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The trend of motorized accessories replicating activities associated with railroading began at the Lionel factory in New Jersey. Let’s spotlight the revolutionary No. 97 coal elevator, which made its debut in 1938. Prototypical – not always accurate The idea of a vertical loader with buckets on a chain that lifted coal from a receiving bin […]
Starting in 1935, Lionel cataloged six models based on the Commodore Vanderbilt. None had a 4-6-4 arrangement, yet the look of the Nos. 264E, 265E, 289E, and 1689E (2-4-2s) and 1508 and 1511 (0-4-0s) made it clear these O and O-27 toys were derived from the sleek, curved design of America’s first streamlined steamer. Louis […]
In 2006, then-CTT Associate Editor Bob Keller wrote that the doodlebug held “an interesting place in railroad history.” These self-propelled railcars were developed in the early part of the 20th century and initially powered with gasoline engines (some later were converted to diesel). These railcars were popular with railroads looking to economize service on lightly […]
The EMC TA diesel locomotive was an early passenger diesel and a Rock Island oddity. If it looks and sounds like an early EMC E-series streamlined diesel passenger locomotive, there is a good chance it is. But don’t bet the family farm. The locomotive in question is the EMC TA diesel, a […]
Facts & features Name: Reading Co. Scale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 13′-6″ x 22′-0″ plus 2′-6″ x 5′-3″ West Philadelphia additionPrototype: Reading Co.Locale: eastern PennsylvaniaEra: 1930s to 1940sStyle: walk-inMainline run: 80 feetMinimum radius: 36″ (main)Minimum turnout: No. 6 (main), No. 4 (yards and industries)Maximum grade: 2%Benchwork: modified L-girderHeight: 50″ to 58″Roadbed: cork on plywood (main), Homasote on […]
Tangent Scale Models, known for its line of highly detailed N and HO scale injection-molded plastic freight cars, is now offering a General American Transportation Corp. (GATC) 1928-design 6,000-gallon, three-compartment tank car in brass. The tank cars, available in two-rail O scale (5’-0” gauge wheels) and Proto:48 (4’-8” gauge wheels), were produced by Sam Model […]
If you’ve read Model Railroader magazine for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed the hobby journey for many of our authors started with a train set. For baby boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, the set was often produced by Lionel or American Flyer. Fast forward a generation or two, and those sets were […]
Soldiers of the U.S. Army’s 35th Division board cars at Camp Robinson, Ark., on December 18, 1941, less than two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The era of the troop train had thus begun. U.S. Army Signal Corps. photo […]
In seeking the oddest of oddball locomotives, today we will follow our compass to California’s Ludlow & Southern, one of many, many railroads past and present with the name of a city or a state and the addition of a compass direction. Think Kansas City Southern, Colorado & Southern, Arizona Central, Missouri Pacific, and Texas […]
Do it yourself locomotive restoration Yes, you can do it yourself! Restoring old tin trains is not as difficult as the popular folklore would have you believe. It doesn’t require any special skill or knowledge that you can’t master. Nor does it entail exotic or expensive equipment. Anyone can do it with simple household tools […]
In the spring of 1936, industrial design guru Raymond Loewy came up with a streamlined winner for the Pennsylvania Railroad’s glamorous Broadway Limited passenger train. Sleek, bullet-nosed, and skirted, Loewy’s upgrading of conventional K4 Pacific 4-6-2 No. 3768 captured the public’s imagination. People lined up to see the locomotive, which was dubbed the “Torpedo.” Learn […]
In 1938, toy maker A.C. Gilbert purchased the American Flyer Manufacturing Co. Production was moved from Chicago to Connecticut (Gilbert was based in New Haven). Gilbert turned the Flyer line upside down in the name of realism. Gone were sheet-metal steam and electric-profile locomotives with brassy trim and oversized features. They were replaced by realistic […]
