Five railroads respond to joint STB-FRA letter

Five Class I railroads have now responded to last month’s joint letter from the Surface Transportation Board and Federal Railroad Adminstration, mostly in general terms assuring the two agencies that they are prepared for an upsurge in traffic. The letter to CEOs at the seven Class I roads asked railroads to ensure they have sufficient […]

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New model trains for the week of September 3, 2020

HO scale locomotives Canadian National RSC-14 diesel locomotive. Canadian National (“wet noodle” herald and stripes schemes). Five road numbers per scheme. Redesigned chassis and shell for easier access and disassembly; operating headlights, rear lights, bi-color class lights, and illuminated cab control stand; metal side handrails with plastic stanchions; and detailed cab interior with control stand, […]

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Atlas acquires HO, N tooling from True Line Trains

Atlas Model Railroad Co. announced that it purchased certain molds and tooling from True Line Trains. Among the HO tooling acquired include Fairbanks-Morse C-Liner and Montreal Locomotive Works RS-18 diesel locomotives, slab-side covered hopper, 50-foot newsprint boxcar, Fowler stockcar, bulkhead flatcar, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific cabooses, and Association of American Railroads 40-foot boxcar. In […]

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Digest: Waterloo Central completes heritage paint project for switchers

Wednesday afternoon rail news: Waterloo Central switchers now in heritage scheme The Waterloo Central Railway, the heritage railroad operated by the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society, has completed its project repainting three switch engines into Canadian Pacific’s classic gray-and-maroon scheme. Now wearing the scheme are Montreal Locomotive Works S13 Nos. 1001 and 1002, both built […]

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Ask MR: What’s a control point?

Question: I’ve been noticing the term “control points” (CPs) being used in train-watching videos and in your magazine. The article on John Schindler’s amazing St. Louis Junction [March 2020] mentions CPs including West Madison, Gratiot, and Chicago Throat. Canadian Pacific’s Paynesville Sub has CP 115 and CP 70. This tells me CPs can be designated […]

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Remembering the Great Northern Railway

  In 1857 the Minnesota & Pacific Railroad was chartered to build a line from Stillwater, Minnesota, on the St. Croix River, through St. Paul and St. Cloud to St. Vincent, in the northwest corner of the state. The company defaulted after completing a roadbed between St. Paul and St. Cloud, Minnesota, and its charter […]

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New model trains for the week of August 27, 2020

HO scale locomotives United States Railroad Administration 0-6-0 steam locomotive. Pre-production artwork shown. Baltimore & Ohio, Central RR of New Jersey, New York Central System, Pennsylvania RR, and Union Pacific. Dual-mode TCS WOWSound Sound Value decoder with Keep-Alive capacitor, operating headlight, metal side rods, and E-Z Mate Mark II couplers. $329. Release date to be […]

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New model trains for the week of August 20, 2020

HO scale locomotives Pennsylvania RR class K4 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotive. Prewar with slat pilot and postwar with modern pilot. Two road numbers each. Dual-mode TCS WOWSound decoder with Keep-Alive capacitor; separate, factory-applied injectors, pump, and piping; metal uncoupling levers; operating headlight; all-metal chassis; die-cast metal trailing truck; blackened-metal side rods; painted engineer and fireman […]

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