A John Armstrong inspired layout

Two trains passing each other on model train layout

A John Armstrong inspired layout: In March of 1952 Model Railroader magazine began a series called Track Plan of the Month. A frequent contributor was John Armstrong, an undisputed genius of model railroad planning. Armstrong designed two track plans for the September 1953 issue. John rotated the center line of the layouts’ footprints 45-degrees and […]

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Reading switcher shoves frozen Doodlebug

Black and white image of Doodlebug with fringed edge.

It could have been a Trains News Wire headline: “Reading switcher shoves frozen Doodlebug.” You won’t believe the story. I awoke and gazed out the window of my home in Coatesville, Pa., to see a veritable torrent of fluffy snowflakes falling. They were burying the landscape of my hometown in a wonderland of whiteness. The […]

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Pinch-hitting Pacific

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Canadian National 4-6-2 No. 5125 departs Burlington, Ont., with a Hamilton–Allandale local in March 1957. The Pacific and two cars are pinch-hitting for the usually assigned gas-electric car on this run. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Reading & Northern sets freight, passenger records

Green and yellow locomotives lead freight train

PORT CLINTON, Pa. — Reading & Northern Railroad announced it set new records in 2022 for freight traffic and excursion passenger ridership. Revenue freight traffic rose over 4,000 carloads and the railroad carried over 250,000 passengers on its excursion trains. Reading & Northern, Pennsylvania’s largest privately-owned railroad, said the freight traffic increase was driven by […]

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Portland day-trip rail experience

Passenger train traveling over steel double-deck bridge.

Portland day-trip rail experience: In the coastal Pacific Northwest, a Portland day-trip rail experience is easy enough that you can leave your vehicle at your local train station, and not think about automobiles for the rest of the day. With all Amtrak corridor and long-distance trains calling on Portland, Oregon one can usually find a […]

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Work begins on Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985

Diesel and two steam locomotives in large shop building

  SILVIS, Ill. – Railroading Heritage of Midwest America crews have taken the first steps toward returning Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 to operation this week by stripping parts off the 4-6-6-4. Today crews lifted the cab off the locomotive. “RRHMA crews have been making good progress all week striping down [No.] 3985,” says Steve […]

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Broadway Limited Imports HO 2-8-0

Screen capture of Product Review video

A Broadway Limited Imports HO 2-8-0 steam locomotive decorated for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe recently paid a visit to our Milwaukee, Racine & Troy staff layout. Join Model Railroader senior editor Cody Grivno as he takes a closer look at the Consolidation. Broadway Limited Imports offers the HO scale 2-8-0 decorated for Atchison, […]

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Broadway Limited Imports HO 2-8-0

Screen capture of Product Review video

A Broadway Limited Imports HO 2-8-0 steam locomotive decorated for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe recently paid a visit to our Milwaukee, Racine & Troy staff layout. Join Model Railroader senior editor Cody Grivno as he takes a closer look at the Consolidation. Broadway Limited Imports offers the HO scale 2-8-0 decorated for Atchison, […]

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Parts of a 2-8-0 steam locomotive

Photo of HO steam locomotive on white backdrop with callouts

Counting articulateds, compounds, and foreign steam locomotives, there are more than 90 steam engine wheel arrangements listed in the Whyte locomotive classifications. Which arrangement was the most common? The 2-8-0. Approximately 21,000 Consolidations were built between 1866 and 1946. To learn more about the prototype, read “Steam locomotive profile: 2-8-0 Consolidation” on the Classic Trains […]

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