McKinney Avenue Trolley’s fleet

In Historic Trains Today, we bring you “Unburied Treasure,” the story about the McKinney Avenue Trolley Authority in Dallas. In 2010, MATA has six streetcars cars listed as in service, two undergoing restoration, and five more awaiting work. Learn more about these trolleys below. McKinney Avenue trolley No. 122 Rosie, Dallas. Ken Fitzgerald 122: RosieThe […]

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News & Products for June 17, 2010

Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP40-2 Phase 2 diesel locomotive HO scale freight cars Electro-Motive Division GP40-2 Phase 2 diesel locomotive. Conrail (four road numbers), Indiana Harbor Belt, Kansas City Southern, Ontario Northland, Quebec-Gatineau (two numbers), St. Lawrence & Atlantic (two numbers), Vermont Ry. (two numbers), and Western Pacific (five numbers). Three […]

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Walthers HO scale SW9 and SW1200 diesel locomotive

Walthers HO scale SW9 and SW1200 diesel locomotive An upgraded 1,200-hp Electro-­Motive ­Division diesel switcher is ready to go to work on HO scale layouts, switching yards and industries or pulling locals. The EMD SW9 and SW1200 from Walthers’ Proto 2000 line is now available with Digital Command Control and sound, making it an attractive […]

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Diesel locomotive delight

In Historic Trains Today, David Lustig tells of seven cool diesels you can visit in museums today. Here are four more examples of neat historic locomotives you can see, and in some cases, ride behind. Wisconsin Central GP30 No. 713 rests between assignments at Waukesha, Wis., on May 3, 1989. The ex-Soo Line unit rides […]

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North Platte: The rise of a railroad town

Soldiers and citizens pose in front of the Union Pacific depot in North Platte, Neb., on April 27, 1898. Union Pacific Museum Before there was a burning man festival, North Platte threw the biggest party in the West, when Union Pacific tracklayers made a winter camp with miners, traders, Mormon emigrants, and stagecoach drivers in […]

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News & Products for May 20, 2010

Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO scale General Electric Dash 8-40B, 8-40BW and 8-32BWH diesel locomotives HO scale locomotives General Electric Dash 8-40B, 8-40BW and 8-32BWH diesel locomotives. Dash 8-40B: New paint schemes: CSX (YN3 paint scheme) and Seminole Gulf; new road numbers: BC Rail (three road numbers) and Southern Pacific. Dash 8-40BW: New paint schemes: […]

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Intermodal trains per day in 1984

Intermodal haulage on railroads initially resembled loose-car railroading: Cities of varying sizes had ramps that originated a few flatcars, which were added to merchandise freights. A trucker, though, could beat that service easily. Larger cities generated solid intermodal trains, but the cost of terminals, equipment, and operations made the business lucrative only in lanes of […]

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Bachmann HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP7

Bachmann HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP7 A General Motors Electro-Motive Division GP7 diesel is available in HO scale as a ready-to-run Digital Command Control-equipped model. The Bachmann GP7 includes a dual-mode DCC decoder, which means that it will run on DC as well as DCC layouts. Electro-Motive Division was a relative latecomer to the road-switcher […]

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Atlas HO scale unit train gondola

Atlas HO scale unit train gondola If you use electricity, chances are at least some of it is generated from coal hauled in aluminum gondolas like this new HO scale Atlas Trainman model. The detailed plastic model includes twin longitudinal tubs beneath the floor for maximum capacity. The car comes assembled and includes a coal […]

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Chicago tonnage by railroad: 1971 and 2000

Traffic density changes in the past 30 years on freight railroads’ main lines to Chicago reflect factors both geographic and corporate. Geographic factors include the shift of manufacturing from domestic to offshore; air quality regulations that closed high-sulfur Western mines; and general population and economic growth. Corporate factors include the desire of railroad managements to […]

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