10 vintage toy train items for your holiday layout

green and white switch tower

10 vintage toy train items for your holiday layout The holidays are fast approaching! If you’ll be setting up a display (or a permanent layout), Senior Editor Roger Carp has suggestions for 10 items to add for the most fun! 1. Lionel No. 154 highway signal – for once, its enormous height and out-of-scale proportions […]

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Tips for better tubular track

O gauge track with bottles of cleaner

Tips for better tubular track Stamped metal track has been around for more than a hundred years. This “old reliable” track system is very sturdy and works equally well for permanent and non-permanent layouts. I start by darkening the center rail with cold metal bluing compound. Bluing compound is used in firearms restoration and is […]

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South Shore Line opens first part of Double Track projects

Electric multiple-unit trainset at station at night

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — South Shore Line commuter trains began operation on the first portion of the Double Track project between Gary and Michigan City on Wednesday, with trains running between Michigan City and the Dune Park station in Chesterton for the first time in more than a year. The resumption of rail service between […]

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From the Cab: I saw the light

A silver Amtrak locomotive at the head of passenger cars under a dark stormy sky

I saw the light, but changing the light was a whole different matter — and that’s why I’m skeptical when a locomotive builder claims to have consulted engineers when designing a new and improved model. And with good reason. They’re usually looking for product endorsement rather than any input intended for product development. A seasoned […]

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U.S. rail traffic remains above 2022 levels

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity, plus overall intermodal volume.

WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic was once again above 2022 figures for the week ending Oct. 21, with total volume up 1.8%, according to figures from the Association of American Railroads. Traffic for the week was 505,985 carloads and intermodal units. That included 234,893 carloads, an increase of 1.5% from the corresponding week a […]

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Halloween fun making a carved pumpkin layout

Looking for tricks to make a special pumpkin treat? Not the kind of treat you’d want to eat, but certainly one you can use to make a scary good gourd display…complete with an operating N scale (1:160) train! Follow along as Bryson shares the process he used to shape a festive faux pumpkin into a […]

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CPKC revenue and earnings decline amid soft volume

Train with red locomotive passing station

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City today lowered its outlook for the year after a third quarter that saw broad-based volume declines. “No doubt a challenging quarter as we dealt with a softer demand environment and supply-chain impacts from the strike at the Port of Vancouver,” CEO Keith Creel told investors and analysts on […]

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