Ride ‘Em While You Can

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Eastern trip, April 20–26 PC No. 66, Chicago–Cincinnati, April 20 PC E7 4211 (ex-PRR), PRR B60 baggage car, PC coach 2926 (ex-PRR) N&W No. 4, Pocahontas, Cincinnati–Roanoke, April 20–21 N&W GP9’s 508/501, 4 head-end cars, coach 532, dome coach 1610, sleeper Buchanan County; diner 493 added at Williamson, W.Va. (train left Roanoke with GP9’s 519/517, […]

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Presenting the past at the Mount Washington Cog Railway

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Engineer J.F. Keating carries workers aboard a flatcar on the 3¼-mile Mount Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire on June 11, 1946. Today, the Cog runs mostly biodiesel engines. L.B. Herrin When I first visited the Mount Washington Cog Railway in 1980, exactly 30 years before my recent visit, it was an inadvertent museum, complete […]

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“Honorary steam locomotive”

Q For many years now, fans have been calling Alco PA locomotives “honorary steam locomotives” because of the thick, dense smoke they generate during acceleration. I’ve heard some people mention that TRAINS Editor David P. Morgan wrote an editorial on this citing a statement or caption penned by rail historian Professor George W. Hilton. Can […]

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Passenger car with two sinks

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Although the quarters were likely close in this passenger rail car’s public bathroom, the extra sink could only have helped. Q While visiting The Durham Museum in Omaha, I saw a passenger car with two sinks in the public bathroom, one large and one small. What was the small sink used for?– Sam Irvin, Summerfield, Fla. […]

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Eastern railroad hats

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Richard Benton (left) with a railroader in a traditional Eastern hat at Potomac Yard in the 1950s. Richardson D. Benton Ben Curtis’ father’s Eastern railroad hat (left) and the new version Kromer Cap will begin offering. Ben Curtis (left) Q My father wore this style train cap in the 1960s, purchased in the Boston area. […]

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Pacific Electric Red Cars in action

Red interurban electric car

Watch video clips of Pacific Electric Red Cars in action at Dominguez Junction and other locations on the Los Angeles–Long Beach line. Footage is from the DVD program Pacific Electric: Remembering the Red Cars, Vol. 1, available from Transit Gloria Mundi. […]

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Remembering Civil War rails

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In addition to everything else the American Civil War might have been, it was also the first reliably documented major conflict. A combination of well-kept “Official Records” and preserved photographs give us a unique view into the first modern, industrialized, documented war. These images are only a sample of the rich documentary resources available from […]

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Pacific Electric Red Cars in action

Red interurban electric car

Watch video clips of Pacific Electric Red Cars in action at Dominguez Junction and other locations on the Los Angeles–Long Beach line. Footage is from the DVD program Pacific Electric: Remembering the Red Cars, Vol. 1, available from Transit Gloria Mundi. […]

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Video: History according to Hediger 11

Train models in display case

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Season 2 of History according to Hediger will feature various items from the historical display cases at the Model Railroader offices. Senior editor Jim Hediger will share the background of these items. In this first episode you’ll learn about the red switcher of […]

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