Electric Railways of North America in Color, Vol. 1 book review

Electric Railways of North America book cover

Electric railroads served a variety of purposes in North America: carrying commuters, industrial switching, and mainline freight and passenger service. From coal-hauling, six-axle, red-white-and-blue motors in British Columbia to plain green electric m.u. cars in New Jersey, there can be broad interest in electric railroads.   Noted railfan Matthew Herson has lended his photographic collection […]

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Atlas 50-foot plug-door boxcar

yellow boxcar illustration

50-foot plug-door boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $39.95 (undecorated, $33.95) Era: 1955 to 1984+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205, 908-687-0880, shop.atlasrr.com 50-foot plug-door boxcar features: 8/8 panel, riveted sides Accumate couplers Blackened metal wheels Late improved Dreadnaught ends Overhanging diagonal-panel roof with or without running boards as appropriate […]

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Gulf Mobile and Ohio remembered

Overhead view of four Gulf Mobile and Ohio diesel locomotives with freight train on S curve with multiple power lines

Gulf Mobile and Ohio remembered: The “modern merger movement” is often said to have begun in 1957 when Louisville & Nashville absorbed the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis, in which the L&N had a three-quarters ownership. Some would argue that three similar 1947 mergers — Denver & Salt Lake into Denver & Rio Grande Western; […]

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Athearn 50-foot high-cube double-plug-door boxcar

red boxcar illustration

50-foot high-cube double-plug-door boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $34.99 Era: 1970s+ to 2000s+ (varies depending on paint scheme). Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com 50-foot high-cube double-plug-door boxcar features: Body-mounted McHenry scale couplers Injection-molded plastic body Machined metal wheels with RP-25 contours Minimum radius: 18” Separate, factory-applied brake wheel Underbody with brake system […]

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Three ways to entice viewers with storefront window displays

a storefront with shoes on display

Storefront window displays are one way a modeler can make a building on a layout look inhabited without having to detail the entire interior. It’s a way to simplify the process while engaging viewers and hobbyists. A building can look fabulous on the outside with eye-catching signs and prototypically weathered brick walls, but if the […]

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Menards Corrugated Auto Carrier – CTT review

Menards Corrugated Auto Carrier end view

Menards Corrugated Auto Carrier is an O gauge model of the modern 89-foot vehicle transporter so prevalent on today’s railroads. These are the most up-to-date versions of this type of car on the market in a traditional (non-scale) size. The car is named for its roof features. The sides of the car simulate the perforated […]

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Athearn Genesis American Car & Foundry 2,970-cubic-foot capacity two-bay Center Flow covered hopper

gray covered hopper illustration

American Car & Foundry 2,970-cubic-foot capacity two-bay Center Flow covered hopper Scale: N (1:160) Price: Single car, $39.99; three-pack, $99.99 Era: 1966+ through 1989+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822, 800-338-4639, athearn.com American Car & Foundry 2,970-cubic-foot capacity two-bay Center Flow covered hopper features: New features include rubber trainline hoses; separate, […]

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Where can I buy large-scale rolling stock decals?

White boxcar with purple lettering

Large-scale rolling stock decals: Unlike modeling scales with specific definitions like HO scale (1:87.1) or N scale (1:160), the term “large scale” actually encompasses a variety of modeling proportions (generally from 1:13.7 down to 1:32). This segments the market into small pieces. Because of the limited customer base, there are few commercially made decal options […]

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Wrongful death suit filed in Chief derailment

Aerial view of three Superliner passenger cars on their side after derailment

KEYTESVILLE, Mo. — The family of a woman killed in the June 27 derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief has filed a wrongful death suit in the county where the accident occurred, naming the company whose truck was struck by the train, BNSF Railway, and a BNSF employee as defendants. Rachelle Cook, 58, of De Soto, […]

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Two Canadian Pacific trains derail in Canada

Canadian Pacific Railway beaver logo

BASSANO, Alberta — About a dozen cars of a Canadian Pacific grain train derailed Wednesday afternoon in Bassano, about 85 miles southeast of Calgary, the CBC reports. It was one of two derailments involving CP grain trains on Wednesday. The other occurred in Kamloops, British Columbia. An eyewitness told the CBC about a dozen cars […]

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BNSF claims CP-KCS merger will throw Houston terminal into gridlock

Kansas City Southern train leaves terminal

A Kansas City Southern intermodal train heads for the Union Pacific Brownsville Subdivision at Robstown, Texas, in November 2017. Bill Stephens WASHINGTON – Projected traffic increases from the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger will put the critical Houston terminal into gridlock, BNSF Railway has warned federal regulators this week, citing a new analysis. CP and […]

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