Lionel Legacy U28C diesel locomotive

side view of camouflage locomotive

Lionel has reissued the U28C diesel locomotive for the first time since 2012. The model was announced in the 2024 Volume 1 catalog. This six-axle unit was not that common on prototype railroads, and its unique appearance will allow it to stand out on your layout.  The prototype was produced by General Electric between February […]

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Diesel lineup at New Orleans

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Illinois Central, Texas & Pacific, and Kansas City Southern E units plus (barely visible) Louisville & Nashville and Southern Pacific F units) idle in the engine terminal outside New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal in 1954, when the facility was new. James G. La Vake photo […]

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ScaleTrains HO EMD GP40

Screen shot from product review video with green and yellow HO scale diesel and title bar in lower left corner

Check out the all-new ScaleTrains HO EMD GP40 diesel locomotive in our latest product review video. Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno shares a brief history of the four-axle road switcher and explains why Chicago & North Western 5525 is historically significant; points out the many prototype-specific details on the Rivet Counter line model; and […]

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ScaleTrains HO EMD GP40

Screen shot from product review video with green and yellow HO scale diesel and title bar in lower left corner

Check out the all-new ScaleTrains HO EMD GP40 diesel locomotive in our latest product review video. Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno shares a brief history of the four-axle road switcher and explains why Chicago & North Western 5525 is historically significant; points out the many prototype-specific details on the Rivet Counter line model; and […]

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News & Products for the week of March 17th 2025

An orange model locomotive

News & Products for the week of March 17th 2025   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 March 17th, […]

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Early Burlington Northern locomotives in review

Freshly painted green-and-black diesel locomotive in front of freight cars in yard

  When the long-anticipated “Hill Lines” merger finally created the Burlington Northern on March 2, 1970, it was time not to mourn the loss of a favorite, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, but to embrace and record the details of the changeover. I had been through this six years before, when the Norfolk & Western […]

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Built by Others: Adam Palmer’s San Juan Central Version 2

A model railroad layout assembled at a convention center

Built by Others is an article series showcasing layouts constructed by modelers using plans and projects from the pages of Model Railroader and its related products. Malcolm Furlow’s HOn3 San Juan Central layout first appeared in a multi-part series in the pages of Model Railroader between 1983 and 1984. Adam Palmer’s San Juan Central V2 […]

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Metra’s SD70MACHs working well, chief operating officer says

Blue locomotive on commuter train under clear blue skies

CHICAGO — Metra is having “great luck” with its fleet of SD70MACH locomotives, Chief Operating Officer Kevin McCann told the Sandhouse Rail Group today (Wednesday, March 12, 2025). McCann and Chief Engineering Officer Scott Schiemann updated those attending the Northwestern University Transportation Center event at Metra headquarters on a wide variety of projects and initiatives […]

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News & Products for the week of March 10th 2025

A blue and white model lcocomotive

News & Products for the week of March 10th 2025   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 March 10th, […]

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Lionel City of Miami train set

yellow and green model train on track

The City of Miami was a vibrant orange and palm green streamliner of the Illinois Central Railroad. Operating between 1940 and 1971, the train provided service from Chicago to Miami, and was powered by a single EMD E6 diesel locomotive. The first jaw-dropping feature of Lionel’s latest rendition of the set isn’t the locomotive  itself, […]

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