News & Products for the week of November 20th 2023

A series of 3 boxcars in varying paint schemes

News & Products for the week of November 20th 2023   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 November 20th […]

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Historian, author H. Roger Grant dies

Man with two stacks of books

It is possible that no railroad author was as prolific, nor as wide-ranging in his interests, as H. Roger Grant. “If there is a chapter of railroad history that this scholar hasn’t researched, we don’t know what it is,” wrote Trains Editor Jim Wrinn in the magazine’s 75th anniversary issue in November 2015. “Grant makes […]

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British man still in intensive care after Argentine derailment

Train next to displaced track

BARILOCHE, Argentina — A British tourist remains hospitalized in intensive care as a result of injuries suffered in the Nov. 12 derailment of a narrow-gauge tourist train in Patagonia, according to local media reports. Four tourists required hospitalization after the La Trochita train, also known as the Old Patagonian Express, overturned in a remote area […]

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STB approves Brightline West high speed rail modifications and extension across Cajon Pass

Map of planned rail line from Victorville, Calif., area to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

WASHINGTON — Brightline West’s bid to extend its proposed electrified, 186-mph rail route from Las Vegas, Nev., to Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., has gained regulatory approval in two separate Surface Transportation Board decisions. In decisions released Friday, the STB approved route modifications at Las Vegas along with a 5-mile extension from the original terminus at Victorville, […]

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Super Chief lounge car free to a good home

Stainless steel passenger car coupled to baggage car

LOS ANGELES  — An original Santa Fe Super Chief lounge car is being made available at no cost to any group interested in it. The catch? The new owner must handle the shipping and handling. The San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society, known for its operation restored Santa Fe 4-8-4 steam locomotive No. 3751, is seeking […]

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CPKC Holiday Train, Holiday Express begin trips this week

Locomotive and railroad cars decorated with holiday lights

CALGARY — The CPKC Holiday Train and Holiday Express both are set to begin operation this week, with both the Canadian and U.S. trains beginning their trips on Tuesday, Nov. 21, while the Holiday Express launches its trip through the Southeast and Texas on Saturday, Nov. 25. The Canadian Holiday Train actually begins in the […]

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Meet Shawn Viggiano

model caboose with figure and dog heading away from you on a garden railway

Meet Shawn Viggiano How did I get started in the hobby? I got started into trains at an early age. My dad would set up an old Lionel train set around the Christmas tree every year. When I got older, my dad would set up a layout with buildings and switch tracks in our basement. […]

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Three injured as light rail train derails in Minneapolis

Logo of Twin Cities Metro Transit

MINNEAPOLIS — Three people suffered minor injuries Saturday night when a Metro Transit light rail train derailed in downtown Minneapolis, WCCO-TV reports. A concrete object on the tracks caused the derailment between the Nicollet Mall and Warehouse District/Hennepin stations about 8:30 p.m., according to Metro Transit. None of those injured required hospitalization. Replacement buses substituted […]

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