Abandoned Western Pacific FTA-B units

Abandoned Western Pacific FTA-B units

A rare find of a Western Pacific FTA-B units. Neglected for decades, the unique locomotives have roof-mounted number boards and wagon wheel antennae. The B-unit’s rear headlight came from a former steam locomotive. Being fascinated with the extreme weathering done by military modelers, Bruce Kingsley gave their methods a shot on a pair of small […]

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Three-phase locomotives

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Great Northern Railway used three-phase locomotives in the 1920s. This General Electric locomotive operated with three-phase power. General Electric Q In a September 1999 article in Trains, I read that the Great Northern Cascade Tunnel electrification project was the first and only three-phase A.C. system in America. Was three phase delivered to a moving locomotive? […]

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I was a teenage hostler

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Big EM-1 2-8-8-4s congregate at the Benwood, Ohio, engine terminal in August 1957, a decade after author Tanner was a hostler there.  J. J. Young Jr., Bob Withers coll. Sixty-odd years ago, North American railroads were enjoying prosperous years. World War II was over, but the momentum created during that time continued for another decade. […]

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Prototype drawings Pennsylvania RR class N5c cabin car

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Click on the link to download a pdf copy of the drawings. Don’t miss Kevin Miller’s article in the July 2016 Model Railroader that provides a lettering guide and other information about the iconic Pennsylvania RR N5c cabin car. You can also download scale prototype drawings of a PRR train-phone version of the caboose. […]

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Hobby news Oregon Rail Supply to remain in business

Oregon Rail Supply, manufacturer or HO scale signals and other accessories for model railroaders, announced that it is not going out of business or seeking new ownership. “We appreciate the concern and patience shown us by so many, following the unexpected death last August of my husband, Dick Yager, the founder of Oregon Rail Supply,” […]

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Computer desktop wallpaper from the July 2016 Model Railroader

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Click on the links to the left to download the image size appropriate for your computer screen. The Mosquito Creek Lumber Co.’s lone Climax locomotive leads the “Clean-Up Train” across a low bridge over the algae-covered swamps of Louisiana. Joseph Kreiss of Fairmont, Minn., whose HO scale Big Island Rail layout was featured in the […]

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