2014 Holiday Trains

The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train makes a stop in La Crosse, Wis., in 2010. Photo by Travis Dewitz. Please scroll to the bottom to download this content in PDF form. ALABAMA Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum Calera hodrrm.org North Alabama Railroad Museum Huntsville northalabamarailroadmuseum.com ARIZONA Grand Canyon Williams thetrain.com ARKANSAS Arkansas & Missouri Springdale amrailroad.com […]

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2014 National Train Show report

Athearn Trains HO scale Electro-Motive Division SD70, SD70M, and SD75I diesel locomotives HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD70, SD70M, and SD75I diesel locomotives. SD70: Canadian National (ex-Illinois Central). SD70M: Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific (both with flared radiators). SD75I: BNSF Ry. (ex-Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe). Four road numbers per scheme. Detailed cab interior, flat […]

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Great Photography in Bad Weather

FULL SCREEN Mark Llanuza The headlights of an eastbound Metra train slice through the rain and heavy fog setting in over Elgin, Ill., in November of 2012. FULL SCREEN Mark Llanuza An early morning mix of rain and sleet greets commuters as they board a Metra train at the Bartlett, Ill., station in 2012. FULL […]

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Stalking Coaling Towers in Maine

FULL SCREEN David Kahler To my delight I found not one, but two concrete coaling towers straddling the BAR rail yard. Originally the towers were connected with an overhead conveyer for coal. The left tower was primary and supplied coal for BAR freight locomotives while the right tower provided coal for the Maine Central passenger […]

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2013 National Train Show new products report part 1

Athearn Trains HO scale Electro-Motive Division SDP45. Pre-production samples shown. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SDP45. Erie Lackawanna, Great Northern (Big Sky Blue), and Southern Pacific. Four road numbers per scheme. Detailed cab interior, flat or pointed long hood end as appropriate, and railroad-specific brake cylinder placement on trucks. Direct-current model, $189.98; with SoundTraxx Digital […]

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Milwaukee Road No. 261 excursion route guide

No. 261 westbound at Norwood, Minn., on April 20, 2013. Steve Glischinski Milwaukee Road No. 261 will pull its inaugural excursion on May 11-12, when it will operate a 300-mile round trip over BNSF Railway’s ex-Great Northern main line from Minneapolis to Duluth in conjunction with Amtrak. For riders and photographers, this route offers a […]

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Sunset Models HO scale P-1a and P-2b electric locomotives

Sunset Models HO scale P1a electric locomotive Whether detailed for duty at Cleveland Union Terminal or New York’s Grand Central Terminal, these brass P-1a and P-2b electric locomotives from Sunset Models come fully equipped to haul varnish on HO rails. The accurately detailed brass models include a dual-mode QSI Titan Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder […]

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Remembering Civil War rails

In addition to everything else the American Civil War might have been, it was also the first reliably documented major conflict. A combination of well-kept “Official Records” and preserved photographs give us a unique view into the first modern, industrialized, documented war. These images are only a sample of the rich documentary resources available from […]

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About that Milwaukee Road map

Trains Magazine’s September 2010 “Map of the Month: Milwaukee Road Growth” maps the expansion of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, from a 20-mile line linking Milwaukee and Waukesha, Wis. (respectively, Trains’ past and current hometown) into a 10,733-mile transcontinental system over a scant 100 years. Any map charting this kind of expansion […]

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National Train Show 2010 preview

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP9 diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Baltimore & Ohio; Canadian National; Louisville & Nashville; and Pennsylvania RR. All available with dynamic brakes except for L&N. Digital Command Control, directional lighting, and E-Z Mate Mark II magnetic knuckle couplers. $89. October 2010. Ready-to-run. Bachmann, 215-533-1600, www.bachmanntrains.com Alco RS-3 diesel […]

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The Pennsylvania Railroad today

Bill Metzger This Map of the Month appeared in the February 2006 issue of Trains magazine. Mention the Pennsylvania Railroad and iconic images come to mind immediately: passenger trains rocketing down a four-track electrified main line; limiteds scooping water on the fly from track pans; impossibly long coal drags; and mammoth engineering projects, from Horseshoe […]

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2007 National Trains Show final report

The National Train Show was held in conjunction with the National Model Railroad Association national convention in Detroit, Mich., July 27-29, 2007. Below are some of the new items we saw at the show. Electro-Motive Division MP15AC HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division MP15AC. Preproduction sample shown. Canadian Pacific, CSX, Milwaukee Road, Soo Line, Southern Pacific, […]

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