ATLANTA – Service will be canceled on Amtrak’s Crescent route between Atlanta and New Orleans will be canceled on select dates between Jan. 6 and Feb. 6. The cancellations are due to track work being performed by Norfolk Southern. Train Nos. 19 and 20 normally operate between New York and New Orleans. Service will be […]
Section: News & Reviews
Book Review: Railroads for Michigan
Railroads for Michigan by Graydon M. Meints Michigan State University Press, Suite 25, Manly Miles Building, 1405 S. Harrison Road, East Lansing, MI 48823-5245; 640 pages, 180 black-and-white photos; hardcover, 8.5 x 11 in.; $49.95. Michigan’s railroad history is well served by “Railroads for Michigan,” a sprawling new survey by historian Graydon M. Meints. From […]
NS to discontinue service over former Norfolk, Franklin & Danville NEWSWIRE
NORFOLK, Va. – The Surface Transportation Board has approved Norfolk Southern’s petition to discontinue service over 53.2 miles of the former Norfolk, Franklin & Danville trackage in southern Virginia. The discontinuance is in effect between milepost 37.0, near Franklin, and the end of the line at milepost 90.2 near Lawrenceville. In its filing, NS told […]
In memoriam: Model Railroader author John Pryke
John Pryke working on the Union Freight RR that appeared as a four-part series in Model Railroader in the year 2000. Long-time Model Railroader author and staff friend John Pryke died on Dec. 22, 2013, in Chatham, Mass. John was introduced to readers in 1965 when photos of his prize-winning New Haven RR 0-8-0 locomotive […]
Proxxon micro planer
Marc Horovitz Micro planer Proxxon Prox-Tech, Inc. PO Box 1909 Hickory NC 28603 US Price: $890 Website: http://shop.prox-tech.com Miniature planer; plastic housing over heavy aluminum castings; two cutters; 6,000 rpm; 1/4-horse motor; constant automatic feed rate; infinitely adjustable feed depth in .05mm (around .002″) increments; wrenches supplied; instruction manual supplied; replacement blades available; feed rate, […]
Stoneworks 1:24 scale grist mill drawings
Marc Horovitz 1:24 scale plans and construction guide for three-story mill Stoneworks PO Box 190 Shell Knob MO 65747 Price: $17 Website: www.RRStoneworks.com Full-size plans and construction guide for building a three-story grist-mill structure in cement (#7116); three 24″ x 36″ sheets of drawings, photos, and instructions; one four page 81/2″ x 11″ pamphlet of […]
The Train Department slate-wagon kit
Nancy Norris Gauge 1, 7/8″ scale, Welsh slate-wagon kit The Train Department 26 Coral Dr. Hazlet NJ 07730 Price: $75 Website: www.thetraindepartment.com Welsh slate-wagon kit in 7⁄8″ scale (#TD5105); major parts, laser-cut steel; white-metal detail castings; curly-spoke wheels from Sierra Valley; instructions supplied Pros: Good instructions; helpful drawings; industrial strength, all-metal construction; plenty of detail […]
Big Boy, Union Pacific steam supporter Ed Gerlits dies NEWSWIRE
Ed Gerlits Jim Wrinn POMONA, Calif. — Ed Gerlits, a well-known Denver-area railroad enthusiast, former Colorado tourist railroad owner, and the man who just last month welcomed scores of visitors to witness Union Pacific move Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, has died. He was 79. Gerlits, the long-time mentor […]
Video: Blackstone Models HOn3 2-8-0 Consolidation
The Blackstone Models HOn3 (HO scale 3-foot gauge) 2-8-0 Consolidation features a SoundTraxx Tsunami Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder. We ran the superdetailed steam locomotive on Blackstone’s new ProTraxx HOn3 click track. […]
New products for February 2014
TAKE YOUR PASSENGERS TO THE SHED: Bridge Boss offers a line of train shed kits designed to service a variety of train scales. One version measures 48 x 24 x 24 inches for Large scale, Standard gauge, or O gauge trains. The other shed version is 24 x 16 x 16 inches for O, S, […]
O gauge RailKing SW1 switcher by MTH
The holidays are past, the tree is down, and the radio station is done with Christmas music for another 11 months. Yet you haven’t quite stored the train set you bought for (a) the kids, (b) the grandkids, or (c) yourself. Maybe it will be a good idea to set up a little railroad. Maybe […]
Throttlepack AC100 transformer by MRC
Throughout the year people call our magazine to ask which transformer they should use for a new (usually small or first-time) layout. I’ve been asked if an MTH Z-4000 or a Lionel ZW was needed for a 4 x 8-foot layout. The answer: Unless you know for a fact that in the near future your […]
