High hopes but no luck

In high hopes of increased coal traffic, West Virginia’s Middle Fork Railroad in the early 1960s laid heavier rail on its main line. Some of that rail waits in gons while a loaded coal train moves past at Ellamore, W.Va. Alas, the traffic never materialized. Photo by J. Michael Dunn III […]

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Virginian Railway

Virginian-Fall2001-1

Read about the Virginian Railway in a PDF of the article: “A Bit of Flair in the Coalfields” published in the Fall 2001 issue of Classic Trains  in the Fallen Flags Remembered section. Download the story by clicking on the PDF below. […]

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One man’s favorite locomotive

PRR1592

Engineer Norman Strickland (in front of cylinder) and fireman Russell Phillips stand at Perryville, Md., with G5s 1592, ready to depart with MD-58 for Philadelphia via the Octoraro Branch. George Gillespie Probably 90 percent of all railfans would say their favorite locomotive is the one on which they took their first cab ride. This is […]

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Video: MTH HO scale Alco PA/PB set

The MTH Electric Trains HO Scale Alco PA/PB diesel locomotives feature the Digital Command System (DCS) and the Proto-Sound 3.0 system. See and hear the locomotives in action as they haul a streamlined passenger train around our model railroad. […]

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Video: MTH HO scale Alco PA/PB set

The MTH Electric Trains HO Scale Alco PA/PB diesel locomotives feature the Digital Command System (DCS) and the Proto-Sound 3.0 system. See and hear the locomotives in action as they haul a streamlined passenger train around our model railroad. […]

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How to make a more realistic puffball forest

Puffballtrees

The cardboard brings the puffball foliage to the same height as the foreground trees. The screen and cardboard are completely hidden in the finished scene. Modeling a dense forest area on your model train layout can get expensive if you start using individual trees.  I found a way to make puffball trees look more realistic, […]

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Reading Company

Reading-Summer2000-1

Read about the Reading Company’s railroad in a PDF of the Fallen Flags Remembered article: “Take a Ride on the Reading” published in the Summer 2000 issue of Classic Trains magazine. Download the story by clicking on the PDF below. […]

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Take a photo tour of Amtrak’s new Miami shop

FULL SCREEN Bob Johnston Welcome to Hialeah! Amtrak shares space in the 53-acre shop area with CSX and Tri-Rail vendors Veolia and Bombardier, which service Tri-Rail’s Miami-West Palm Beach commuter trains. FULL SCREEN Bob Johnston Wheels that have been recently trued (machined and straightened) are put on a truck for the Auto Train facility at […]

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New products for May 24, 2012

Walthers HO scale Electro-Motive Division F7A diesel locomotive

HO scale locomotives  General Electric U25B diesel locomotive. New road name: Southern Pacific (road no. 3100). Upgraded handrails, separately applied details, and RP-25 contour metal wheelsets. Bowser will donate $15 from each sale to Orange Empire Ry. Museum. Direct current, $199.95. With SoundTraxx Digital Command Control sound decoder, $299.95. Late 2012. Ready-to-run. Executive Line. Bowser, […]

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New products for May 17, 2012

Atlas HO scale Trinity 25500galloncapacity tank car

Atlas HO scale Trinity 25,500-gallon-capacity tank car HO scale freight cars Trinity 25,500-gallon-capacity tank car. New paint schemes: ADM (leaf logo), Bunge, ConAgra Foods, and Chevron. New road numbers: Cargill Vegetable Oils and IBPX. Three car numbers each. See-through platform grating, prototype-specific details, and knuckle couplers. $31.95. Ready-to-run. Master Line. Atlas Model Railroad Co., 908-687-0880, […]

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When the Green Hornet raced the Hiawatha

HiawathaDeerfield

On a day when they left the “Green Hornet” parked in order to simply watch the Afternoon Hiawatha sweep by, artist buddies Howard Fogg (at right in photo) and Gil Reid witnessed an F7 Hudson lean into Deerfield Curve with the Chicago-bound train. Gil Reid The year is 1939, and I am a student at […]

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