Arrow stick board kit from East Coast Circuits

Railroad crossing scene with truck with arrow stick board blocking middle.

Arrow stick board kit Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $30 Manufacturer: East Coast Circuits LLC, P.O. Box 25412 Providence, RI 02905; 401-400-0668; eastcoastcircuits.com Features: Seven selectable patterns Circuit remembers pattern if power is lost On/off pattern switch included Works on 9-12V AC or DC power Vehicle not included Release date: October 2022 News & Products is a regular feature of […]

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American Z Line August 2022 new releases

Model of red and white switcher locomotive with white background

American Z Line diesel locomotive announcements for August 2022 Scale: Z (1:220) Price: Contact manufacturer Era: St. Louis-San Francisco (Frisco) Electro-Motive Division SW1500 diesel locomotive, October 1968 to 1980s. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Alco PA-1 diesel locomotive, 1947-48 to 1960s Manufacturer: American Z Line, 6142 Northcliff Blvd., Dublin, OH 43016; 614-764-1703; americanzline.com EMD SW1500 features: AutoLatch couplers Prototype-specific details […]

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N scale American Car & Foundry PD3500 Flexi Flo hopper

Drawing of 14 covered hoppers

American Car & Foundry PD3500 Flexi Flo hopper Scale: N (1:160) Price: Single car, $44.95; two-pack, $89.90; three-pack, $134.85; and six-pack, $269.70 Era: 1964 to 2010s (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Features Early and late body styles 125-ton Barber S-2 […]

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CSX Santa Train will not run for third straight year

Business car at end of train crossing bridge

KINGSPORT, Tenn. — For the third year in a row, the CSX Santa Train, a legacy of predecessor Clinchfield Railroad, will be sidelined — this time because of staffing and supply-chain issues. The Kingsport Times News reports the 110-mile trip from Kentucky to Kingsport will miss what would have been its 80th anniversary edition. As […]

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Carload Considerations: The short-haul hustle

Blue locomotive with white nose stripes pulling hopper cars through woods

CHICAGO — Railroads have an advantage over trucks when customers’ shipments have to travel a great distance. Long-haul business is preferred by railroads, aligning with the industry’s focus of moving carloads across the network as efficiently as possible on fewer, longer trains. Shorter moves require the same amount of switching, but don’t necessarily produce the […]

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Long-stalled Kenosha-Milwaukee commuter rail proposal gets new, if limited, state support

Commuter train arrives at platform with another train stopped on adjacent track

MILWAUKEE — The state of Wisconsin has filed a brief document with the Federal Transit Administration in support of a private corporation’s plan to provide commuter rail service between Milwaukee and Kenosha, Wis. — a long-discussed but moribund project dating to 1998. The two-page “Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Rail Project Development Profile” was filed by the Wisconsin […]

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Agency pursuing Reading-Philadelphia passenger service picks consultant

Portion of map showing existing and proposed rail routes in the Northeast

READING, Pa. — The recently created agency to revive passenger rail service between Reading and Philadelphia has selected a consultant for the project. Patch.com reports the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority voted to employ Washington, D.C., based Transportation for America as consultant, subject to review of the contract by the authority’s solicitor. Transportation Economics & […]

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LGB Santa Fe F7 locomotive review

LGB F7 Santa Fe large scale

These LGB Santa Fe F7 locomotives are nice looking and good runners, too. The powered A unit (no. 21576) has many separately applied details and cab doors that can be opened. Both trucks are driven by Bühler motors with ball bearings and the wheels have traction tires. The locomotive has a built-in mfx/DCC decoder with […]

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Fox Valley Models SD70ACe announced by ScaleTrains

Yellow, silver, and black modern diesel locomotive

Electro-Motive Diesel SD70ACe diesel locomotive Scale: N (1:160) Price: Direct-current model with Next18 connector, $119.99; with dual-mode ESU LokSound 5 sound decoder, $219.99 Era: 2007-present (depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 7598 Highway 411, Benton, TN 37307; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com Features: Road number-specific details Factory-installed details including wire grab irons, m.u. clusters, uncoupling levers, windshield wipers, and […]

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Rapido 3,800 cubic-foot capacity cylindrical covered hopper

Drawing of 11 different cylindrical hoppers

3,800 cubic-foot capacity cylindrical covered hopper Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Single car, $54.95; six-pack, $329.70 Era: 1965 to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Features Round-hatch or trough-hatch design as appropriate Dofasco S-2 100-ton trucks 6- or 11-side panel body […]

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Fuel freight trains to be given priority in Germany

Black electric locomotive hauling unit train of black coal hoppers

German rail network operators will be able to override existing contracts to prioritize the transport of oil and coal for power generation — potentially delaying passenger and other freight service — under a draft emergency law published last week by the German government. The rule also covers moves of heavy equipment, such as transformers, needed […]

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