A former Bangor & Aroostook F3A, which became Canadian Pacific property with the purchase of the Central Maine & Quebec, is on its way to CPKC headquarters in Calgary. A CPKC spokesman confirmed the locomotive, shown in Galt, Ontario, on June 2, is en route to Calgary, but said he had no information on future […]
Type of Train: Diesel Locomotives
The promise of Silvis
When we drove off Illinois Route 92 onto former Rock Island property recently at Silvis, I was singularly focused on seeing steam locomotives. Three of them, to be specific, including one very special engine, former Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 Challenger No. 3985. The Challenger was among equipment that made headlines last year as Railroading Heritage […]
The Hills Line with James McNab | Catching up, Episode 12
Back by popular demand! James McNab has returned to host all-new video episodes of his previous Model Railroader Video Plus modeling series, The Hills Line with James McNab. This series featured layout construction insights and expert tips he shared while working to complete an HO scale (1:87) rendering 0f the IAIS Hills Industrial Spur. Take […]
EMD BL20-2 locomotive: a great idea that went nowhere
The EMD BL20-2 locomotive had to be an engineer’s brainchild to improve the company’s share of the locomotive market. Just look at the concept. It was brilliant. Perceived as a win-win for both the manufacturer and railroad, EMD would remanufacture older, high-mileage GP9s with new guts at a cost far less than paying […]
Aberdeen Carolina & Western E-unit No. 103 | NODA Express
It’s May 25th, 2023, and a test run of the Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railroad’s new NODA Express is heading toward Charlotte, North Carolina. The Aberdeen Carolina & Western is a 150-mile short line, which hosts recently acquired E9A, No. 103, an EMD passenger diesel that was originally built for the Union Pacific Railroad. Come along […]
News & Products for the week of June 5th 2023
News & Products for the week of June 5th 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 June 5th 2023. […]
CPKC employees will select railway’s new locomotive livery
CALGARY, Alberta – CPKC employees will select the railway’s new locomotive livery through an online survey, a company spokesman says. The SurveyMonkey poll asks the railway’s 20,345 employees to choose one of five proposed paint schemes for CPKC locomotives. Canadian Pacific SD70ACU No. 7001 serves as the model for the liveries. Each of the five […]
From the Cab: I ran EMD E8 locomotives
When the Amtrak car inspector standing in the doorway of one of Bennett Levin’s majestically restored EMD E8 locomotives asked if I used to run them, I replied, “You bet I did.” “Remember how to do a brake test on one?” he asked, hinting that he didn’t. “If anyone does, it has to be you.” I reminded him that […]
Canada’s GMD1 diesel locomotive
Canada’s GMD1 diesel locomotive was the first to be completely designed by General Motors Diesel Ltd., Electro-Motive’s subsidiary at London, Ontario. GMD built 101 copies in two variants between 1958 and 1960. The locomotive was powered by a 12-cylinder, non-turbocharged 567 prime mover producing 1,200 hp. A news brief in Trains’ July 1959 issue called […]
Best-selling Dash-2 EMD diesel locomotives
The best-selling Dash-2 EMD diesel locomotives will come as no surprise to diesel locomotive fans. By the late 1960s, the horsepower race had quieted, with 3,000-hp locomotives becoming the norm for fast freight (EMD’s GP40 and SD40, GE’s U30B and U30C) and 2,000 for local service (EMD’s GP38). EMD had successfully introduced a new, […]
Short Amtrak consists of the 1980s
Throughout the past few months, I have shown you how different small Amtrak trains can be modeled with only a few pieces of equipment. If you’ve read those previous articles, you might have noticed a pattern. Amtrak trains that operate between a big city and a much smaller city or town, such as Chicago and […]
How to operate steam locomotives on your modern layout
If you model the modern era like me, you may still have some equipment in your collection that doesn’t fit the era. Maybe you are a fan of one of the famous steam locomotives operating today, such as Nickel Plate Road No. 765 or Union Pacific’s Big Boy. Or maybe you have another steam engine […]