Walthers HO scale American Car & Foundry 85-foot baggage car

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Walthers HO scale American Car & Foundry 85-foot baggage car An 85-foot baggage car has been added to the Union Pacific “City train” series of HO scale passenger cars from Walthers. It represents one of the 33 cars (series 5631-5663) built by American Car & Foundry in 1954. It’s a ready-to-run model with factory-installed handrails. […]

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Birth of an NC&StL nickname

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Bruceton was a busy junction in west Tennessee on the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway. One engineer who worked out of there was known for his pompous, stuffed-shirt manner and lordly bearing which often grated upon others. Drawing a hotshot run out of Bruceton, this engineer put his 2-8-2 to serious work and was […]

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Get the old man

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Way back in 1940, I took a fling at railroading. After ditching art school, I went to work for the Alton Railroad at its roundhouse at Glenn Yard in southwest Chicago. My job was mechanic’s helper. One of my duties was to tighten the bolts on locomotive cylinder heads. I attacked the task with vim […]

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Terry Johnson’s O gauge layout action

After watching this video, be sure to check out his other clips, especially the one titled “Special Effects” that highlights the computerized special effects on his layout which include sunset, stars, cricket sounds, a storm with wind, rain, lightening and thunder, fog, sunrise, and chirping birds […]

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Terry Johnson’s O gauge layout action

After watching this video, be sure to check out his other clips, especially the one titled “Special Effects” that highlights the computerized special effects on his layout which include sunset, stars, cricket sounds, a storm with wind, rain, lightening and thunder, fog, sunrise, and chirping birds […]

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Broadway Limited Imports HO scale T-1 4-8-4 steam locomotive

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Broadway Limited Imports HO scale T-1 4-8-4 steam locomotive You’ve probably seen an HO scale model of a T-1 class before. Precision Craft Models released one that we reviewed in the April 2006 Model Railroader. Now Broadway Limited Imports has released this version equipped with its Paragon2 Digital Command Control (DCC) sound decoder, and the […]

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Freight station operations

Less-than-carload-lot (LCL) package and merchandise traffic lines a covered freight station dock at the Chicago & North Western’s Proviso Yard in December 1942. Note the light-colored refrigerator car on the far track. Many of our model railroads have freight stations, but we don’t always make the most of their operational possibilities. Especially for cities from […]

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Athearn Trains HO scale Union Pacific Veranda Turbine

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Athearn Trains HO scale Union Pacific Veranda Turbine The Union Pacific’s gas-turbine era saw some distinctive locomotives, such as the “Veranda” B-B-B-B locomotive modeled in HO scale by Athearn. The ready-to-run model operates smoothly on DC layouts and includes provisions for adding Digital Command Control (DCC) and sound. The prototype. Delivered by General Electric in […]

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November 2010 Free Trains Express PDFs

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Anniversaries! Trains magazine has celebrated its longevity with special reports to look back over railroading’s rich history. Download the two PDFs below; here is a list of the stories. Twenty-Five Years of Trains By David P. Morgan Pages 20-21, November 1965   Steam . . . What a Void She Left By David P. Morgan            […]

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Afterward From Before: Observations About Railroads

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Few would argue that Ted Benson is a great writer and photographer. His contributions to Trains over the years have been among our readers’ favorites. But did readers of our February 1977 issue realize Benson might also be prophetic? In “Andover Afterward,” he wrote of Southern Pacific 4449 returning to mainline rails after a 16-year […]

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Lionel’s O gauge jet-powered rail diesel car

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In the declining years of private passenger haulage, one of the illusions held out for consideration was that the public might be drawn back to the rails if passenger trains ran at or near airline speeds. In the caveman days of the 1960s, high-speed rail was pretty much just finding a way to match the […]

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