Meet Mike Burgett What was your first train set (or locomotive)? A Lionel 0-27 scale Rio Grande steam engine, a Great Northern hopper, a Burlington Northern gondola, and one oval loop of track at about age 6. I got my first HO scale train, a Athearn “Blue Box” B&O F7A, at about age 8. After that […]
If activist investor Ancora Holdings wins its Norfolk Southern proxy battle this week, its new management team aims to generate unprecedented growth in carload traffic over the next four years. Ancora plans to run the same playbook that CSX has used since it shifted to a Precision Scheduled Railroading operating plan in 2017. Improve your […]
Just before the spring TCA York Show in April, Lionel started delivering some of the diesels from the 2023 Volume II catalog. One of those diesels was the GP30, the gritty workhorse from EMD. This Legacy-equipped model is packed with features and pumps out some serious sound, all in a frame that can safely navigate […]
MOBILE, Ala. —“Hopeful” is the key word in the status report on Gulf Coast passenger service submitted by Amtrak, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Port of Mobile to the Surface Transportation Board last week. The May 1 report was required by the STB after a February hearing and subsequent explanation of delays was short on […]
DETROIT — A 90-minute concert to be livestreamed globally and 10 days of open-house tours are on tap for the grand opening of the renovated Michigan Central Station, officials said in plans outlined for the Detroit City Council last week. The concert will be held June 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET in Roosevelt Park in […]
Locomotive wraps Railroad paint schemes span the color spectrum, from the dull to the fluorescent, the drab to the flamboyant, but not every railroad has the time, money, brand guidelines, or spare rolling stock to allow for frequent livery changes. Painting is an expensive and time-consuming process, with the results expected to last for years […]
Welcome to our latest Product Review video. This time around, Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno takes a look at the Broadway Limited N scale EMD F3. In the video, you’ll learn about the Lehigh Valley prototypes our samples are decorated as, get a closer look at the details on both units, see and hear […]
Q: I need to calculate the grade on a double deck layout. Though I’ve been interested in model railroading since I was a child, it’s been quite some time since I was active in the hobby. Now that I’m retired, I’m planning a layout. After much deliberation, I’ve settled on a two-level around-the-walls design. My […]
Rock Island history is a mighty good history. In 1847 the Rock Island & La Salle Rail Road was chartered to build between Rock Island, Ill., on the Mississippi River, and La Salle, where connections would be made with the Illinois & Michigan Canal to Chicago. Contractor Henry Farnam persuaded the organizers to extend the […]
Welcome to our latest Product Review video. This time around, Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno takes a look at the Broadway Limited N scale EMD F3. In the video, you’ll learn about the Lehigh Valley prototypes our samples are decorated as, get a closer look at the details on both units, see and hear […]
If you’re looking forward to hosting an operating session, open house, layout photo session, or just a visit from friends and relatives, you want your layout to make the best possible impression. But there’s more to cleaning a model railroad than just polishing the track and wheels, as important as those things are. Dust is […]
The best-known and most-popular early General Electric locomotives are its 44-ton and 70-ton switching locomotives, both of which found favor among large Class I railroads as well as short lines and industrial users. The GE 44-ton locomotive was significant, as it was the heaviest locomotive that, by operating rules, could be run by an engineer […]
