The 90th anniversary year of Model Railroader magazine is off and running. In the January 2024 issue, Editor Eric White shared the news that we’re starting the Model Railroader Hall of Fame. Each month, we’ll present a slate of nominees. Inductees in the inaugural class will be announced in the December 2024 issue. This month, […]
Trains LIVE — Northern Pacific Slenderella Salad Trains LIVE — 1-4-2023 — Happy New Year and welcome to 2023. Did you know that of the top five New Year’s resolutions made annually, three of them involve fitness, health, and a better diet? Our resolve regarding our resolutions fades quickly, however. In 2022, surveys indicate that […]
For many years, HO scale modelers debated whether to use plastic or metal wheelsets on freight cars. That discussion has quieted down over the past two decades, largely because most new models come with metal wheelsets. However, as evidenced by the number of offerings available today, there’s still a strong demand for aftermarket metal wheelsets. […]
Breakdown of Streamliners What are streamliners? Essentially, it’s a sleek design for lightweight passenger rail equipment that once had a faster schedule with fewer stops than other trains on the same route. They often included nicer amenities like stewardess service, reserved coach seating, barber shops, and libraries. Before 1970, three major manufacturers built passenger cars […]
A beginner’s guide to plants For many railway gardeners, the “garden” is the most challenging aspect of a garden railroad. Like all living things, outdoor plants have unpredictable habits; growing, changing, moving, and sometimes even dying on us for no apparent reason. Latin names, horticultural terms, and gardening techniques can be confusing to a beginner. […]
At the turn of the 20th century, stunning, cathedral-like structures were commonly served by passenger-rail carriers. These stations were hubs of activity in major cities, from New York to Chicago to Los Angeles and in between. The hustle and bustle within the walls reflected the height of passenger-rail service in the United States at the […]
Contemporary holiday season travel can present challenges that will dim the spirits of even the most joyful among us. Let us, for a few moments, recall a time of more enjoyable travel, a time when getting there was a fun part of the adventure. Like today, travel on Christmas is not an ideal situation. In […]
Trains Photo Contest 2024 Trains Magazine and the National Railway Historical Society are pleased to present the 2024 photo contest. The NRHS is a nonprofit that promotes the interest and study of the railroad industry, a mission shared by Trains. The NRHS, which was established in 1935, is an excellent partner for a magazine that’s […]
While I was walking through the National Train Show earlier this year in Grapevine, Texas, I noticed something – there were a lot of young people working for the various manufacturers present at the show. As a young person myself, this gave me great joy. With discussions about the longevity of the hobby occurring daily […]
In the 60-plus years that N scale has been around, there has been a great deal of change in couplers. Rapido, an early manufacturer of N scale models (not to be confused with today’s Rapido Trains), let other companies use its coupler design. The wedge-front coupler, which was used on most N scale models (except […]
CSX Railroads, in particular, have grappled with that same question over the years — especially those railroads that are the products of mergers or the surviving company after a takeover. There is, on the one hand, Norfolk Southern, a straightforward name for the affiliation of the Norfolk & Western and Southern railways. Along the same […]
Although pencil and paper still reigns as king of the ways to plan a model railroad layout, computer-aided design (CAD) track planning software is increasingly popular as model railroaders become more comfortable using computers. This is a roundup of current (as of 2023) track planning software designed to give you a good idea of the […]
