APOPKA, Fla. — Regional Rail LLC’s Florida Central Railroad soon will receive two rebuilt EMD GP15-1s dressed in a black-with-yellow-stripes image reminiscent of the Seaboard Coast Line. Regional Rail, established in 2007 and based in Kennett Square, Pa., now has 13 operations throughout the eastern United States and in Saskatchewan, Canada. As a growing short […]
The GMDH1 diesel-hydraulic locomotives led a short life with one staying near their birthplace of London, Ontario. Diesel-hydraulic railroad locomotives are just what they say they are: diesel engines connected to a hydraulic transmission via the same principle as you would in your automobile. They can be found in various parts of the […]
Locomotives with two diesel engines: The recent announcement by Union Pacific to donate a portion of its heritage steam and diesel fleet has lowered the number of Class I railroads owning double diesel locomotives to one. A double diesel locomotive features two prime movers on a single frame to increase the horsepower beyond what’s available […]
INDIANAPOLIS — The Iowa Traction Railway has received the inaugural “Outstanding Railroad Historic Preservation Award,” presented Monday at the opening day of Railway Interchange by the National Railway Historical Society in conjunction with the magazines Railway Age and Railway Track & Structures. The award honors a North American common-carrier railroad for a historically significant preservation […]
Who built the steam locomotives? In the transportation business of today, “Big Three” invariably means General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, the dominant U.S. domestic automakers. But just a few decades ago, when the manufacture of steam locomotives was a bellwether American industry, “Big Three” could only have meant Alco, Baldwin, and Lima. Maybe these great […]
Minnesota Transportation Museum’s Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway OSCEOLA, Wis. — If you were at the restored Soo Line depot in Osceola on Sept. 11-12, you’d be hard pressed to know what railroad operated there. That’s because the Minnesota Transportation Museum’s Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway operated three trains representing three different railroads […]
LOS ANGELES. — Santa Fe steam locomotive No. 3751’s appearance at last weekend’s Los Angeles Union Station Train Festival 2023 saw multiple firsts. It was the first public outing for the locomotive this year, the first visit to the passenger terminal since 2017, and the first public night photo session since returning to service in […]
News & Products for the week of September 11th 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of September 11th […]
Second of two parts Part one of this report appeared Tuesday, Sept. 5 EFFINGHAM, Ill. —The latest round of tests investigating ways to ensure trains always activate track circuits — the process known as “shunt” — involves shunt-enhancing antennas mounted on both trucks of a state-owned locomotive in Amtrak service in California. Here’s how the […]
Mind-blowing facts — cabooses Cabin, cabin car, waycar, brake van, van, crummy, crum box, birdcage, boneshaker, brain box, shack, shanty, parlor, hack, zoo, or caboose, regardless of what you name the car that concluded American freight trains from the 1830s until the mid-1980s, it remains a railroading icon. The first caboose can be traced to […]
First of two parts EFFINGHAM, Ill, —What happens when electrical current connected with signal systems doesn’t reliably travel from one rail to another when a train passes? Dispatchers “lose” the train — it disappears from their screens — and warning lights don’t flash or gates don’t lower at highway crossings as the train approaches. The […]
News & Products for the week of August 28th 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of August 28th […]
