London’s $24 billion ‘Elizabeth Line’ opens under city center

Station sign for new London Elizabeth Line

LONDON — Delayed by construction problems and then the pandemic, London’s new high-tech, east-west rail line, the Elizabeth Line connecting existing routes on both sides of the city, finally opened to passengers today (Tuesday, May 24).   Initially, the brand-new central section from London’s Paddington station in the west to Abbey Wood in the city’s […]

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East Broad Top team brings history to life: Analysis

When East Broad Top General Manager Brad Esposito was cleaning up rock salt in a shed at the railroad’s shop complex last year, he didn’t bat an eye when he realized he was standing on wooden crates marked “dynamite.” After all, the EBT stored just about anything in dynamite crates that had been emptied at […]

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Four ideas for window treatments

A yellow house with curtains, blinds, and dog in window

Four ideas for window treatments: The sky is the limit … or rather your structure’s windows are. There are endless options when it comes to decorating or dressing up windows. You can be as creative or as simple as the project calls for. Just consider how fancy or frugal you want to be from the […]

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Track laying techniques are not tricky

A superelevation ramp made of cardstock and masking tape strips is taped to the outside of a curve of cork roadbed

Q: I’m an HO scale modeler and struggling with track laying techniques. I would appreciate guidance on measuring, cutting, and installing flextrack on curves. I’m always disengaging the rails from the ties, and thus having trouble connecting to the next track. Also, when superelevating curves, is it better to attach the risers under the outer rail […]

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Recreate a prototype photo on your garden railway

Garden railway scene with a steam locomotive, depot, and several figures in a sepia tone

Recreate a prototype photo: If you are a history nut like me, authenticity is important on your layout. I model the Kansas Central narrow gauge line that tried to build across Kansas in the 1870s to connect with the Denver & Rio Grande in Colorado. It met with competition from the standard gauge Kansas Pacific […]

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Amtrak invites press to inspect new-generation Acela

High speed trainset at station platform

PHILADELPHIA — Amtrak opened a second-generation Acela high-speed trainset for press inspection Monday at 30th Street Station, giving a look at the interiors of the first-class, business-class, and café cars that will make up 28 160-mph trainsets projected to enter service between Boston, New York, and Washington late next year. Parked at an underground boarding […]

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LA Metro board to consider $8.8 billion budget

LA Metro logo

LOS ANGELES — The board of directors of transit agency LA Metro will consider an $8.8 billion budget on Thursday, a fiscal plan including $2.3 billion for ongoing expansion projects as well as funds to begin operation on two new rail lines. Metro’s in-house blog, The Source, reports the expansion funding includes ongoing work on […]

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WalthersMainline General Steel Castings 53-foot bulkhead flatcar

red flatcar

WalthersMainline General Steel Castings 53-foot bulkhead flatcar Senior Editor Cody Grivno reviews the HO scale General Steel Castings 53-foot bulkhead flatcar from Wm. K. Walthers Inc. The model, part of the WalthersMainline, has a newly tooled die-cast metal body and is offered in six paint schemes (and undecorated). The model is based on full-size cars […]

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