Top of the PRR

20181128

The pushers of two eastbound freight trains pass AR Tower in Gallitzin, Pa., summit of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Pittsburgh–Philadelphia main line in 1956. The track above the tower loops from the westbound main tracks. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Timeworn T1

20181120

Pennsylvania Railroad class T1 4-4-4-4 duplex 5536 shows the effects of hard service at Chicago in the late 1940s, but the engine is in fact less than five years old. Classic Trains coll. […]

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What is a pool caboose?

Color photo of N scale caboose painted red, black, and silver.

Q: I recently ordered one of the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy N scale bay-window cabooses from Shop.Trains.com. What does the “P” on top of the bay window stand for? — R. Anderson A: The “P” indicates it’s a pool caboose, one not assigned to an individual conductor or specific crew. Former Senior Editor Jim Hediger […]

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5 tips for great rural scenery

A model grain elevator structure on a model railroad layout

Last month we took a look at modeling urban scenery. This time around, we’ll step back from the big city and focus on rural scenery. I spent my formative years in the Red River Valley of the North, which was dotted with small towns up and down the Minnesota and North Dakota sides of the […]

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News & Products for the week of November 18th 2024

A black and green model locomotive

News & Products for the week of November 18th 2024   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 18th […]

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Illinois Terminal locomotives remembered

Diesel Illinois Terminal locomotives pull maroon passenger cars

  Illinois Terminal locomotives included steam, electric, and diesel over its existence.   The Illinois Terminal was an electric interurban line serving western Illinois down to the St. Louis area. In the mid-1950s the railroad abandoned its electric operations, moving to all-diesel operation — the last steam ran in 1950, and dieselization had begun with […]

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Notable model train products from the early 1960s

Black, white, and blue vintage advertisement page with a large toy train diesel locomotive photo at the top, a white and black box of inset text and sales points, and a blue band at the bottom with black and white text and two gray illustrations of speeding trains heading in opposite directions.

One of my favorite things to do while eating lunch is to pull out an old volume of Model Railroader magazine and page through it. Lately, I’ve been working my way through the decade of the 1960s, often posting things I’ve rediscovered to MR’s Facebook page under the heading of “Lunchtime Reading.” Editor Linn Westcott […]

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NC&StL F units

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Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis considered its 52 F3 and F7 units (32 cabs, 20 boosters) to be dual service locomotives, although only the B units had steam generators. Linn H. Westcott photo […]

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News & Products for the week of November 11th 2024

A black model caboose

News & Products for the week of November 11th 2024   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 11th […]

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Sir Rod Stewart’s Grand Street & Three Rivers RR in HO scale

A track plan for Sir Rod Stewart's Grand Street & Three Rivers layout

Facts and features Name: Grand Street & Three Rivers RRScale: HO (1:87.1)Size: Layout: 27′-6″ x 62′-0″, Room: 31′-6″ x 66′-0″Prototype: New York Central and Pennsylvania RRLocale: Chicago/New York CityEra: mid-1940sStyle: walk-inMainline run: 900 feetMinimum radius: 30″Minimum turnout: No. 8Maximum grade: 3.5%Benchwork: box gridHeight: 39″ (main line), 51″ (El), 52″ (viaduct loop), and 56″ (upper cement […]

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