Nickel Plate Road No. 765 rolls out for Rolling Victory (updated)

Steam locomotive with World War II reenactors and vehicles

PLEASANT LAKE, Ind. — Labor Day concluded the summer schedule for Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s Indiana Rail Experience. The sendoff during the three-day weekend was the Rolling Victory event in Pleasant Lake, billed as a World War II experience with reenactors, displayed equipment, battle reenactments, big band dance, train rides, and Nickel Plate Road […]

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About that ‘Mohawk’ book cover

The photo is at once ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary because the photographer had to grab it on the fly, shooting a low-angle wedge shot in low light as a New York Central steam locomotive snuck up on him out of nowhere. The photo is a bit dark and shows little of its creator’s compositional genius. […]

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News Photos: UP Big Boy 4014 circumnavigates Chicago

black steam locomotive

UP Big Boy 4014 LA GRANGE, Ill. — Having a Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive pass through the Chicago area doesn’t happen every day (or maybe for the last seven decades). So it is no surprise hundreds of onlookers turned out at multiple locations to watch “Big Boy” 4014 make its way over the Indiana […]

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News & Products for the week of September 9th 2024

A green and white model locomotive against a gray background

News & Products for the week of September 9th 2024   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 September 9th […]

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News photos: UP Big Boy arrives in the Midwest

Three-quarter view of steam locomotive

ROCHELLE, Ill. — The vast expanse of Union Pacific’s Ike Evans Global III terminal just west of Rochelle played host to a “Family Days” event for Chicago area UP employees today (Saturday, Sept. 7) prior to a public display featuring Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 on Sunday at the same location. It proved to be […]

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B&O steam

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In 1955, Baltimore & Ohio 2-8-2 4443 pulls an eastbound coal train past the yard at Lumberton, W.Va., where the local switcher, an 0-8-0, is working. James P. Gallagher photo […]

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News & Products for the week of September 3rd 2024

A black model steam locomotive

News & Products for the week of September 3rd 2024   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 September 3rd […]

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Patriotic parade on Main Street

patriotic train during parade

At the end of the annual Valle Verde Town Council meeting in the spring, the mayor and the council members found themselves with a surplus in the annual budget. What to do with this unexpected bounty? Why not have the first Valle Verde 4th of July parade? To make it official, a vote was called, […]

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Steamtown resumes traditional Railfest schedule

Two diesel cab units and steam locomotive on display under cloudy skies

SCRANTON, Pa. — The National Park Service’s Steamtown National Historic Site this weekend revived its traditional Labor Day Railfest event, operating steam and diesel shuttle trains, demonstrating machine-shop skills, and providing a festival venue for a wide array of rail-related activities. After cancellations and schedule disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic, the event returned to […]

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East Broad Top 2-8-2 No. 16 is back in service

Steam engine in yard area

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – After being out of service for eight months, East Broad Top Railroad narrow-gauge 2-8-2 Mikado engine No. 16 (Baldwin Locomotive Works, 1916) will resume hauling tourist passengers tomorrow (Friday, Aug. 30). The engine will pull regularly scheduled EBT trains on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Oct. 27, plus additional special runs […]

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Ken Smith’s South Durham Ry.

Title screen showing black-and-white road diesel pulling a freight on Ken Smith's HO scale South Durham Ry. model railroad.

Ken Smith’s South Durham Ry. is an HO scale shelf layout that fills a 9′-6″ x 11′-0″ spare room. The freelanced model railroad depicts a North Carolina bridge line connecting the Southern Ry. (SOU), Seaboard Coast Line (SCL), and Durham Southern in the 1970s. Second-generation diesel power moves grain, plastic pellets, perishable fruit, and other […]

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