Mainline railroading in the 1950s

yellow model diesel locomotive on garden railway

Mainline railroading in the 1950s Railway at a glance Name: Spring Creek Railroad Size of railroad: Roughly 24′ x 62′ Scale: 1:29, 1:20.3, and 1:32 Gauge: 45mm Era: Circa 1950s Theme: Mainline railroading, mostly passenger and freight; some narrow gauge and branch/trolley line on the inner loop Age: 14 years Motive power: Live steam, track […]

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News photo: First remanufactured CN units now in operation

Shiny new read and black locomotives on freight train

LONDON, Ontario — The first two Canadian National locomotives in an order for 50 remanufactured AC44C6M units are now in service. Nos. 3300 and 3301 were photographed Sunday, Oct. 30, in London, Ont., on CN’s Dundas Subdivision. No. 3300 was part of a ceremony involving CN and Wabtec officials at Wabtec’s Fort Worth, Texas, plant […]

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Wabtec marks 10th anniversary of Fort Worth plant

Line of locomotives in primer paint

FORT WORTH, Texas — Wabtec has celebrated the 10th anniversary of its manufacturing operations in Fort Worth, having opened a 1-million-square-foot locomotive plant and 250,000-square-foot mining-equipment facility in October 2012. The mining facility opened first, delivering its first product in 2012, with the first locomotive being delivered to BNSF in 2013. Since then, it has […]

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Union Pacific General Electric standard turbine from ScaleTrains

Long yellow diesel locomotive and fuel tender

Union Pacific General Electric standard turbine Scale: N (1:160) Price: Direct current with Next18 connector – without tender, $144.99; with tender, $189.99. With ESU LokSound 5 Micro Digital Command Control and sound decoder with Full Throttle, Next18 connector, and sugar cube speaker – without tender, $244.99; with tender, $289.99. Era: 1950s to 1962 (varies depending on road number) […]

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Best-selling Baldwin diesel locomotives

Baldwin diesel locomotive in red and black

The best-selling Baldwin diesel locomotives are low-horsepower end-cab switchers owing to wartime material restrictions. Baldwin Locomotive Works of Eddystone, Pa., was the country’s largest steam locomotive builder. But it was no stranger to electric and internal-combustion locomotives. It was, however, slow to offer a standard line of diesel road engines. Baldwin’s late entry to the […]

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Central of Georgia locomotives remembered

Colorful Central of Georgia locomotive passing through station without train

Central of Georgia locomotives bought a great deal of variety to the South. When the Central of Georgia Railway was organized in 1895, it had 214 steam locomotives of the 4-4-0, 4-6-0, and 2-6-0 types. The roster was expanded in the early 1900s with 2-8-0s, 2-8-2s, 2-10-2s, 4-6-2s, 4-8-2s, and, briefly, 2-6-6-2s. Many of these […]

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Bowser Canadian and Phase III RS3 diesel locomotives

Drawing of green and yellow diesel locomotive

Canadian and Phase III RS3 diesel locomotives Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin plug, $219.95; with ESU LokSound Select sound decoder, $319.95 Era: 1954+ (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Bowser Manufacturing Co. Inc., 1302 Jordan Ave., Montoursville, PA 17754; 570-368-2379; bowser-trains.com Canadian and Phase III RS3 diesel locomotive features: Road-name-specific fuel tanks Separate, factory-applied air hoses, windshield wipers, […]

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Bombardier HR616 locomotive, a diesel that didn’t

Bombardier HR616 locomotive with black-and-white stripes

The Bombardier HR616 locomotive sold just 20 copies to one railroad, qualifying it as a Diesel That Didn’t. In North America, when we think of builders of diesel road locomotives, we usually conjure visions of EMD, GE, Wabtec, Alco, Baldwin, and Fairbanks-Morse. But there were others, including Canada’s Bombardier. The Montreal-headquartered rail transportation arm of […]

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Pere Marquette locomotives and cars from American Z Line

Set of blue, silver, and yellow passenger cars and a streamlined diesel locomotive

Chesapeake & Ohio Pere Marquette Scale: Z (1:220) Price: Contact manufacturer Era: 1946 to 1971 Manufacturer: American Z Line, 6142 Northcliff Blvd., Dublin, OH 43016; 614-764-1703; americanzline.com Electro-Motive Division E7A features: 7mm can motor Dual flywheels Metal steps Blackened metal wheels Directional light-emitting-diode lighting Optional front truck with mounted coupler AutoLatch couplers DCC ready Road name: Chesapeake & Ohio (dark blue, […]

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EMD ECO locomotives mark 15 years

yellow locomotive leading train

EMD ECO locomotives mark 15 years EMD’s 710ECO line of eight- and 12-cylinder prime movers celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. Introduced in 2007, this repower package was the company’s answer to the expanding market for low- and medium- power gensets sold at the time. While the company sold far fewer ECOs than gensets, time […]

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UP plans move of Challenger, other donated equipment Nov. 11-19

Steam locomotive passes electric locomotive

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific has announced plans for its “Heritage Donation Special,” moving two steam locomotives, its Centennial diesel, and other equipment, from Cheyenne to the  Railroading Heritage of Midwest America facility in Silvis, Ill., Nov. 11-19. The schedule was announced in an email to UP Steam Club members. The train will include Challenger […]

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