously owned
models. 3D printing is
definitely changing the
world for kit builders
(including me) and
plastic models, but that
technology hasn't yet
made it into brass.
Digital electronics have
also changed the hobby,
and happily can usually
be installed in brass
models with great
effects! If you see
something you would like
to buy, please contact
us.
Please note
that although this
homepage may sit
untouched for some time
that we do keep the
inventory lists current.
Feel free to Email of
call me if you have
questions!
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SOUNDTRAXX
Dakota Brass is an
authorized dealer for
all Soundtraxx and
Blackstone models
products. I’ve had a lot
of experience installing
Soundtraxx products in
brass models. Soundtraxx
has steadily upgraded
their offerings. Their
sound packages are
continuing to improve.
They have continued to
provide fixed sound
packages, rather then
providing downloadable
packages. Having worked
with both types, the
Soundtraxx formula is
more user friendly.
Soundtraxx offers 2 and
4 amp decoders that will
allow installations in
most 2-Rail O-Scale
models. Their Blunami
line in 2 and 4 amp
decoders offers
programming and
operation through the
Blue Tooth function on
your I-Phone and
Android. Programming is
now a breeze with this
capability. This has
also made DCC even
easier to work with. You
can also operate your
model on standard non-DC
track. Check out the
Soundtraxx
website for more
details
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North Bank Line
Ed has
continued to carry on
with a number of
offerings over the past
year and some planned
new items. The Western
Pacific and subsidiary
cabooses have just
arrived and are posted.
These haven't been
modeled in over 40
years. They were done by
Boo Rim and are
beautiful. We still have
a good stock of Vinegar
Tank Cars and
heavyweight business
cars from his previous
two runs. More business
cars are planned this
year. He is also looking
for orders for Spokane
Portland and Seattle
lightweight cars as well
as some Wabash and N&W
trainsets. |
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Central
Locomotive Works
Lou is now
offering assembled brass
O-Scale models. His
recent runs of the
Baldwin Centercabs andd
the Milwaukee SDL-39's
were a hit. He is
planning next to do a
wide-ranging run of
SD-38, SD-39, SD-40 and
SD-40-2 models. These
models come unpainted
with a vastly upgraded
drive. Yes, you will
need to do the finishing
and electronics on your
own, but they are an
affordable option. Lou
builds only to orders
and does require
deposits. Email me for
his contacts. |
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The Coach Yard
Fred has kept busy. We
still have some PRR,
NYC, CB&Q and SP sets in stock.
A number of new projects
have been announced
which are listed above.
These need to be
reserved well in
advance, as he builds to
reserved quantities. Visit
their
website for more
details. |
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Division Point
There has been a
changing of the guard at
Division Point. Jack has
sold the business to my
good friend Dennis
Bartholow. Dennis has
gone to direct to
customer marketing,
requiring advance
deposits and offering
pre-payment options for
the budget-minded. The
builders are the same
and he has the extensive
database that Jack
accrued over the years.
Dennis himself is an
outstanding modeler and
researcher, which had
already aided Division
Point's offerings in
recent years. His first
project, the Baldwin
Center Cab rerun, has
done well. Visit his
website
for more details. |
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Sunset/3rd
Rail/Golden Gate Depot
Scott has remained very
busy in the O-Scale
2-rail and 3-rail
market. He The O-Scale
offerings are numerous,
incluuding the NYC/P&LE
He has just begun
merging the
Sunset/3rd-Rail/Golden
Gate Depot operations
into one entity, which
should make thingss less
confusing for everybody.
The NYC H-10 Mikes
finally arrived this
past year in O-Scale and
were well worth the
wait. The O-Scale C&O
Alleghenies and VGN Blue
Ridges are still on the
schedule, along with a
run of Virginian
Jackshafts, all in
O-Scale. There are a
whole bunch of plastic
diesels listed in
O-Scale. On the Golden
Gateof the Prospector,
the Crescent Limited,
AMfleet and Viewliner
cars and reruns of the
Twentieth Century
Limited, the Broadway
Limited, and the
Daylight are offered.
These cars have become
some of my favorites, as
they aree well-detailed
and run well out of the
box. Scott also has
severaal HO projects
online, including the SP
narrow-gauge steam
engines. As you may
recall, an earlier run
of these had been
commissioned by Union
Terminal Imports. Visit their
website. |
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DAKOTA CENTRAL AND WESTERN
MODEL RAILROAD MUSEUM |
Located in Bismarck in the basement
of the Lewis Hotel at Buckstop
Junction, this 3000 square
foot DCC-controlled HO layout
is well underway with over
a thousand feet of track
in operation. Work nights
are Thursdays. The
club has really
rebounded nicely from
the pandemic and is
making real progress. If you are
going to be in town and
would like to visit it,
contact me by
Email, phone, or snail
mail. |
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Twin Cities
Model Railroad Museum |
I’ve been a member of
this organization for
over 40 years. It was
founded and originally
located in the St Paul
Union Depot in the
1930’s until it moved to
Bandana Square in the
old NP Como Shop complex
in the early 1980’s when
the Depot closed. Six
years ago, it then
accomplished what most
of us thought would be
nearly impossible: it
moved again to a new
site at 668 Transfer
Road off University
Avenue in St Paul,
adjacent to the old
Amtrak Depot.
(Ironically, Amtrak has
now moved back to the St
Paul Union Depot.) The
TCMRM has joined with a
number of other model
railroading groups in an
11,000 square foot space
which has become a site
truly take in the
breadth and scope of
model railroading. This
is an absolute must-see
for rail fans in the
Twin Cities. They are
generally open to the
public Thursdays through
Mondays. Visit their
website or call them at
651 647-9625 for hours. |
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UPCOMING ITEMS
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Division Point |
Balwin Centercabs UP Alco
C-855's EMD E/F passenger
units EMT FT's Soo
Line O-20 4-8-4’s
SD-70ACE's NP L-5 0-6-0
CB&Q E-5 diesels FM H
10/12 44's
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North Bank Line |
Business cars (round 3)
Vinegar tank cars Western
Pacific and subsidiary
single sheathed cabooses
Wabash City of Kansas City
SP&S streamlined Passenger
cars
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The Coach Yard |
SAL Meteors Mopac Eagles
SP Starlight UP Portland
Rose NYC Pacemaker and
lightweight coaches PRR
Fleet of Modernism Trains
Pullman Restaurant Cars
Southern Crescents CSX
Office Cars SP Business
Cars
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Soundtraxx |
Blunami decoders Tsunami
Decodes Accessories
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Sunset/3rd Rail/Golden
Gate Models |
O C&O and Virginian
2-6-6-6's O EMD SD-40-2's
O EMD SD-7/9's O Alco
FA's O Amtrak Siemens
Chargers O Amtrak P-42
Genesis O GP-30's O
Texas Special O Frisco
Meteor O Southern
Crescent O Rio Grande
Prospector O ATSF 1937
Supercheif O PRR 1948
Broadway Limited O Budd
Slumber Coaches HO
Harriman Passenger Cars
HOn3 SP Narrow Gauge |
Central Locomotive
Works |
O EMD SD-38. 39. 40. 40-2's
O Modern GE Diesels (We
are not a dealer for CLW,
but contact Lou at
clwusa@verizon.net if you
are interested)
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