This is a snapshot of traffic across the Continental Divide in 1980 and 2000 on U.S. transcontinental routes. It’s inherent in map-making that accuracy gets sacrificed on the altar of clarity: traffic density is by no means uniform across the shaded line segments, and a slightly different picture would emerge were the snapshots taken in […]
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Robert Wegner This Map of the Month appeared in the January 2003 issue of Trains magazine. This is the second in our series of coal-fired power plant maps of the U.S. The first, showing the Northeastern quadrant of the U.S., appeared in June 2002 Trains. Electrical generation in the South obeys a much different pattern […]
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HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD70M and SD75M diesel locomotives. Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Canadian National, CSX (SD70M), and Ontario Northland. Three road numbers each. Five-pole skew-wound motor with dual flywheels, cab interior, and directional lighting. $149.98. April 2010. Ready-to-run. Genesis series. Athearn Trains Electro-Motive Division SW9/1200 diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Chessie […]
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Rapido Trains Inc. HO scale steam generator car Featuring wisps of simulated steam escaping from under the carbody, this new HO steam generator car from Rapido Trains accurately models a prototype that kept passengers warm on Canadian railroads. Prior to the diesel era, passenger trains were heated by piping in steam from a locomotive’s boiler. […]
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Atlas N scale GE Dash 8-40CW N scalers who model the modern day should be happy with Atlas’ new release, General Electric’s Dash 8-40CW road engine. Atlas’ offering is a well detailed, crisply painted model with a smooth, flywheel-equipped drivetrain and an optional Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder. The prototype. Seen by some railfans as […]
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American Mainline switcher Marc Horovitz Gauge 1, 1:29 scale, electrically powered, USRA 0-6-0American Mainline33268 Central Ave.Union City CA 94587Price: $1,599E-mail: americanmainline@gmail.comWeb site: http://americanmainline.com Electrically powered model of USRA 0-6-0 switcher; made of brass, steel, and die castings; 24V gear-head motor; electronics in tender; 12 pickup wheels; directional lighting; sound-system ready; working knuckled couplers; minimum radius, […]
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HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD40 diesel locomotive. Detroit Edison Co. (DEEX reporting marks), First Union Rail (FURX), Montana Rail Link, Penn Central, Soo Line, and Wheeling & Lake Erie. Two road numbers each. Plastic handrails, wire grab irons, prototype-specific dynamic brakes, and McHenry scale magnetic knuckle couplers. $109.98 December 2009. Ready-to-Roll. Athearn Trains General […]
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M.T.H. Electric Trains HO scale 60-foot flatcar A nicely detailed reproduction of a 60-foot flatcar is M.T.H. Electric Trains’ first entry into the HO scale freight car market. The MTH car is based on a prototype Pullman-Standard built in the 1960s and ’70s for Trailer Train, and accurately matches photos and dimensions printed in the […]
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Q On many Union Pacific refrigerated boxcars, the reporting mark “ARMN” appears below the UP shield. What railroad is that?– Kevin Margan, Madison, Wis. A Normally any reporting mark not ending is “X” indeed stands for a railroad company (“X” signifying privately owned cars), and UP, like several Class Is, still uses initials of railroads […]
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Q As a boy, I used to watch the magnificent Southern Pacific cab-forward steam locomotives on their way to Donner Summit in Northern California. Someone referred to them as Mallets. What’s the true definition of a Mallet? — C.W. Haffey, Bakersfield, Calif. A By definition, a Mallet (mal-LAY) is an articulated, meaning the two engine […]
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HO scale locomotives Northern Pacific Electro-Motive Division F7 diesel locomotives. “Main Street of the Northwest” slogan. Five-pole skew-wound motor with flywheels, prototype-specific details, and magnetic knuckle couplers. Sound-equipped units have individual sound boards installed in both A and B units. A unit only: without sound, $139.98; with sound, $209.98. A-B set: without sound, $279.98; with […]
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HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division FP9 and F9B diesel locomotives. Algoma Central (two numbers available for A unit, one for B unit), Canadian National (A and B units, four numbers each), Chicago & North Western (A unit only, four numbers), and CP Rail (A and B, four numbers each). Etched-metal details, wire grab irons, and […]
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