Big Boy heads west in June

Large steam locomotive pulling a passenger train around a curve. More of the Big Boy story.

CHEYENNE, Wyo.  — Union Pacific’s famed Big Boy steam locomotive No. 4014 is set to return to the tracks this summer for what UP’s Steam Club is calling the “West Coast Steam Tour,” kicking off on June 26 from the railroad’s heritage headquarters in Cheyenne. This year’s tour celebrates Union Pacific’s 160th anniversary, its heritage, […]

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Ask MR: What were the Big Four railroads?

An HO scale scene of tank cars spotted at a loading rack, with storage tanks and an oil well nearby

The Big Four: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Ry. Q: Before my father-in-law passed away some years ago, we’d talk about the trains of long ago. As a boy, he loved to watch rail traffic pass by his childhood home in Pana, Ill. He mentioned the “Big Four” rail lines but couldn’t remember what […]

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Ontario short line keeps GM traffic moving after CN snafu

The Ontario Southland Railway helped keep General Motors plants humming when a bridge clearance issue arose after a track project on Canadian National. CN, which handles the majority of traffic in St. Thomas, Ontario, suffered a line outage on the Talbot Spur when a program to fix track in the St. Thomas yard resulted in […]

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News photo: South Shore street running in April 2022

Line of locomotives on a train in a residential neighborhood.

South Shore street running: Bruce Stahl captured an unusually powerful freight train for northwestern Indiana in April. To wit: six locomotives led by South Shore No. 805 haul four grain hoppers down a torn-up street in Michigan City, Indiana. Stahl captured this rapture of motive power on Sunday, April 10, 2022, on “Church” curve. “The […]

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News & Products for the week of April 14, 2022

O gauge General Electric P42 diesel locomotive painted black with large yellow railroad crossing warning sign on nose and black and white graphics on white background.

O gauge locomotives General Electric P42 diesel locomotive. Amtrak Operation Lifesaver 50th anniversary unit (black, yellow, and white scheme). One road number. Die-cast metal truck sideframes, pilots, and fuel tank; two painted crew figures; and Proto-Sound 3.0 DCS. Model is scaled to 1:48 proportions. $639.95. Second quarter 2022. Premier line. Atlas O, 908-687-0880, shop.atlasrr.com   O […]

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News & Products for the week of April 14, 2022

Photo of engineer’s side of large scale Forney 0-4-4RT steam locomotive painted black with gold graphics on white background.

Large scale locomotives Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Ry. 0-4-4RT Forney steam locomotive. One road number. Features ball bearing Bühler motor, various light and sound functions, digitally controlled smoke unit, and mfx/Digital Command Control decoder. $779. Second quarter 2022. LGB (Märklin, Inc.), 800-321-8811, lgb.com   Large scale freight cars Union Pacific double-sheathed center-cupola caboose. Separate, factory-applied parts […]

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Missile strike on Ukraine rail station kills 57

blue foreign passenger train

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine – A station in Kramatorsk, packed with refugees waiting for trains to take them westward, was hit by a Russian missile attack on April 8. The death toll updated by the Ukrainian government on April 10 stands at 57 with 109 injured. Pictures from the scene depict abandoned belongings and children’s toys, in […]

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News & Products for the week of April 14, 2022

Photo of HO scale Greenville 86-foot quad-door boxcar painted orange, silver, black, and white with black graphics.

Product news 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. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of April 14, 2022.   HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD40T-2 diesel locomotive. […]

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CP doesn’t expect traffic data issue to change KCS merger timeline

Train with red locomotives and covered hopper cars

BALTIMORE – Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel doesn’t expect a traffic density data issue to delay the overall timeline for regulatory review of the CP-Kansas City Southern merger. The Surface Transportation Board on March 16 suspended its review of the CP-KCS deal pending resolution of a discrepancy in the baseline traffic figures the railroads used […]

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Ethanol producers complain about snarled rail service

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON – The trade group representing ethanol producers has told federal regulators that its members are experiencing significant rail service delays and disruptions that could lead to higher gasoline prices. “While we certainly understand that a variety of factors have contributed to these rail disruptions, it is imperative that all possible actions be taken by […]

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Conrail passenger trains: A small chapter for a big blue railroad

Conrail passenger trains: Conrail and Burlington Northern passenger trains in a Chicago rail yard.

Conrail passenger trains are probably the least known of all the aspects of the big blue railroad’s operations over time. As Conrail is the Fallen Flag Railroad of the Month for April 2022, please enjoy these Conrail passenger trains images from Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Conrail started operations April 1, 1976 taking over […]

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