The Oil Creek and Titusville Railroad follows Oil Creek through the nation’s first oil patch, where oil was discovered by Edwin L. Drake in 1859. The train passes a number of ghost towns — villages that sprang up during the oil boom and quickly faded after the rush. Choices On the Oil Creek and Titusville […]
The Black River and Western Railroad, which also hauls freight, hosts 90-minute passenger excursions (operated by the nonprofit Black River Railroad Historical Trust) over a short segment of the former Pennsylvania Railroad’s Flemington Branch between Flemington and Ringoes, and the shorter Browne Station local from Ringoes over 2.5 miles of recently reopened track. Choices In […]
News & Products for the week of February 20th 2023 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 20th 2023. […]
In the 20th century, short lines and branches brought forth coal for use nationwide, and one of the primary locations was Stearns, home of the Kentucky & Tennessee short line. The coal is gone now, but the K&T has been reborn as the Big South Fork Scenic Railway. Choices The Big South Fork Scenic Railway […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific has become the second Class I railroad to reach an agreement offering paid sick days to some employees, the railroad has announced. “Union Pacific remains committed to addressing our employees’ concerns and signed a deal with the National Conference of Firemen and Oilers (NCFO) and Brotherhood of Railway Carmen (BRC),” […]
Common questions about live steam locomotives: At model-train shows and garden-railway open houses, live-steam locomotives always seem to gather a crowd of interested onlookers. Our small steam locomotives are new to many people and questions naturally arise. I thought it would be worthwhile to answer some of the most common questions for those of you […]
ORLANDO, Fla. — Brightline has received the last of the 10 trainsets for its Florida operation, and the last of the five ordered for its upcoming expansion of service to Orlando. The “Bright Orange 2” train arrived at the company’s Vehicle Maintenance Facility in Orlando on Sunday, Feb. 19, after a 10-day trip from the […]
Car Swap Project Part 1: Trading models: Modelers David Popp, Gerry Leone, and Seth Puffer begin a series of projects to create custom-painted freight cars appropriate for each other’s model railroads. As David, Gerry, and Seth find out during the adventure, this is something fun and easy to do for any group of friends who […]
Earthwork on the project railroad: We are ready to begin grading the line. The first thing we had to do was to transfer our design to the ground. This would give us a feeling for how the railroad would actually sit in its site and it would also delineate where the earthwork had to be […]
An overview of garden railroading: Garden railroading is the art of combining a model railroad and a beautiful garden to create a railway-like atmosphere. The difference between a traditional indoor layout and a garden railway is the difference between realism and reality. Indoors, the goal is to create the illusion of reality through the use […]
The Bluegrass Scenic Railroad and Museum offer 90-minute, 11-mile round-trip excursions over the former Southern Railway through the heart of Kentucky’s Bluegrass region. Choices On the Bluegrass Scenic Railroad and Museum, the diesel-powered trains are made up of vintage coaches from the 1920s and 1930s. Accommodations include four commuter-style coaches with vinyl bench seating and […]
Questions and answers about large-scale track I see there are locomotives in 1:24 scale for gauge-3 track. What width is gauge-3 track? How many gauges are there? Gauge 3 is 2.5″, which is the correct gauge for modeling standard-gauge trains in G scale (1:22.5). 1:24 scale is close. There are three gauges commonly used in […]
