Twenty-four years separate these two density maps — a long time in North American railroading. The 1974 Penn Central map uses the last data available for the failed railroad; the 1998 Conrail map likewise is based on the last data before its system was split between CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern. While similarities appear, the […]
This Map of the Month was featured in the March 2007 issue of Trains magazine. Imagine if you were to go back in time and tell Cornelius Vanderbilt that the giant railroad system he had methodically assembled — the powerful New York Central — would one day be carved up by two coal roads from […]
WASHINGTON – The Federal Railroad Administration today published a final rule updating its locomotive safety standards. The agency says the rule “incorporates existing industry and engineering best practices related to locomotives and to the electronics in them.” Among the changes are for new and remanufactured locomotives to be equipped with a lock to prevent unauthorized intrusions. […]
This Map of the Month appeared in the February 2005 issue of Trains magazine. Say good-bye to two successful railroads,” was the startling way Seaboard Coast Line introduced itself in magazine advertisements in summer 1967. Below the picture of two streamlined diesels blurring nose-to-nose into each other, the ad continued with a gushing declaration: “The new […]
This Map of the Month appeared in the August 2003 issue of Trains magazine. Where does a railroad go? Might seem like the most basic of questions. But with trackage rights and service alliances, a railroad’s franchise — its sphere of influence — may extend far beyond the outermost mile of track it owns. […]
This Map of the Month appeared in the January 2004 issue of Trains. Al first glance, this looks like the route map of an airline. In reality, it’s BNSF Railway’s merchandise freight traffic network (i.e., cars not moving in unit trains from one common origin to one destination). It’s no coincidence they look the same, for […]
Bachmann HO scale Alco S-4 diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Alco S-4 diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (zebra stripe paint scheme); Erie RR; New York Central (Pittsburgh & Lake Erie reporting marks); Southern Pacific; Union Pacific (“Dependable Transportation” slogan); Western Maryland (speed lettering). Directional headlights; die-cast metal chassis, fuel tank, gear tower, and […]
A pair of CSX trains, with Union Pacific; Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern; and Kansas City Southern locomotives; wait for new crews in Willard, Ohio’s train yard. Photo by Brandon Townley […]
Athearn HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotives HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes and road numbers: Southern Pacific; CP Rail; Denver & Rio Grande Western; Nickel Plate Road; Toledo, Peoria & Western; and Western Maryland. Three road numbers each. Directional headlights, prototype-specific details, and McHenry scale magnetic knuckle couplers. […]
Spring Mills Depot canstock boxcar At first glance, this Baltimore & Ohio model looks like a boxcar with off-center doors. However, it’s actually a specialized heavy-duty car designed to haul coils of thin aluminum or tin used to manufacture cans for the food industry. The prototype. In the late 1960s, the B&O’s mechanical engineers were […]
HO scale structures Canadian National sand house. Laser-cut wood kit with Mt. Albert siding and color-coded scale lumber, window castings, doors, and base. Footprint is 2” x 9”. $49.95. Kanamodel Products, www.kanamodel.com Monroe Models HO scale Hickson Depot kit The Hickson Depot. Laser-cut wood kit with peel-and-stick trim and shingles, cast chimney, train-order signal, station […]
HO scale locomotives General Electric Dash 8-40C and 8-40CW diesel locomotives. New road numbers and paint schemes. Dash 8-40C: Canadian National (15th anniversary or modern paint schemes), Ferrocarriles Nationales de Mexico (three road numbers). Dash 8-40CW: BNSF (three new numbers); Conrail (“Quality” lettering), CSX (patched Conrail), Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific (three new numbers). Two […]
