Painting is one of my favorite aspects of the hobby, though I guess that shouldn’t come as a big surprise. My father and grandfather were auto body repairmen, so painting (albeit on vehicles, not model trains) has been a part of my life from an early age. I started airbrushing model trains in my early […]
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The astonishing 5-week transformation of No. 331
Horneman Enterprises, an engineering firm specializing in rail equipment restoration, has rebuilt 4-4-0 Harrisburg, Lincoln & Lancaster Railroad No. 331 — formerly No. 63 Leviathan — from a completely torn down to the boiler, to operational in 5 weeks. The rebuild completed the locomotive’s FRA 1,472 day inspection, which was accomplished over the course of […]
CTA plans 24-hour rail service to Midway Airport thanks to new funding
CHICAGO — The Chicago Transit Authority will add 24-hour service on a third rail line and look to increase frequencies across its rail system, the CTA’s acting president said this week in an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times. Acting President Nora Leerhsen told the newspaper the agency is looking to turn the Orange Line — […]
Mexico begins work on passenger line to Nuevo Laredo
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Friday (Nov. 7) announced the start of the country’s latest major rail project, the Gulf of Mexico Train, a planned passenger route linking Nuevo Laredo at the U.S. border to the cities of Saltillo and Monterrey. Groundbreaking was held Friday in Nuevo Laredo for the first phase […]
Caltrain warns of significant cuts without new funding
SAN CARLOS, Calif. — Caltrain has become the latest commuter operator to outline dire operational impacts without new funding — in this case, a regional funding measure to be on the ballot a year from now, in November 2026. As outlined at the November meeting of the Caltrain board, potential impacts without funding from the […]
Amtrak has seats, rooms at high prices as air cancellations mount
WASHINGTON — Taking the train as an alternative to a cancelled flight is only rarely mentioned in news reports on the flight reductions ordered by the Federal Aviation Administration starting today (Nov. 7, 2025). The lack of Amtrak awareness is not surprising, given the spindly nature of its national network compared to air travel and […]
Security and Emergency Response Training Center announces 2026 courses for first responders
PUEBLO, Colo. — MxV Rail’s Security and Emergency Response Training Center has announced its lineup of 2026 specialist-level and advanced courses to train first responders in dealing with surface transportation hazards. SERTC offers resident courses of 40 to 80 hours at its Pueblo training center, featuring full-scale props and live drills; remote courses of four […]
Wabtec to expand facilities in Brazil
CONTAGEM, Brazil — Wabtec will spend R$20 million ($3.7 million U.S.) to expand operations in Brazil, mostly at its plant in Contagem, Minas Gerais, the company announced this week. At Contagem, the company will build a new Global Engineering Center, its first in Latin America, and has developed a new locomotive production line. The 9,000-square-meter […]
Amtrak starts work on maintenance-facility upgrades in Washington, Boston
Amtrak this week launched work on a pair of eastern maintenance facilities, breaking ground on Wednesday (Nov. 5) for construction of a new facility at Washington’s Ivy City Yard and holding a similar event Thursday for Southampton Yard in South Boston. In both cases, the work is tied to preparations for the new Airo trainsets, […]
ScaleTrains HO EMD GP39E review
As a Burlington Northern fan, I was fired up when ScaleTrains announced it was producing the Electro-Motive Division (EMD) GP39E in HO scale. The model, part of the manufacturer’s Rivet Counter line, depicts the four-axle road unit in its as-delivered appearance with Quantum Q2000 crossing strobes on the front deck. The full-size version of our […]
Rapido HO EMD SD9 and SD7
Rapido HO EMD SD9 and SD7 Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model, $239.95; with ESU LokSound V5 sound decoder, $349.95 Manufacturer: Rapido Trains, 382 High St, Buffalo, NY 14204; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Rapido HO EMD SD9 and SD7 features: Detailed cab interior Factory-installed grab irons and handrails MoPower capacitor Multi-piece radiator fans Multiple stepwell styles and […]
OmniTRAX taps Brown for new chief strategy officer role
DENVER – Shortline holding company OmniTRAX has named Nathan Brown its chief strategy officer. In this new role reporting directly to the CEO, Brown will lead development and execution of the enterprise-wide OmniTRAX corporate strategy and strategic planning process. “OmniTRAX has experienced an unparalleled growth rate of 50% in the past five years, and network […]
