Facts and features Name: Colorado PlainsScale: N (1:160)Size: 2′-43∕4″ x 8′-6″Prototype: BNSFLocale: Eastern ColoradoEra: ModernStyle: T-Trak modularMainline run: 182∕3 feetMinimum radius: 11″Minimum turnout: no. 4Maximum grade: noneBenchwork: Modular laser-cut kitsHeight: 23∕4″ Roadbed: noneTrack: Kato UnitrackScenery: SculptamoldBackdrop: Painted medium-density fibreboardControl: NCE DCC Click the link to download a PDF of the track plan! Buy the January […]
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Railfanning California’s Central Valley offers diverse operations, wide-open vistas, and plenty of action. Even so, the Central Valley gets no respect. Fresno, Bakersfield and even Sacramento are the butt of jokes by Los Angeles and Bay Area citizens. Railfans make trips to Cajon, Donner and Tehachapi passes but seldom celebrate the tabletop-flat topography of the […]
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WASHINGTON — November rail traffic is signaling a positive outlook for the broader economy heading into 2025. Resilient consumer spending helped intermodal continue to lead all categories in November and year to date, according to the Association of American Railroads’ Freight Rail Index (FRI) released Monday, Dec. 9. Continued strong consumer demand and port activity […]
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News & Products for the week of December 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 December 9th […]
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Burlington Route passenger trains are part of Classic Trains‘ editors’ celebration of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy all through December 2024. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Burlington Route passenger trains selected from Firecrown Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Since October 2019, Classic Trains’ editors have celebrated a different Fallen Flag, that is, […]
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SEATTLE — The big takeaway from this year’s annual Amtrak Board of Directors public meeting is that the company has momentum to keep growing patronage despite any headwinds that might begin blowing when the Trump Administration and an all-Republican Congress take over in January. The session today (Wednesday, Dec. 4) was held at a ballroom […]
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Hump yards The number of hump yards operating in North America has dropped precipitously over the decades. Today there are 36 active hump yards operated by the big six Class I systems and terminal and switching railroads. That’s down from 59 in 2002, 72 in 1993, 122 in 1985, and 152 in 1975. Yet hump […]
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News & Products for the week of December 2nd 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 December 2nd […]
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Increasingly, the holiday season is also a team for brightly decorated trains on major commuter and transit systems. The New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco areas will all see such trains this year, including a new train on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Metro North Railroad, and Metra trains with more elaborate decorations. Here’s […]
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FARMINGTON, N.M. — Studies are in progress or will be launched for a proposed rail line to connect the Four Corners region of New Mexico to BNSF’s Southern Transcon main line, which would restore a rail connection to Farmington lost when the Denver & Rio Grande Western abandoned its narrow gauge line to the community […]
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President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to impose 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada could have a chilling impact on cross-border rail traffic, which has been one of the few sources of volume growth for North American Class I railroads. Trump announced the plans last night in a social media post, saying that he […]
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News & Products for the week of November 25th 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 November 25th […]
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