Guide to Electro-Motive E and F units

book E and F units

Guide to Electro-Motive E and F units Book: Guide to Electro-Motive E and F units Author: Jeff Wilson Price: $27.99 Manufacturer: Kalmbach Media, 21027 Crossroads Circle, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612, 262-796-8776, KalmbachHobbyStore.com Topics covered: How E and F units came to be Introduction to freight Post-war passenger boom Freight dieselization Demise of E […]

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Canadian regulators propose more detailed requirements for reporting railroad performance metrics

Canadian Pacific and Canadian National trains pass

OTTAWA, Ontario – Class I railroads operating in Canada would be required to report additional performance and staffing metrics under a proposal Canadian regulators unveiled on Friday. Transport Canada’s move was announced on the same day that the Surface Transportation Board said it will temporarily require the big railroads to provide more detailed operational and […]

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4-8-8-4 ‘Big Boy’ locomotive models in HO and N scales

Big Boy train model

Big Boy locomotive models: Union Pacific’s 25-strong fleet of 4-8-8-4 Big Boy steam locomotives evoke images of fast freight, vast Western scenes, and the pinnacle of steam railroading in North America during and just after World War II. Model makers over the years have helped model railroaders capture the essence of that special 1940s to […]

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Five ideas for a shelf layout

A sheet of graph paper holds five sketches of 1 x 5-foot HO scale shelf layout plans

As the author of Model Railroader’s “Ask MR” column, I get a lot of questions from readers. Usually I either know the answers or at least where I can find the answers for them. Sometimes, though, I get a question that stirs my imagination and prompts me to compose a more involved response. Such was […]

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St Louis-San Francisco passenger trains remembered

GP1511021

St. Louis-San Francisco passenger trains are part of Classic Trains‘ editors’ celebration of the Frisco all through May 2022. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Frisco passenger trains selected from Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. Since October 2019, Classic Trains’ editors have celebrated a different Fallen Flag, that is, a Class I railroad that […]

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Power-LOC figure eight expander set from Wm. K. Walthers Inc.

Silver track pieces

Power-LOC figure eight expander set Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $59.98 Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com Power-LOC figure eight expander set features: Nickel silver rail, brown ties, and gray plastic roadbed Snaps together without tools or rail joiners Set includes two 9” straight sections, six 18” radius […]

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HO scale diesel servicing kits from Wm. K. Walthers Inc.

HO scale Diesel sanding tower

Diesel servicing kits Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Diesel sanding tower, $17.98; Modern diesel fueling facility, $37.98 Era: 1950s to present (sanding tower); present day (modern diesel fueling facility) Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com Diesel sanding tower features: Injection-molded plastic kit Detailed safety cage ladder and supply […]

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Union Tank Car Co. 16,000-gallon Funnel-Flow tank car from Wm. K. Walthers Inc.

black tank car

Funnel-Flow tank car  Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $49.98 Era: 1973 to present (era varies depending on paint scheme). Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers, Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218, 414-527-0770, walthers.com Funnel-Flow tank car features: Etched-metal walkways and platforms Factory-installed grab irons Train pipe and brake rigging underbody details Prototype-specific manway and safety valve […]

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Union Pacific Challenger ruled the Overland Route

Steam locomotive with freight train on curve

Union Pacific Challenger: Railroad slogans are one of the industry’s lost arts. The old ad men and promoters who came up with them were geniuses. Remember when phrases like Water Level Route or Main Line of Mid-America told you so much about a particular railroad? The best ones spoke of far-flung places, and how to […]

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