Eastern Seaboard Models, well-known for its N and Z scale products, announced that it will be entering the HO scale market. The company’s initial offerings will be Magor and Pacific Car & Foundry 40-foot XIH heated, insulated plug-door boxcars. The first cars will be a circa 1950 Bangor & Aroostook boxcar based on a Magor […]
Athearn announced that it will be adding a Union Pacific Electro-Motive Division (EMD) SD59M-2 diesel locomotive to its Genesis 2.0 line. The HO scale six-axle road locomotive is based on prototypes rebuilt from EMD SD60M phase II diesels. The newly tooled Athearn Genesis 2.0 model will include separate, factory-applied uncoupling levers, m.u. hoses, and sander […]
Pennsylvania Railroad HO scale transition era layouts Pennsylvania Railroad HO scale transition era layouts are among the grandest and most visually stunning in model railroading. Bridges, viaducts, and tunnels stitch together verdant vistas. Brunswick green, Tuscan red, or plain black steam and diesel locomotives thread drag freights and limiteds alike through lush canyons, beside quarries, […]
If you want a structure for your outdoor layout that will hold up to the elements, consider using clay. I’m an art teacher and when I began my outdoor railroad it was my first choice of materials for my buildings. You can buy clay from local sources or online. Most catalogs sell it in 50-pound […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has scheduled hearings on three major issues: the CSX acquisition of Pan Am Railways; Amtrak’s bid to operate trains between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala., and its reciprocal switching proposal. All three hearings will be held in the hearing room at the STB’s Washington headquarters, with additional specifics to […]
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway and Canadian National have raised issues with federal regulators’ timeline for review of the proposed Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. BNSF, in a filing posted today on the Surface Transportation Board’s website, said the 90-day comment period was insufficient given the ramifications of how the merger would affect traffic moving between […]
IRONDALE, Ala. — Doug Karhan, who was master mechanic of steam for Norfolk Southern from 1982 to the close of excursions in 1994, has died. Karhan, who began as a volunteer, became assistant to the late Bill Purdie. He died Thursday, those close to him tell Trains News Wire. No other details were immediately available. […]
WASHINGTON – Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern will have to study the environmental impacts of their proposed merger, the Surface Transportation Board said today. The railways will have to prepare an environmental impact statement partly due to projected increases in rail traffic on several line segments, most notably on CP’s former Milwaukee Road line […]
On a railroad, a switch usually refers to the moving parts of a turnout that routes a train between two possible routes. This time, though, we’re talking about an electrical switch: specifically, a double-pole double-throw switch (DPDT). It’s easy to understand a single-pole single-throw switch: it only has two states, open or closed, off or […]
MONTREAL — Canadian National has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, becoming the first North American railroad to do so by joining the Business Ambition for 1.5°C and United Nations Race to Zero campaigns. “CN’s pledge to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 further builds upon our commitment to short-, medium- and long-term targets, […]
OTTAWA, Ontario — Light rail service on the O-Train Confederation Line resumed Friday morning after a 54-day shutdown triggered by a Sept. 19 derailment. Operations resumed with just seven trainsets in operation, and with the bus route that had replaced the light rail service continuing to operate during the period of partial operation, CTV News […]
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Winnipeg Railway Museum, which has displayed a collection including a landmark steam locomotive at the city’s Union Station for 30 years, is facing closure and relocation from its longtime home. The CBC reports the museum has been told its location at the 110-year-old station requires significant work to be brought up […]
