STRASBURG, Pa. — After a year of being closed due to the Covid pandemic, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pa., will reopen on Friday, April 30. The new normal days and times of operation for the museum will be Fridays through Sundays, with hours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, […]
Section: News & Reviews
Digest: MBTA extends shutdown of part of Orange Line
MBTA Orange Line work after derailment extended to April 11 The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has extended its shutdown of a portion of the Orange Line by one week, through April 11. NBC-10 Boston reports the use of shuttle buses between the Oak Grove and Sullivan Square stations will continue as the agency continues infrastructure […]
Shippers group to challenge easier path for CP-KCS merger (second update)
WASHINGTON — A major shipper group plans to challenge the waiver that would permit Canadian Pacific’s proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern to be reviewed under the Surface Transportation Board’s old, less restrictive merger rules. The National Industrial Transportation League said today that the CP-KCS deal would ultimately harm rail competition. “Based on the significant loss […]
Federal regulators put higher hurdle in front of CSX-Pan Am deal (updated)
WASHINGTON — CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of New England regional Pan Am Railways will get a more thorough review. The Surface Transportation Board has decided that the merger application will be treated as a significant transaction, not the minor deal that CSX and Pan Am had sought. The move, announced in a draft notice in the […]
O gauge Amtrak station by Menards
If you need a spot for your passengers to get on and off your trains, Menards has a new building for you. Its O gauge Amtrak Station occupies a footprint of approximately 12 x 8 inches. That size makes it perfect for almost any size railroad and particularly well suited for smaller ones. The single-story […]
ScaleTrains.com HO scale Backpacker well car
A Pullman-Standard/Trinity Back-packer 5-unit articulated well car is the first intermodal car to be offered in ScaleTrains.com’s HO scale Rivet Counter line. The newly tooled car features die-cast metal and plastic construction, Barber S-2 trucks with rotating bearing caps, and detailed interior sidewalls. The prototype. Our sample, DTTX no. 64005, is decorated in Trailer Train’s […]
Atlas O 1937 AAR 40-foot steel boxcar
A boxcar built by the tens of thousands for dozens of North American railroads has been released in new paint schemes and road numbers by Atlas O. Part of Atlas’ Steam Era Classics series, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) 1937 40-foot boxcar was first issued in 2004. The model features free-rolling trucks with blackened […]
Kato N scale NYC 20th Century Limited set
The 20th Century Limited was the top train of New York Central’s (NYC) Great Steel Fleet. The train made its 16-hour trip between Chicago and New York City overnight, with trains arriving in the opposite city at 8 a.m., ready for the new day’s business. Inaugurated in 1902, the Century became a streamliner in 1938. […]
Rapido HO scale Amtrak Horizon passenger cars
It’s a good time to be an Amtrak modeler. Rapido’s new Horizon passenger cars are here to fill out your contemporary medium-distance trains. Amtrak started its existence with a hand-me-down fleet of passenger cars and locomotives. In 1988, Amtrak ordered its first new short-haul cars, initially referred to as Amfleet III (Amfleet II came in […]
O Gauge LionChief 2.0 GG1
From a “back-in-the-day” perspective, I think the most exotic locomotive Lionel fielded during the postwar era was the GG1 electric. Before you counter with the scale Hudson, F3, or even the GP7, I would suggest that for many years in the late 1940s and ’50s any kid could go down to the local depot and […]
Digest: Dallas council approves light rail subway project
Dallas City Council approves $1.7 billion ‘D2’ subway project The Dallas City Council has approved building a new light rail route through downtown including a subway section with three underground stations. WFAA-TV reports the council also said it would support Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s effort to obtain an $800 million Federal Transit Administration grant to […]
Some states begin restoring Amtrak corridor frequencies; others continue planning (updated)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Anticipating rail travel demand comes with dual challenges: incur costs running trains with initial low patronage, or risk not providing enough options to build revenue and transportation relevance. Amtrak will begin restoring daily departures for its long-distance trains in late May, after receiving directives and $1.7 billion from Congress [see “As Amtrak […]