It’s not hard to give a postwar Lionel GP7 a new lease on life. Unless they’ve really been abused, these workhorses can be returned to service with some cleaning, adjustment, and maybe a little lubrication. This particular model had been stored for years in a dry climate. Additionally, the previous owner had removed the D-cell […]
Six tips for better structures Build better stair stringers To build stairs with identical risers and steps, I cut a board, 1 x 2, or 1 x 4, into one wide stringer on my table saw with a dado blade set for 1/2″-wide cuts. You could also lay out the steps on the edge […]
Tehachapi: An oasis in the mountains Planning a trip to the Tehachapi Mountains in California? Thinking about watching and photographing trains at the Loop, Cable, Caliente, Bealville, maybe as far down as Edison on the Bakersfield side? They are all great places. But don’t forget Tehachapi, the town. Geographically, the little city of about 15,000 […]
Wabtec In the rail world today, Wabtec is viewed as the company that bought General Electric’s locomotive production. This is the simple version of the story. When we trace Wabtec to its roots, we find that, as many of us know, the company is also known for an invention that revolutionized railroad safety — the […]
Editor’s Note: This is an abridged version of a feature that will run in the October issue of Trains Magazine that will examine intermodal developments on both BNSF Railway and Union Pacific. It’s not easy for railroads’ domestic intermodal customers to jump ship, which is why their partnerships tend to endure for decades. Yet change […]
ALEXANDER, W.Va. — The Carter-Roag Coal Co. plans to close its Morgan Camp mine, the last coal mine in Randolph County, W.Va., as well as the Star Bridge coal preparation plant, likely spelling the end of the company’s Beech Mountain Railroad. Local news reports say Carter-Roag, a subsidiary of United Coal Co., announced last week […]
Southern No. 722 BRYSON CITY, N.C. — The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad has announced plans to restore operation Southern Railway No. 722, a 2-8-0 built by Baldwin in 1904. Plans are to convert the locomotive from coal to oil firing in a process estimated to be completed in 2026, the railroad said in a press […]
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Legislature is considering a bill that would repeal an earlier act that created confidentiality for information about hazardous material transported on railroads. LD1937, sponsored by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland) and co-sponsored by Sen. Richard A. Bennett (R-Portland), would repeal the bill passed in 2015. The Bangor Daily News, […]
SCRANTON, Pa. — Alco PA Nickel Plate 190 has arrived at its new home. Completing its cross-country journey from Portland, Ore., the locomotive is now in Scranton, handed over to new owner Genesee Valley Transportation by Norfolk Southern this evening. GVT and the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad will restore the locomotive, which has an operable prime mover […]
CHICAGO —The Historic Pullman Foundation’s annual “Railroad Days” open house at Pullman National Historical Park on Saturday and Sunday will again host passenger cars that were built at the plant on Chicago’s South Side. Cars displayed this year, at Metra’s 111th Street station, date from 1923 to 1950. Heavyweight business car New York Central #3, […]
My first model railroad operating session: One morning each month I join the Old Codgers, a group of mostly retired model railroaders, for breakfast followed by an operating session at one of the group’s home layouts. I hosted the Codgers on my N scale layout for the first time this past August, having given myself a year […]
The Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History contains a unique mix of interesting displays including the famed Western & Atlantic 4-4-0 steam locomotive General of the Civil War’s Great Locomotive Chase. Choices The most complete telling of the Civil War’s Andrews Raid and the 1855-built General is still the biggest and at the […]
