INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has sworn in a new executive committee and elected eight new members to its advisory board, the union announced. Edward A. Hall became the union’s new national president Jan. 1. He is joined on the executive committee by first vice president Mark L. Wallace and […]
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A recent public briefing by Sierra Northern Railway and local non-profit Valley Vision on Sierra Northern’s hydrogen locomotive project is now available for review online. The program outlined the project’s ability to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve quality of life in lineside communities. The briefing is available […]
WASHINGTON — A double-digit drop in intermodal traffic dragged down U.S. rail volume for the first week of 2023, according to statistics for the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Jan. 7, overall traffic was 416,489 carloads and intermodal units, a 5.5% drop from the corresponding week in 2022. That included 212,962 carloads, […]
Q: I would like to add red and green lights to my HO scale Peco turnouts. How would I use an LED to indicate turnout direction? – Joseph Chiarolanzio A: There’s a simple way to do it, but it depends on your turnout being powered. The easiest way is if you’re using a Tortoise by […]
Handsome Rock Island 4-6-2 No. 922 steps across the Pennsylvania Railroad diamonds at Englewood Union Station as it departs with a Chicago–Blue Island suburban train in July 1952. W. H. N. Rossiter photo […]
What is Amtrak’s “rainbow” fleet? Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971, and at the time had only one piece of equipment sporting Amtrak’s first logo, E8 No. 4316. This engine is currently offered by Rapido. All of the passenger equipment came from the railroads that joined to form Amtrak, including over 400 from the […]
Looking at old Model Railroader back issues, I found poisonous model railroad materials. I give those hobbyists a lot of credit; you couldn’t drive over to the hobby store and pick up ground cover or resin to make a water feature. You often used materials from the hardware store, or whatever you had on hand. […]
COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. — The driver of a truck transporting a concrete bridge beam that was hit by a Norfolk Southern train at a grade crossing, derailing the train, has been arrested as a result of the incident. Police in Collegedale, Tenn., have charged Jorge Luis Cruz-Vega, 64, of Martinez, Ga., with failure to yield, felony […]
Dirt the Cat ELY, Nevada — Dirt, who became a celebrity in 15 years as the shop cat at the Nevada Northern Railway, has died, the railroad has announced on its Facebook page. The orange and white male cat was adopted as a stray kitten by shop crews in 2008 and became famous for his […]
In Memoriam: John Kunzie. John Paul Kunzie of Woodstock, Ill., passed away on November 29, 2022, at the age of 87. He founded John’s Lab, a model railroad supply company after working for Johns Mansville and R.R. Donnelley. In 1976 he purchased Castolite, Inc., a producer of liquid resin. He also became a great mentor […]
Erie-Lackawanna Alco PA1 from American Z Line Scale: Z (1:220) Price: Contact manufacturer Era: Late 1940s+ Manufacturer: American Z Line, 6142 Northcliff Blvd., Dublin, OH 43016; 614-764-1703; americanzline.com Erie-Lackawanna Alco PA1 features: Prototype specific details 7mm can motor Dual flywheels Directional light-emitting diode lighting Six-axle trucks with blind middle axle Blackened metal wheels Traction tires Optional snowplow and front coupler […]
It could have been a Trains News Wire headline: “Reading switcher shoves frozen Doodlebug.” You won’t believe the story. I awoke and gazed out the window of my home in Coatesville, Pa., to see a veritable torrent of fluffy snowflakes falling. They were burying the landscape of my hometown in a wonderland of whiteness. The […]
