Toronto’s UP Express resumes operation

Two-car diesel multiple-unit trainset passes high-rise building

TORONTO — Union Pearson Express rail service resumed this morning (Sunday, Feb. 12) with 30-minute frequencies after all operation were cancelled Saturday, according to the UP Express website. The trains between Union Station in downtown Toronto and the city’s Pearson Airport, which normally operate on 15-minute headways, have been operating on reduced frequencies since cracks […]

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Riding the rails with the Lionel Hobo Sound Boxcar

the Lionel hobo boxcar side view with figures

It’s time to go riding the rails with the Lionel Hobo Sound Boxcar. Initially offered in the Lionel 2021 Volume II catalog, it was confined to half of page 47. Perhaps uncertain of how the product would be received, the manufacturer only offered it in two road names: Erie (pictured, No. 226010); and Rock Island […]

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Adirondack Railroad profile

Adirondack Railroad logo

The Adirondack Railroad offers excursions behind classic diesel locomotives over 69 miles of the former New York Central’s Adirondack Division from Utica to Big Moose. Choices The Adirondack Railroad offers day-long excursions all the way from Utica to Big Moose, with a stop at Thendara, up to four times a week from mid-July through mid-October. […]

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Catskill Mountain Railroad profile

Catskill Mountain Railroad logo

The Catskill Mountain Railroad operates a segment of the former Ulster & Delaware Railroad, which later became New York Central’s Catskill Mountain Branch. The train runs from Kingston west toward Stony Hollow, in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains. Choices Themed excursions—music, train robbery, and the like—are powered by an Alco RS1 built in 1950 […]

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Medina Railroad Museum profile

Medina Railroad Museum logo

The area east of Buffalo provides a pleasant distraction with small towns, farms, and a relaxed existence. Here, you’ll find the Medina Railroad Museum located inside one of the largest surviving wooden freight houses around. You will also have the opportunity to ride a streamlined passenger train on the Falls Road Railroad. Choices At the […]

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Artwork or nuisance: Graffiti on O gauge trains

Graffiti on o gauge cars lionel hopper

Graffiti on O gauge trains typically has a polarizing effect: One either loves or hates it. But there’s no denying the painting on model subways, rolling stock, and even diesel locomotives can make contemporary equipment come to life. Items produced and marketed by Lionel, along with some developed by Atlas O and MTH Electric Trains, […]

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LEGO pieces on an O gauge layout

O scale diesel switcher with LEGO parts.

From CTT’s editorial page to Collectible Classics, I’ve spouted on about how the world’s greatest hobby, model railroading, has and will continue to influence my life and leisure. Unfortunately, that influence hasn’t (yet) extended to my young son, Theo. Instead of toy trains, he’s currently consumed by all things LEGO – those interlocking plastic building […]

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EBT No. 16 limbers up for Winter Spectacular

Steam locomotive at edge of turntable with red shop buildings in background. East Broad Top expanded tours

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – East Broad Top’s 1916 Baldwin 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive, under restoration for nearly three years, stretched its legs Thursday (Feb. 9) in preparation for the narrow gauge railroad’s annual Winter Spectacular railfan weekend. Expanded to a two-day event this year, it is scheduled for Feb. 18-19. The 81-ton engine has created […]

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Rail traffic resumes, cleanup continues in East Palestine

Aerial view of derailment cleanup and track work

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Trains are running again through East Palestine, Ohio, although the village’s mayor isn’t too pleased with the way operations resumed. WKYC-TV reports Norfolk Southern began operations on its main Cleveland-Pittsburgh line through East Palestine Wednesday evening, to the displeasure of Mayor Trent Conaway, who said he had been told trains would […]

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