Ontario Northland wins contract to overhaul GO Transit bilevels

Commuter train with bi-level coaches

NORTH BAY, Ontario — Ontario Northland Railway has won a $109 million contract to overhaul 56 GO Transit bi-level commuter cars at its shop on North Bay. The cars will receive a complete overhaul that includes stripping down the entire coach, structural work, and renewing or upgrading parts including new seating, washroom upgrades, electrical components, […]

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BNSF donates rebuilt SD9 to Minnesota museum

sd9 locomotive pulling train

DULUTH, Minn. — BNSF Railway has donated a rebuilt SD9 to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth. BNSF 1550 was built in February 1954 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors for the Great Northern Railway as No. 573. EMD built 515 SD9s between 1954 and 1959. No. 573 worked for many years in Superior, […]

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10 tips for beginning layout builders

A translucent green track-planning stencil is surrounded by notes and diagrams

10 tips for beginning layout builders: Trains.com has thousands of articles, images, and videos. Here, we’ve collected ten links to some of the best stories for people just starting on their layout-building adventure.   1. Learning to use a track template Track planning is an essential step in the construction of a model railroad layout. […]

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Sketching With Steve: Freight car brake details

A sketch of how three different brake systems look from underneath a freight car

When I started in this hobby, I chose to model the early 1900s. That was before I knew what models were commercially available in my chosen time frame. (The answer was “not much.”) Since my hobby budget was limited, there was only one manufacturer making car kits appropriate for my era that I could afford. […]

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STB Gulf Coast hearing scrutinizes details of traffic modeling: Analysis

Trains on three tracks as seen from bridge

WASHINGTON — Last week’s fourth day of testimony at the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on Amtrak Gulf Coast service focused on two questions: — “Where did the data used for traffic modeling come from?” — “What constitutes a train that can cause ‘unreasonable impairment’ to freight operations” if two passenger round trips are introduced between […]

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Frank Vodvarka’s layout has something for everyone

Frank Vodvarka's layout

Frank Vodvarka’s layout, the 23′ x 27′ Eclectic Empire, is featured in the May-June 2022 Classic Toy Trains. It’s colorful and entertaining, with pre- and postwar Lionel and other O- and Standard gauge trains from the U.S. and abroad. Plus it has accessories, figures, and structures from multiple eras and manufacturers like Bayko, Britains, Bassett-Lowke, […]

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