Amtrak aims to add routes, frequencies; raise speeds in Pennsylvania

White diesel locomotive passes stone station on overcast day

Amtrak plans to add three short-haul routes in Pennsylvania and double both Keystone Service and Pennsylvanian train frequencies, Amtrak President Stephen Gardner told Gov. Tom Wolf and other public officials in a recent online roundtable talk about the company’s ConnectsUS 15-year regional corridor vision. The three routes are: New York City-Scranton, Pa., 136 miles via […]

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St. Louis TRRA Merchants Bridge project reaches major milestone

Red crane hovers over bridge truses in front of St. Louis Arch

ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis Railroad reached a major milestone on Friday when the first of three replacement spans on the Merchants Bridge was floated into position on the Mississippi River at St. Louis. Owned by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis, the Merchants Bridge project is a […]

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Train shows face pandemic pressures

Visitors enter and exit the convention building for the 2019 National Train Show

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Train shows remain challenged nearly two years after the novel coronavirus first appeared in late 2019. Several of the nation’s most popular train shows slated for 2021 were made virtual, such as the National Model Railroad Association’s national convention, this year called “Rails By the Bay” and scheduled for the San Francisco […]

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Model railroad locomotive, freight car, and club offering announcements for September 16, 2021

Penn Central Despatch Shops Inc./St. Louis Car Co. bay-window caboose.

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 September 16, 2021. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP15-1 diesel locomotive. Chicago […]

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Meet the Modeler: Steve Brown

Steve Brown next to his layout

What was your first train set (or locomotive)?  I was about six or seven years old, and it was approaching Christmas. My parents were building something in one of the spare rooms of our house. When I asked them what it was, they told me it was a sewing cabinet for my mother. When Christmas […]

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News & products for the week of September 9, 2021

Deutsche Reichsbahn BR V180 diesel locomotive

Large scale locomotives Deutsche Reichsbahn BR V180 diesel locomotive. Two five-pole can-type ball-bearing motors, detailed engine room interior and engineer figure, hook-and-loop couplers, operating red and white directional lighting with functional high beam using Digital Command Control (DCC), and DCC sound decoder (Locomotive will run on analog DC, but sound functions only on DCC.) $789.99. […]

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Model railroad locomotive, freight car, and accessory announcements for September 9, 2021

CSX Electro-Motive Division MP15 diesel locomotive.

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 September 9, 2021. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division MP15 diesel locomotive. CSX […]

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Meet the modeler: Bob Treat

A model town on a rocky outcropping

How did you get started in the hobby? Like so many of us, I was around five years old and woke up on Christmas morning to see a brand-new Lionel train running around the Christmas tree. I’ve been hooked ever since. What was your first large scale locomotive? It was a secondhand LGB European 0-4-0. […]

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Milwaukee, Racine & Troy HO scale freight car kits

Artwork for transition era Milwaukee, Racine & Troy HO scale 41-foot gondola.

In 2022, the Kalmbach Hobby Store will be offering four new HO scale freight car kits decorated for our freelanced staff layout, the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy (MR&T). The injection-molded plastic cars, made in the U.S. by Accurail, will be offered in one road number per scheme. The kits are priced at $27.99 each. We’ve […]

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Canadian Pacific sets KCS merger deadline, applauds STB decision

Logos for Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and Kansas City Southern

CALGARY, Alberta – Canadian Pacific CEO Keith Creel says Tuesday’s Surface Transportation Board decision that rules out a Canadian National-Kansas City Southern merger proves what he’s been saying all along. “The ruling … confirms what we’ve always believed to be true. And I’ll use their words: A CP-KCS combination is substantially different, substantially different. Those are […]

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News & Products for the week of September 2, 2021

CSX Electro-Motive Division GP40 diesel locomotive

O gauge locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP40 diesel locomotive. CSX (yellow, blue, and gray scheme), Denver & Rio Grande Western (black and orange with large “Flying Grande” lettering), Penn Central (black and white in two road numbers, with red “C” in one number), Port Harbor (First Responders scheme in one number), and Union Pacific (Armour Yellow […]

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News & products for the week of September 2, 2021

Italian State Railways Eaos high-side gondola

Large scale freight cars Italian State Railways Eaos high-side gondola. Hook-and-loop couplers and plastic wheelsets. $157.99. October 2021. PIKO America, 619-280-2800, piko-america.com Electronics/controls Navigator remote. Updated replacement for nos. 35017 and 35021 Navigator remote. New 2.4GHz frequency. Ergonomic design, up to 300-foot wireless operation (when combined with the no. 35038 wireless receiver, sold separately), and […]

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