CHICAGO — Metra announced earlier this year that it would use trains decorated for special holiday excursions — which have been running to downtown Chicago on various routes on Saturdays since Dec. 2 — in regular commuter service, as well [see “Metra, CTA set plans …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 19, 2023]. This is a […]
News & Products for the week of December 11th 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 December 11th […]
For toy train collectors looking to up their game to include more and collectible pieces without breaking the bank, consider Lionel’s 2227W from 1954. Set No. 2227W, which had a retail price of $69.50 ($795 in 2023 dollars), relied on an iconic A-A combination of Santa Fe F3 diesels as its motive power. The […]
In the years after World War II, Lionel strengthened its presence in Canada by working closely with the heads of its sales office in Toronto. Roy Clarke and his son, William, represented the toy train giant and made sure Lionel had a significant presence in department stores and retail chains across Canada. Evidence of Lionel’s […]
CHICAGO — In a rarity on a number of fronts, Metra operated a special train today (Sunday, Dec. 10) for members of Congress between Chicago Union Station and the O’Hare Airport station on the North Central Service line. The train, using one of Metra’s decorated holiday train sets generally led by F40PH-3 No. 104, the […]
The EMC TA diesel locomotive was an early passenger diesel and a Rock Island oddity. If it looks and sounds like an early EMC E-series streamlined diesel passenger locomotive, there is a good chance it is. But don’t bet the family farm. The locomotive in question is the EMC TA diesel, a […]
The top 3 diesel prime movers will be instantly recognizable to long-time readers of Trains Magazine and its Locomotive special issues. But where do they rank? Well, that’s Mike Iden’s call. Iden spoke with Trains.com in June 2022 to assess his choice for the top spots. Here’s an edited version of that conversation. Top diesel […]
Norfolk Southern’s Bristol Line, departing from the mainline at Walton, Virginia, west to Bristol is a vital cog in the Class One railroad’s system. Originally, the Norfolk & Western mainline routed from the coast at Norfolk to a connection with the Southern Railway at Bristol. These days the route handles a lot of freight moving […]
Overlooked during the prewar era and for the first decade of the postwar, it inspired four O gauge diesels and an operating boxcar in the space of four years in the second half of the 1950s. Let’s focus on the No. 2240 F3s. Introducing the Wabash The Wabash Ry. was one of several lines crossing […]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United States and Canada will work together to develop a common vision for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from locomotives, officials announced today at the United Nations COP28 conference. The nations will create a Rail Decarbonization Task Force, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and […]
FRANKLIN PARK, Ill. — Metra continues to test some of its SD70MACH locomotives, even as it works the remanufactured freight units into revenue service [see “Metra SD70MACHs begin revenue service,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 30, 2023]. In a relatively rare move, correspondent Chris Guss caught units 504 and 505 operating back-to-back on a test train […]
New York Central 4505, a rare Fairbanks-Morse CPA-24-5, leads a train toward Chicago at Otis, Ind., in April 1954. A Studebaker, built in nearby South Bend, is beside the depot. Eugene Van Dusen photo […]
