Rapido Trains HO scale EMD GP38

Color photo showing nose of HO scale diesel locomotive.

An Electro-Motive Division GP38 diesel locomotive is now available in HO scale from Rapido Trains. The four-axle road switcher features plastic and die-cast metal construction, railroad-specific details, and body-mounted metal couplers. Prototype history Electro-Motive Division produced the GP38 from January 1966 through December 1971. During the course of the production run, 733 units were built […]

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Metro-North’s New Haven locomotive to debut Friday

Olive green locomotive with yellow striping

NEW YORK — Metro-North’s latest heritage locomotive, honoring predecessor New York, New Haven & Hartford, will make its operating debut on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, the commuter railroad has announced. The locomotive will debut on train No. 1841, a 7:51 a.m. departure from Danbury, Conn., arriving at Grand Central Terminal on 9:55 a.m. “The Heritage […]

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News photo: Covered wagons return to the Royal Gorge

Orange locomotives with black and silver striping on passenger train

Colorado’s Royal Gorge Route Railroad has returned its F7A and F7B locomotives to service. With an impressive plume of smoke, F7A No. 403, built for the Chicago & North Western in 1949, and former Alaska Railroad F7B No. 1503 led a train out of Cañon City, Colo., on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025. It was the […]

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News & Products for the week of February 24th 2025

A red model boxcar

News & Products for the week of February 24th 2025   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 February 24th, […]

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East Troy Industrial Park, Ep. 3 | Adding legs to the frame

Host David Popp and Bryson Sleppy work to raise the wood framework of their East Troy Industrial Park (ETIP) model railroad off the ground. Watch as they share how to plan, construct, and install the legs for a nearly any layout. And don’t miss the simple, yet extraordinarily helpful insights the crew shares in Model […]

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Diesels destined for scrap

snow-covered stored locomotives

A frequent question from railfans is why? Why are some diesels destined for scrap? Why does your favorite locomotive go off the breaker’s yard? Why do some engines get shuffled off this mortal coil while others continue for decade after decade? There is a multi-part answer to that, and it involves bureaucracy, the economy, mechanical […]

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News photos: Latest Metro-North heritage unit honors New Haven (updated)

Olive green and yellow locomotive in shop building

NORTH WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro-North Railroad has completed the sixth in its series of locomotives honoring Metro-North’s 40th anniversary, this time honoring the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. Dual-mode locomotive No. 222, a P32Ac-DM, sports the green-and-yellow design used on New Haven electric and diesel cab units until […]

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Metra donates F40C locomotive to Illinois Railway Museum

Blue and orange locomotive with steel side panels in rail yare

UNION, Ill. — Metra has donated F40C No. 614, one of just two such surviving locomotives, to the Illinois Railway Museum. IRM says in a press release that it hopes to restore the locomotive to operating condition. It had seen some cannibalization for parts during its final years in storage at Metra, and is missing […]

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Broadway Limited HO scale EMD GP30

Screen capture from video with red and gray HO scale diesel locomotive and title bar.

Welcome to our latest product review video. The Broadway Limited HO scale EMD GP30 is back in a colorful assortment of new paint schemes. Join Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he shares a brief history of the Electro-Motive Division road switcher and Burlington Northern No. 2250; points out the various plastic, formed wire, […]

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Classy piggyback power

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Displaced from more glamorous duties by the decline in passenger service, three Erie Lackawanna PAs lead an eastbound piggyback train through Pullman Junction (Chicago) en route to New York in July 1963. Jim Wozniczka photo […]

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