Stewart Hobbies HO scale Baldwin DS-4-4-1000 (SC) diesel switcher Stewart Hobbies has added a postwar DS-4-4-1000 (SC) diesel switcher to its line of HO Baldwin locomotives. Introduced in 1948, the DS-4-4-1000 replaced the VO1000 as the 1,000-hp switcher in Baldwin’s line. While it’s similar to its eight-cylinder predecessor, this locomotive produced its 1,000-hp with an […]
Atlas N scale General Electric Dash 8-40B diesel Atlas has released an N scale General Electric Dash 8-40B road diesel locomotive and it’s a beautifully detailed, fine-running model. From the exquisitely rendered m.u. cables on the front and rear pilots to the amber warning beacon atop the cab, this Dash 8-40B sets a high standard […]
Trainworx N scale 100-ton quad hopper Trainworx is offering well-detailed, 100-ton quadruple hoppers in N scale that are just the ticket for modeling Western unit coal trains of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Bethlehem Steel introduced its first 100-ton quad hopper in 1963. Although based on the Norfolk & Western’s H-11 triple hopper design, Bethlehem’s […]
Trix HO scale Big Boy 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive What better way to make a big splash in the model railroad market than to introduce a top-notch model of the world’s biggest steam locomotive. Märklin introduced its Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 last year in a three-rail AC version, but most U. S. HO enthusiasts have had to […]
Bachmann N scale 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive Bachmann’s eagerly awaited N scale 2-8-0 has pulled up on the ready track and is just what we’d hoped it would be: a good-running engine with a wealth of detail rivaling high-ticket brass imports. Made in China, the locomotive is marketed in Bachmann’s Spectrum line of higher-end model […]
Athearn Genesis HO 60-foot hi-cube boxcars Athearn has released a series of ready-to-run HO models of 60-foot hi-cube boxcars, which are part of the firm’s Genesis Line of limited-run models. Our samples represent prototype double- door cars with a variety of different sides, roofs, and ends built by Berwick, Gunderson, and FMC from the late […]
A helicopter view of the westbound City of San Francisco buried in snow on Donner Pass. Doug Wornom collection Sixty years ago, on January 13, 1952, the streamlined transcontinental passenger train City of San Francisco encountered a raging blizzard with 90-mph wind gusts and snow drifts 8 to 12 feet deep that marooned the train […]
Des Plaines Hobbies N scale C&NW 400 coach Adding to its extensive line of N scale passenger car kits, Des Plaines Hobbies has released accurately scaled Chicago & North Western streamlined 400 passenger cars. Two styles of coaches, a baggage-tap-lounge, diner, and a baggage car are offered in these kits. I built the coach for […]
The end of the 19th century marked the beginning of a conservation movement in America. Naturalists and environmentalists lobbied the United States government to set aside vast areas of wilderness in the American West as national parks. Growing public awareness and support for the idea prompted Congress to pass the National Park Service Act, which […]
In the Fall 2001 issue of Classic Trains magazine, Senior Editor Dave Ingles recounts his train trip to and from Denver in May 1967. His detailed notes of train consists and time-keeping of arrivals and departures are presented here. May 11, 1967 IC #21, Green Diamond, Springfield, Ill.-St. LouisIC 4023 E8AIC 4109 E9B CofG 812 […]
It’s June 1971, and Amtrak is one month old, but the Chicago-Los Angeles Super Chief looks almost the same as it did under Santa Fe Railway auspices. A Fairbanks-Morse H-12-44 shoves the streamliner from the coach yard to a departure platform at Chicago Union Station. Note the Sears Tower under construction in the background. Doug […]
Chicago & North Western stenciled “The Overland Route” on rolling stock, promoting its favorable connection with the Union Pacific Railroad. J. Michael Gruber collection “KEEP ON TRUCKIN’… BY TRAIN” proclaims the slogan on the side of this Union Pacific caboose, seen in East Los Angeles. Recognizing the public visibility of a moving cross-country train, UP […]
