Night ride to Valparaiso

PRR-Detroit-Arrow-obs

As on the train artist buddies Gil Reid and Howard Fogg rode, an open-platform observation car brings up the rear of PRR’s Detroit Arrow at Englewood on the South Side of Chicago. R. S. Stemier One day in 1940 or ’41, I was in my Chicago apartment trying to make up my mind about whether […]

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Chicago Panorama: images from Stuart Klipper

FULL SCREEN Stuart Klipper Stuart Klipper visited Chicago recently and took photos of the yards in the vicinity of the Chicago and Calumet rivers, including the Amtrak operation and the South Chicago/Indiana Harbor yard; Bridge No. 70; the Torrence Avenue bridge; the Cermak Avenue bridge, and the Chicago Skyway. FULL SCREEN Stuart Klipper Stuart Klipper […]

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The Canadian HO scale train set by Rapido Trains

TheCanadianHOscalesetbyRapidoTrains

The Canadian HO scale train set by Rapido Trains A museum-quality HO scale model of The Canadian rumbles to life with two Digital Command Control-(DCC) and sound-equipped diesel locomotives. Rapido Trains is releasing a second run of its superdetailed model of Canadian Pacific’s top transcontinental train. Two General Motors Diesel Division FP9 units and one […]

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Walthers HO scale Gunderson 76-foot cryogenic refrigerator car

WalthersHOscaleGunderson76footcryogenicrefrigeratorcar

Walthers HO scale Gunderson 76-foot cryogenic refrigerator car Price: $24.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. P.O. Box 3039 Milwaukee, WI 53201 www.walthers.com Road names: BNSF Ry. (Nestle patchout), Carnation, McCain, and Simplot (One road number per scheme) Era: 1992 to present Comments: After a nearly two-decade absence, the Gunderson 76-foot cryogenic reefer is back in […]

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Atlas N scale 40-foot PS-1 boxcar

AtlasNscale40footPS1boxcar

Atlas N scale 40-foot PS-1 boxcar Price: $26.95 (undecorated, $21.95) Manufacturer Atlas Model Railroad Co. 378 Florence Ave. Hillside, NJ 07205 www.atlasrr.com Road names: Rutland, Boston & Maine, Buffalo Creek, Lehigh Valley, Maine Central, Milwaukee Road, St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt), and Western Pacific (two numbers each). Era: 1947 to 1980s (Rutland, 1954-1961) Comments: When […]

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Industrial landscape

Two of the few remaining Elgin, Joliet & Eastern-painted SD38-2s are switching the industrial plants east of Morris, Ill., on Dec. 30, 2012. Canadian National acquired the “J” in 2009. Photo by Jonathan Hill […]

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Policing the Olympian Hi

MILW Skytop

Models posed in the lounge of a Milwaukee Road Skytop sleeper-observation car appear to be better behaved than some of the soldiers who rode the Olympian Hiawatha after the Korean War. Milwaukee Road When the Korean conflict was halted by a truce in 1953, there was a rush to get most of our troops home. […]

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New products for the week of May 30, 2013

HiwayCafeki.AlsoavailableinNscale

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SW1500 diesel locomotive. CSX, Louisville & Nashville, Missouri-Kansas-Texas, Norfolk Southern, Reading Co., Seaboard Coast Line (Louisville & Nashville reporting marks), Southern Ry., Southern Pacific (“Kodachrome” or red and gray paint schemes), St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt), Union Pacific, and Western Pacific. Two road numbers each; also available undecorated. Dual-mode Paragon2 […]

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Canadian National Fenelon Falls, Ontario depot drawings

MRRLC0912_AFenelonstation

During a family vacation several years ago, I photographed the former Canadian National Ry. Fenelon Falls, Ont., station. This building stands on a now abandoned 55-mile-long rural branch line that once connected the town of Lindsay to Haliburton. The station houses an art gallery and now has board-and-batten sheathing. However, I’ve found several old pictures […]

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End of the line for Testors Floquil and Polly Scale paint

Testors paint Floquil and Pollyscale discontinued

Testor Corp. will discontinue Polly Scale and Floquil lines of paint that were popular with model railroaders. Testors has announced that it is ending its Floquil and Polly Scale lines of paints, including dozens of model-railroad specific colors. Testors will continue to take orders from retailers and ship paint for a limited time based on […]

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