A group of five young men, who had been on Facebook O gauge groups and other online groups, decided to form their own group called the “Train Dads.” As you can guess from the name, the group is made up of hobbyists of a younger generation, and who are proud fathers to amazing kids. This […]
Quality Craft’s Bob Weaver produced a lot of brass O gauge models in the early 2000s. One that had never been done up until the time it was released (and maybe not since) is Milwaukee Road’s F6-a Baltic in 2009. What’s a Baltic? It’s a 4-8-4, more commonly known as a Hudson thanks to the […]
Q: I need some ideas for compact industries that receive coal. Though modeling coal mines on a layout seems a popular topic, what about the coal’s destination? The coal needs to go someplace unless it just disappears into staging. Steel foundries, shipping ports, and power plants seem typical, but these require a lot of layout […]
Fairbanks-Morse’ distinctive Erie-Built diesel locomotives were the builder’s entry into the six-axle passenger locomotive market. FM sold 111 total units between December 1945 and February 1949. They were the best-selling FM cab unit models; second place went to the CFA/CFB-16-4 “C-Liners” with 90 units sold. FM’s big Erie-Builts were named for being assembled […]
While I was walking through the National Train Show earlier this year in Grapevine, Texas, I noticed something – there were a lot of young people working for the various manufacturers present at the show. As a young person myself, this gave me great joy. With discussions about the longevity of the hobby occurring daily […]
WOODSTOWN, N.J. — SMS Rail Lines Alco 0-6-0 locomotive No. 9 has been certified for operation by the Federal Railroad Administration after a 14-year restoration at the SMS shops in Bridgeport, N.J. The locomotive was built for the U.S. Army in 1942, working first at Fort Dix, N.J., and at Fort Eustis, Va., as No. […]
WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail traffic was up for the second week in a row, according to the latest statistics from the Association of American Railroads. Overall traffic for the week ending Nov. 18 included 501,416 carloads and intermodal units, a 4% increase from the same week a year ago. That includes 237,416 carloads, up […]
LIVINGSTON, Ky. — Residents evacuated after a Wednesday derailment of a CSX Transportation freight train are being allowed to return home after a sulphur fire was extinguished this afternoon. CSX said in an update at 4 p.m. EST today (Nov. 23) that the railroad and local emergency responders had extinguished the fire, and air monitoring […]
LIVINGSTON, Ky. — Spilled sulphur continued to burn this morning at the site of a derailed CSX Transportation train in eastern Kentucky, extending the evacuation for the town of about 200 people some 60 miles south of Louisville. CSX said in a statement at 7:30 a.m. EST that the derailment involves 16 cars; in addition […]
CSX Santa Train The CSX Santa Train, enjoying new life after a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, again delighted children and adults along its 110-mile former Clinchfield Railroad route between Shelby, Ky., and Kingsport, Tenn. This year’s train featured a new “Santa Car” rebuilt from a former Pan Am Railways office car, as well […]
LIVINGSTON, Ky. — Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has declared a state of emergency in Rockcastle County, in the remote eastern part of the state, following the derailment of a CSX Transportation train earlier today. About a dozen homes in a remote area of eastern Kentucky were evacuated following the derailment, WLEX-TV reports. CSX said that […]
Railroad watches In the era of timetable and train order operation, railroaders had to have a standard railroad watch. In those days Hamilton, Elgin, and Waltham were among several popular brands. Railroad pocket watch standards But there were dozens of watch companies making “railroad approved” watches that had mandatory features by the 1930s: a minimum […]
