BONUS ARTICLE: N scale through the Northwoods

Steve Miazga’s updated N scale Missabe Junction is featured in the September 2018 Model Railroader. Check out This first article about Steve’s layout from the November 2013 Model Railroader. Steve Miazga grew up less than two blocks from the Soo Line main in Rhinelander, Wis. As a kid, he saw the Soo’s first Geeps and […]

Read More…

Operator positions on the SJR&P Railroad

A mixed freight crosses the water-lily filled Lake Sarah Jane on its way to Bat Yard. While much of their SJR&P runs through their backyard forest, Deb and Stan Ames view this beautiful viaduct from their cedar deck (the crew lounge). Thelma Shoneman An oil train from Riley snakes down the railway on its way […]

Read More…

New model trains for the week of November 23, 2017

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SDP40F diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (1985 nose and pilot configuration). Four road numbers. Leslie S3L air horn, illuminated Strato-light beacon, and removed steam generator with blank panels at rear of body. Direct-current model, $219.98; with dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder, $309.98. October 2018. Genesis series. Athearn Trains, […]

Read More…

New model trains for the week of March 23, 2017

Atlas Model Railroad Co. HO Bombardier Transportation ALP-45DP dual-mode locomotive HO scale locomotives Bombardier Transportation ALP-45DP dual-mode locomotive. NJ Transit. Four road numbers. Illuminated, directional light-emitting-diode headlights, ditch lights, and red marker lights; positionable non-functioning pantograph; factory-applied railings, air horn, and antenna; modeler-installed grab irons with drilling template; and Kadee couplers. Direct-current model with 8-pin […]

Read More…

To Saigon via Summit

A Santa Fe RSD15, SD24, and two SD45s curve toward Summit with an eastbound freight on November 14, 1970.  Jay Potter People used to say that railroads held the country together. They were the proverbial ribbons of steel that kept commerce and people moving and made a lot of things possible. Today — as I […]

Read More…

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 […]

Read More…

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 […]

Read More…

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 […]

Read More…

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 […]

Read More…

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 […]

Read More…

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 […]

Read More…