Mind-blowing Big Boy facts In the 1959 Union Pacific movie Last of the Giants the narrator comments, “ … There are no small parts on a Big Boy.” This is also true of the story that accompanies this colossus of the rails. As one digs into Big Boy’s details, everything — measurements, operating statistics, even […]
The Model Train Association Lionel 6464 boxcars are the subject of many collectors’ searches. Interest in the near-scale postwar series never flags. Newcomers to the hobby continue to discover the 29 cataloged entries and start tracking down examples. Longtime hobbyists hunt hard-to-find variations. Among the sought after are the Train Collectors Association models sold as […]
Siemens Venture-series passenger cars Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: To be announced Era: 2020s+ Manufacturer: Bachmann Trains, 1400 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19124; 215-533-1600; bachmanntrains.com Features: Detailed, illuminated interiors Road-specific exterior configurations E-Z Mate Mark II couplers Blackened machined metal RP-25 contour wheels Dual-mode horn, bell, brake sounds, headlights, ditch lights, and marker lights (cab […]
Transfer caboose Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: To be announced Era: Varies depending on paint scheme Manufacturer: Bachmann Trains, 1400 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19124; 215-533-1600; bachmanntrains.com Features: New and existing tooling E-Z Mate Mark II couplers Blackened metal RP-25 contour wheels Release date: 2023 Paint scheme: CSX (gray, blue, and yellow), Missouri Pacific (red […]
General Electric AC4400CW Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $204.99; with dual-mode ESU LokSound 5 sound decoder, $299.99 Era: 1995 to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 7598 Highway 411, Benton, TN 37307; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com Features: Road-number-specific details Factory-installed wire grab irons, m.u. clusters, uncoupling levers, windshield wipers, and more […]
52′-6″ drop-end gondola Scale: N (1:160) Price: To be announced Era: Varies depending on paint scheme Manufacturer: Bachmann Trains, 1400 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19124; 215-533-1600; bachmanntrains.com Features: Positionable drop-end gates E-Z Mate Mark II couplers Blackened metal RP-25 contoured wheels Release date: 2023 Paint scheme: Great Northern (Vermillion Red), New York Central (black), […]
Spokane, Portland and Seattle freight trains remembered: All through August 2022, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the grit, panache, and charm that was the Spokane, Portland and Seattle. As part of the celebration, please enjoy this freight train photo gallery as the perfect accompaniment. Each month since October 2019, Classic Trains editors have showcase one “Fallen Flag” railroad — […]
Siemens ALC-42 Charger diesel locomotive Scale: N (1:160) Price: $459 Era: 2020s+ Manufacturer: Bachmann Trains, 1400 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19124; 215-533-1600; bachmanntrains.com Features: Dual-mode TCS WOWSound decoder Keep-Alive capacitor Separate, factory-applied windshield wipers, grab irons, and detail parts Voice-guided Audio Assist Directional headlights and marker lights Interior corridor work lights Steady/alternate flashing ditch […]
Please enjoy this photo gallery of Spokane, Portland and Seattle locomotives selected from files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. The principal Spokane, Portland and Seattle locomotive shop was at Vancouver, Washington. Initially a roundhouse, it was supplemented with a four-track, three-level diesel shop in 1949 that replaced the roundhouse after the last […]
The Ingalls Shipbuilding 4S locomotive was a truly unique, one-of-a-kind diesel unit. The business world in general, and railroading in particular, is full of one-hit wonders. The concept is solid, the idea grand, the thinking sound. Yet, despite all the barometers showing the product should be a sales winner, through no fault of […]
NEW YORK — Domestic intermodal service is running at historically low levels, with trains routinely arriving a day or two behind schedule, J.B. Hunt executives say. “We never saw numbers like this before the pandemic,” Darren Field, J.B. Hunt’s intermodal president, told an investor conference this week. “It’s really a labor and crew issue for […]
Electro-Motive Division GP40 Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: To be announced Era: April 1966 to present (varies depending on paint scheme Manufacturer: ClassOneModelWorks.com, 8610 NW 107th Terrace, Kansas City, MO, 64153; 816-243-0044; ClassOneModelWorks.com Features: Road- and unit-specific body styles Flat cap 48” fans Diamond mesh radiator intake screen Early triangular fuel tank mounts Ribbed cab base […]
