Ask Trains from December 2010

Q I’ve read that when some railroads sent their steam locomotives in for a complete overhaul, they changed the main drivers to a disc type. Why would they do this?— Alex Jamieson, Chatham, Ont. A Changing to disc-type drivers was done on a case-by-case basis. The older style spoke drivers had a tendency to break […]

Read More…

Atlas HO dash 8-40C diesel Locomotive

Atlas HO dash 8-40C diesel Locomotive I just purchased two Atlas Series Dash 8-40C diesel electric locomotives in Direct-Current version in Union Pacific colors. I went shopping for a mixture of second and third generation Union Pacific motive power to handle coal trains and manifest freight cars on my Bayou Division, since UP has trackage […]

Read More…

Athearn Trains N scale Gunderson Husky Stack

Athearn Trains N scale Gunderson Husky Stack Either as a standalone car or drawbar connected in multiples of three or four, the Gunderson Husky Stack is a common double-stack container car that’s available as a ready-to-run N scale model from Athearn. The N scale Husky Stack features an impressive amount of separately applied detail parts […]

Read More…

Spreading my wings from SN Junction

On a hot afternoon in August 1960, the year before the author began his Erie employment there, five Alco cab units thundered past SN Tower with a 99 freight. J. David Ingles In 1961 my dream came true. For the past six months or so I had been hanging out at various towers on the […]

Read More…

Seattle’s Railroad Scene

A Union Pacific line runs along the east bank of the Duwamish River in Seattle. Benjamin B. Bachman A similar BNSF Railway line follows the west bank, ending at Port of Seattle Terminal 115, where Alaska-bound freight is transferred from trucks and railroad cars to barges. Benjamin B. Bachman Puget sound looks calm enough on […]

Read More…

Burlington Northern icon Robert W. Downing dies NEWSWIRE

Robert W. Downing Burlington Northern SPOKANE, Wash. – Robert W. Downing, a railroad legend who helped shape today’s BNSF Railway during a career with its predecessor roads, died yesterday following surgery. He was 96 years old. Downing’s railroad career began with Pennsylvania Railroad during the Great Depression. When PRR laid him off, he took a […]

Read More…

Setting up locomotives for distributed power operations

Powder River coal loads bound for Otter Tail Power’s Big Stone City, S.D., plant pass Bristol, S.D., with a 2-by-1 front-rear distributed power setup in April 2003. Andy Cummings Trains magazine told you about distributed power in “Freight Train, Unbounded” by David Lustig in our September 2010 issue. But, what’s the step-by-step process? Find out […]

Read More…

National Train Show 2010 preview

Blackstone Models HOn3 class C-19 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive (pre-production model shown) HO scale locomotives HOn3 class C-19 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive. Denver & Rio Grande Western (four road numbers available, one in “Bumblebee” scheme) and Rio Grande Southern (one number). Pre-production model shown. Die-cast metal boiler, wire handrails, and magnetic knuckle couplers. Price and […]

Read More…

Atlas O bulkhead flatcar

The Atlas O 68-foot bulkhead flatcar is back in new paint schemes and road numbers. Model Railroader magazine Senior Editor Cody Grivno hosts our latest product review video, taking an in-depth look at the Trainman series model. Features on the bulkhead flatcar include side stake pockets, simulated tie loops, a fish-belly center sill, pull plates, […]

Read More…

McKinney Avenue Trolley’s fleet

In Historic Trains Today, we bring you “Unburied Treasure,” the story about the McKinney Avenue Trolley Authority in Dallas. In 2010, MATA has six streetcars cars listed as in service, two undergoing restoration, and five more awaiting work. Learn more about these trolleys below. McKinney Avenue trolley No. 122 Rosie, Dallas. Ken Fitzgerald 122: RosieThe […]

Read More…