Check out this video of Giorgio Calzoni’s N scale Monolith Valley RR in Bologna, Italy. […]
N scale Monolith Valley
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2019 Extreme Trains: Two Challengers, a Big Boy, and 100 cars
A Big Boy, Two Challengers, and 100 Cars travel from Quartz Mountain Summit to Lakeview at the Colorado Model Railroad Museum’s February, 2019 Extreme Trains event. Video submitted by Bill Rogers. […]
CSX and Maryland seek federal funding for Howard Street Tunnel clearance project
BALTIMORE — CSX Transportation CEO James Foote on Monday joined Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan in officially seeking federal funding for the $466 million Howard Street Tunnel clearance project. Hogan’s office announced that it submitted an application for a U.S. Department of Transportation grant that would fund raising clearances in the tunnel to permit double-stacks to […]
New model trains for the week of March 7, 2019
HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP40-2 diesel locomotive. Conrail (blue in three road numbers, Reading Co. patchout in two numbers); CSX (dark blue and yellow, three numbers); Denver & Rio Grande Western (black and orange); Detroit, Toledo & Ironton (orange); Grand Trunk Western (red, white, and blue); Reading Co. (green and yellow, three numbers); and […]
March 2019 new products from Garden Railways magazine
Ophir Depot Bridges & structures Banta Model Works, 421 Hopkins Road, Dummerston, VT 05301, released Ophir Depot, a 1:20.3-scale kit. The depot is made from laser-cut wood and measures 391/2”L x 19”W x 173/4”H. Production is very limited. Price: $650, includes shipping. Website: bantamodelworks.com Tire Bridgade shop accessories Piko America traction tires Preiser USA figures […]
Transcontinental Railroad history: challenges to Union Pacific’s survival lead to rebirth under Harriman
Transcontinental Railroad financial troubles After just 18 years of operation, there had been so many irregularities and so much concern over the Union Pacific’s ability to repay its federal loans that in 1887 Congress created the United States Pacific Railroad Commission to investigate the finances and structure of all the major railroads initially described as […]
Soo Line legacy
A southbound CN freight passes the former Soo Line station in Waukesha, Wis., in 2012. Brian Schmidt Q How did Canadian National end up operating the former Soo Line route through Wisconsin. I thought the Soo was affiliated with Canadian Pacific. – Kirk Gobain, Dodge City, Kan. A The Soo Line acquired the Milwaukee Road […]
Transcontinental Railroad history: Importance, workers, challenges, and funding
UP crews built a switchback to reach a tunnel during construction. In many ways, the work done on the transcontinental railroad were feats of ingenuity and engineering. Union Pacific Importance of The Transcontinental Railroad In the 1850s, major railroad projects were viewed as projects for the public good, in much the same way we justify […]
‘City of New Orleans’ route truncated indefinitely by flood mitigation
JACKSON, Miss. – Beginning Thursday, and just days before the big Mardi Gras weekend, Amtrak’s City of New Orleans from Chicago will start making a same day turn at Jackson with chartered Amtrak Thruway buses making all scheduled intermediate stops to and from the Crescent City. The northbound bus will leave New Orleans Passenger terminal […]
‘Empire Builder’ stalled by derailment, ‘Southwest Chief’ gets through heavy snows
CHICAGO – The Coast Starlight isn’t the only Amtrak train making news this week. On Sunday afternoon, a Canadian Pacific freight train derailed east of Tomah, Wis., The eastbound Empire Builder had been running more than seven hours late, but would have passed the scene of the derailment had it been on time. Consequently, it […]
Transcontinental Railroad history: the Pacific Railroad Act, US Civil War, and Manifest Destiny
Union Pacific directors pose at the 100th Meridian, 247 miles west of Omaha, Neb. There were still many miles to go to reach Ogden, Utah. Library of Congress collection Many railroads have had their share of drama and intrigue, but it is hard to recall another railroad with the narrative complexity and heroic scale of […]
New model trains for the week of February 28, 2019
Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP38 and GP40 diesel locomotives HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP38 and GP40 diesel locomotives. New paint schemes. GP38: Conrail (American Revolution Bicentennial scheme in one road number, blue with white sill stripe in two numbers) and Bangor & Aroostook (dark blue and gray). GP40: Georgia RR […]
