OTTAWA, Ontario – Class I railroads operating in Canada would be required to report additional performance and staffing metrics under a proposal Canadian regulators unveiled on Friday. Transport Canada’s move was announced on the same day that the Surface Transportation Board said it will temporarily require the big railroads to provide more detailed operational and […]
Big Boy locomotive models: Union Pacific’s 25-strong fleet of 4-8-8-4 Big Boy steam locomotives evoke images of fast freight, vast Western scenes, and the pinnacle of steam railroading in North America during and just after World War II. Model makers over the years have helped model railroaders capture the essence of that special 1940s to […]
As the author of Model Railroader’s “Ask MR” column, I get a lot of questions from readers. Usually I either know the answers or at least where I can find the answers for them. Sometimes, though, I get a question that stirs my imagination and prompts me to compose a more involved response. Such was […]
PUEBLO, Colo. — The new operator of a half-century-old Colorado rail testing facility has begun the transition to full operations at the site. In March 2021, the Federal Railroad Administration awarded ENSCO a 20-year contract to operate and maintain the Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colorado. Perhaps confusingly, another company, previously named TTCI, owned […]
LONDON — Locomotive and equipment manufacturer Stadler has won a major order to build new powerful dual-mode — electric and diesel — locomotives for British rail freight company GB Railfreight. The new units will begin the process of replacing an extensive fleet of EMD-built Class 66 (model JT42CWR) locomotives, derived from the SD40 design. The […]
St. Louis-San Francisco passenger trains are part of Classic Trains‘ editors’ celebration of the Frisco all through May 2022. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Frisco passenger trains selected from Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. Since October 2019, Classic Trains’ editors have celebrated a different Fallen Flag, that is, a Class I railroad that […]
WASHINGTON – Federal regulators have ordered Class I railroads to provide more detailed operational and staffing metrics and will require the big four U.S. systems to submit service recovery plans in light of widespread service problems that were spotlighted during hearings last week. The Surface Transportation Board, in a decision issued on Friday, said “immediate […]
Power-LOC figure eight expander set Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $59.98 Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com Power-LOC figure eight expander set features: Nickel silver rail, brown ties, and gray plastic roadbed Snaps together without tools or rail joiners Set includes two 9” straight sections, six 18” radius […]
Diesel servicing kits Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Diesel sanding tower, $17.98; Modern diesel fueling facility, $37.98 Era: 1950s to present (sanding tower); present day (modern diesel fueling facility) Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com Diesel sanding tower features: Injection-molded plastic kit Detailed safety cage ladder and supply […]
Funnel-Flow tank car Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $49.98 Era: 1973 to present (era varies depending on paint scheme). Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com Funnel-Flow tank car features: Etched-metal walkways and platforms Factory-installed grab irons Train pipe and brake rigging underbody details Prototype-specific manway and safety valve […]
Union Pacific Challenger: Railroad slogans are one of the industry’s lost arts. The old ad men and promoters who came up with them were geniuses. Remember when phrases like Water Level Route or Main Line of Mid-America told you so much about a particular railroad? The best ones spoke of far-flung places, and how to […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — A plaque added to the cab of Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 honors the contributions of late Trains editor Jim Wrinn to both the restoration of that locomotive and rail preservation in general. Howard Pincus, president of Connecticut’s Naugatuck Railroad and a friend of the Western Maryland Scenic operation, reports […]
