10 scenery products you should know about

Photo showing gloved hands holding cup with stick guiding resin onto a layout surface.

The evolution of model railroad scenery products has been fun to watch. In prior generations, molded-Styrofoam mountains and scenery mats with dyed green sawdust were considered the norm. Today, we’re blessed with a variety of tools and products that make our layouts look more like what we see when we’re standing trackside. In this article, […]

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Why is it needed to mark an F on the front of a diesel?

A black-and-white diesel hood unit seen in three-quarters view on a sunny day

Q: I am wondering why they mark a little F on the front of a diesel. I know it stands for “Front.” However, isn’t it obvious in most cases where the front is? And in the case of a center cab switcher, where it isn’t at all obvious, why does it matter? What is the practical purpose of […]

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Metra UP Northwest train derails; no passengers aboard

Commuter train at station

CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. — Metra service on the Union Pacific Northwest line has been suspended today (Saturday, Feb. 24) between Crystal Lake and Harvard following a low-speed derailment this morning, WLS-TV reports. Inbound train No. 710, which was scheduled to originate at Crystal Lake at 10 a.m., had no passengers aboard when it derailed as […]

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Broken rail caused Berkshire & Eastern derailment

VALLEY FALLS, N.Y. — A broken rail was responsible for a derailment earlier this month that sent two cars of a train on the Berkshire & Eastern Railroad into the Hoosic River, a Genesee & Wyoming representative told WRGB-TV. The Feb. 7 derailment involved 10 cars of a 94-car train on the Pan Am Southern, […]

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Rebuilding the Snow Creek Railroad

Rebuilding the Snow Creek Railroad

Garden railway at a glance Name: Snow Creek Railroad Size: Approximately 50′ x 50′ Scale: 1:20.3 Gauge: Nº 1 (45mm) Era: 1930-1950 Theme: High desert/mountain railroad accessing mines, quarries, and passengers Age: Original, 19 years; rebuilt portion, 3 years Motive power: LGB and Bachmann locomotives Length of mainline: 300′ Maximum grade: 3% Type of track: […]

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Visit the TooMuchFun Railroad

rocky scene on garden railroad

The railroad at a glance Name: TooMuchFun Railroad Size: 60′ wide x 25′ deep x 15′ high Scale: Varies from 1:24 to 0-scale figures in some areas using forced perspective Gauge: Nº 1, plus a small N gauge railroad within the railroad Era: Mythical, Medieval, 1800s to present Themes: 15+ different themes, from Wizard of […]

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Americold announces plans for Kansas City cold storage facility

Logo of Americold

ATLANTA — Americold Realty Trust will spend $127 million on a 335,000-square-foot cold storage facility in Kansas City, Mo., the first in a series of planned facilities to be located along the CPKC rail network, the company announced Thursday (Feb. 22). CPKC and Americold announced their collaboration last year, and said then that the first […]

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