LOS ANGELES – Amtrak is planning to detour its southbound Coast Starlight between Oakland and Los Angeles in March and April due to track work. Instead of its normal route along the California Coast, train No. 11 will travel Union Pacific’s ex-Southern Pacific route via the San Joaquin Valley and Tehachapi Loop. The detours are planned for March 13-15, March 24-30, […]
Section: News & Reviews
Texas City Terminal receives its first MotivePower MP14B NEWSWIRE

Texas City Terminal No. 36 Mike Harbour HOUSTON, Texas – Texas City Terminal, a six-mile switching line near Houston, received the first of three MotivePower MP14Bs last week. Rebuilt from TCT’s fleet of EMD MP15DCs, the units, Nos. 35, 36 and 37, feature a pair of Cummins-powered gensets and were paid for in part by […]
Athearn Trains HO scale GP38-2 diesel locomotive

With the release of its new GP38-2, Athearn has done all the superdetailing work for you. Part of the firm’s top-of-the-line Genesis series, these HO scale diesel-electric locomotives are modeled to meticulously match each prototype. The newly tooled Geeps are also available factory-equipped with a dual-mode SoundTraxx DCC decoder. The prototype. With more than 2,200 […]
Walthers HO scale Budd RDC-3 Rail Diesel Car

Walthers HO scale Budd RDC-2 rail diesel car The HO scale Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC)-3 is back, and this time Walthers has added a simulated stainless-steel finish to the self-propelled car. The model has a 1-piece injection-molded plastic shell and a zinc-alloy frame with cast underbody detail. We reviewed the Life-Like Proto 1000 (now […]
Atlas HO scale Alco RS-11 diesel locomotive

Atlas HO scale Alco RS-11 diesel locomotive The latest release of the Alco RS-11 from Atlas Model Railroad Co. is available in four new prototypical paint schemes. Model Railroader reviewed the first release of the updated model in green and yellow Central Vermont livery back in 2001. The prototype. Northern Pacific purchased a total of […]
Tangent Scale Models HO scale HO GSC 60-foot flatcar

Tangent Scale Models HO scale GSC 60-foot flatcar Plain flatcars are versatile utility cars on real and model railroads. They haul all sorts of materials, such as lumber, machinery, and just about anything else that can be secured on the deck. This new HO model from Tangent Scale Models represents a 60-foot flatcar design introduced […]
BNSF to add 14 cars to carry Boeing 737 fuselages NEWSWIRE

Boeing fuselages on BNSF train H-KCKDEN1-13 detouring near Wellington, Kan., on July 14, 2011. Keel Middleton RENTON, Wash. – BNSF Railway will add another 14 special cars to carry Boeing 737 fuselages in the coming months to match Boeing’s rising production of its most popular aircraft model, the Puget Sound Business Journal reports. The additional cars […]
North Carolina desires restoration of abandoned rail line NEWSWIRE
RALEIGH, N. C. – Legislators in North Carolina filed a bill today calling on the state’s department of transportation to upgrade some existing rail lines and fund the restoration of 27 miles of abandoned railroad between the towns of Castle Hayne and Wallace. The line was abandoned by CSX Transportation in the 1990s. Proponents hope […]
Video: MTH HO scale Empire State Express passenger train
The MTH HO scale Empire State Express passenger train set features five cars accurately detailed for their famous prototypes. The cars also feature detailed and lighted interiors and the observation car even includes an illuminated tailsign. See the train run through the scenes on the Model Railroader staff’s club model train layout. […]
Otter Tail Valley Railroad to lose largest customer in 2020 NEWSWIRE
FERGUS FALLS, Minn. – The Otter Tail Valley Railroad will lose its largest customer when the Otter Tail Power Co. shuts down its two coal fired generators at its Fergus Falls plant in 2020. However, the later date is a victory for the railroad and power company since environmental groups had urged the Minnesota Public Utilities […]
New products for the week of January 31, 2013

Athearn Trains HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP50 diesel locomotives HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP50 diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Chicago & North Western; and Southern Ry. Four road numbers each. Factory-installed wire grab irons, prototype-specific details, and McHenry knuckle couplers. Direct-current model, $189.98; with SoundTraxx Digital Command Control sound decoder, $289.98. September […]
New products for March 2013

HERITAGE GOES RAILKING: The wildly popular Norfolk Southern (NS) Heritage series of retro paint schemes joining the RailKing line. The Electro-Motive Diesel SD70ACe is an Imperial line locomotive featuring road names NS applied to this prototype body. The fallen flags include Erie, Illinois Terminal, Jersey Central, Lackawanna (shown above), Penn Central, Reading, Savannah & Atlanta, […]