Modify die-cast vehicles for large scale

model blue truck with load of wood pallets in front of model structure

Modify die-cast vehicles for large scale: Most modelers use 1:24 scale die cast cars and trucks out of the box on their railroads, and there is nothing wrong with that. The models are well made and painted in real life colors. I have more than 100 of them that I haven’t changed. But sometimes, it’s […]

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How do I model a coal-gas plant?

A vintage black-and-white photo of a small industrial brick building with a smokestack, a coal pile outside, and a gas tank in the background

Q: I have a Walthers gas plant kit (item 933-3104) and gas storage tank kit (item 933-2907). I want to use these to model a coal-gas plant. Do you have any drawings or pictures of such a plant that I can model using these kits? – Thomas Lauritsen A: To help you model a coal-gas […]

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Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation to host 2023 Whistle Blow

Row of steam whistles next to tank engine.

IRVIN, Ky. — The sound of dozens of steam whistles will echo across Estill County as the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation is set to host the 2023 Whistle Blow on Oct. 7. This free-admission event will take place at the non-profit organization’s campus in Irvin, which is currently home to the ongoing restoration of steam […]

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Union Pacific’s General Electric U50C locomotives

Yellow General Electric U50C locomotives in yard beneath mountain peaks

Union Pacific’s General Electric U50C locomotives were the last double-diesel model to join the roster, beginning in late 1969. They were, however, the least successful of the three production models the railroad acquired.     GE built 40 U50C locomotives for UP between September 1969 and January 1971. (Their production dates largely mirrored those of […]

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Algoma Central Railway remembered

Men load odd-sized baggage and a canoe onto Algoma Central Railway passenger train

The Algoma Central Railway was chartered in 1899 to build into the Ontario wilderness north of Sault Ste. Marie. Its purpose was to bring out pulpwood and iron ore. In 1901 the ambitions of its founder added “& Hudson Bay” to the corporate title. The line reached Hawk Junction, 165 miles north of Sault Ste. […]

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Algoma Central locomotives remembered

Gray-and-maroon diesel Algoma Central locomotives

Algoma Central locomotives provided a bit of variety in northern Ontario railroading.     For a railroad its size, ACR owned a variety of steam power. The first engines were secondhand, including 11 acquired in 1899: four Lehigh Valley 4-6-0s and seven ex-Chicago, Burlington & Quincy 0-4-0s. ACR’s first new power, four Baldwin 2-8-0s, arrived […]

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Boston & Albany’s J2 Hudsons

Example of Boston & Albany’s J2 Hudson steam locomotive on a passenger train

Boston & Albany’s J2 Hudsons provided subtle variety to the greater New York Central System.     From the moment the New York Central absorbed the Boston & Albany Railroad via lease in 1900, you can imagine the company’s executive team vowing to hang on to as much independence as possible. The B&A was a […]

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Amtrak Floridian service remembered

Red-and-black diesel locomotive with Amtrak Floridian passenger train in street

Amtrak Floridian service provided direct service between Florida and the Midwest for almost a decade. The train was first known as the South Wind, a name inherited from predecessors Pennsylvania Railroad, Louisville & Nashville, and Seaboard Coast Line. With the issuance of Amtrak’s first in-house timetable on Nov. 14, 1971, the name was changed to […]

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Dock workers warned against turning down latest agreement in Canadian port dispute

Logo of International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The government agency charged with  settling British Columbia’s port labor dispute has warned the union representing dock workers that failing to ratify a new tentative agreement would be an “unfair labor practice.” The Canadian Press reports the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada and BC Maritime Employees Association reached a new […]

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Metrolink’s lonely F40PH locomotive

An image showing a three-quarter view of a white diesel locomotive with a blue stripe at the head of a passenger train

Metrolink’s lonely F40PH locomotive is one of a dwindling number of F40s. It’s hard to believe once the EMD F40PH was the predominant motive power for Amtrak trains as well as many commuter lines. At Metrolink, No. 800 is today one of a kind. The story starts in the years following the initial hodgepodge of […]

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More important than ever: NS First Responders Train

People listen to instructor while standing inside of tank car

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Now in its eighth season, Norfolk Southern’s First Responders Train continues its mission of training 5,000 firefighters, emergency medical technicians, police and dispatchers each year at cities around NS’s 19,000-route-mile, 22-state system. From March to October, the eight-car train circulates among 12 to 15 cities, offering free training in emergency procedures to […]

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Railways take over grain exports from Ukraine

Brown waffle-sided covered hopper

Ukrainian Railways (UZ or Ukrzaliznytsia) and rail operators in neighboring European countries are stepping up efforts to move thousands of tons of grain from Ukraine to ports in Poland, Romania, and Germany for export around the world. The increase in rail transport has followed Russia’s decision to end a deal, previously brokered by the United […]

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