City of San Francisco The City of San Francisco will be the next train in Walthers’ line of name trains. This offering will feature equipment from the various railroads that jointly operated this streamliner from Chicago to San Francisco, including Southern Pacific, Milwaukee Road, Union Pacific, and Texas & New Orleans. Electro-Motive Division E9A and […]
Building under construction Scale: HO (1:87.1) and N (1:160) Price: HO, $249; N, $127 Era: 1970s+ Manufacturer: Custom Model Railroads, 3937 Keswick Road, Baltimore, MD 21211; 410-889-0010; cmrtrain.com Building under construction features: Laser cut acrylic and 3-D printed parts Based on a high rise building under construction HO scale measures 8” x 6” x 17”; […]
Can you believe hobbyists used to use toxic chemicals on model railroads? In the days before hobby shops sold premade scenery and wiring products, hobbyists made their own. Unfortunately, some of the materials weren’t very safe. Note: We’re providing this article for information and entertainment only. We are definitely not endorsing any of these substances […]
Passengers amble down the platform and a carman makes a final check as Central Railroad of New Jersey’s 12:38 p.m. local to Dunellen prepares to depart Jersey City in 1953. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Samuel Rea Shops G41A coil steel gondola Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: With hoods, $58.95; without hoods, $50.95 Era: 1966+ to 2005+ (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Tangent Scale Models, P.O. Box 6514, Asheville, NC 28816; 828-412-3886; tangentscalemodels.com Samuel Rea Shops G41A coil steel gondola features: Kadee scale couplers Road-specific details for each scheme, including […]
What was it like working at Lionel’s Hillside, NJ factory during the postwar electric train boom? […]
Canadian Pacific Budd coaches and VIA Rail HEP-equipped coaches Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $124.95 Era: 1954 to present (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Features Simulated stainless steel finish HEP 2 cars have new side window arrangement HEP 1 and HEP 2 […]
The Tennessee, Alabama & Gulf’s entire diesel roster — a GP38, GP18, and three GP7s — heads a freight out of Chattanooga in 1970. The 90-mile TA&G, which linked Chattanooga with Gadsden, Ala., was absorbed by the Southern Railway Jan. 1, 1971. William J. Husa Jr. photo […]
Additional American Z Line diesel locomotive announcements for September 2022 Scale: Z (1:220) Price: Contact manufacturer Era: Missouri-Kansas-Texas SW1500 diesel locomotive, early 1970s to 1989. Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Alco PA-1 diesel locomotive, 1946 to early 1960s. Manufacturer: American Z Line, 6142 Northcliff Blvd., Dublin, OH 43016; 614-764-1703; americanzline.com Electro-Motive Division SW1500 features: AutoLatch couplers Prototype-specific details Directional light-emitting-diode lighting […]
Electro-Motive Division’s NW5 history Electro-Motive Division’s NW5: Steam was still king when Electro-Motive Division (EMD) produced the NW5 diesel locomotive. However, railroads were taking note of the economy of performance offered by the various yard diesels entering the marketplace. This led railroads to approach EMD about the possibility of constructing low-cost diesels that could be […]
In position for a shot of Pennsylvania Railroad J1 2-10-4 No. 6427 climbing Horseshoe Curve with empty hopper cars in September 1955, photographer Phil Hastings had to settle for this view when a mixed freight overtook the Texas type on the outside track. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Realistic operations on a raised railroad: In my first garden railroad, (see Garden Railways May-June 1990), The Great Lakes and Gazebo Railroad, the objective was to add interest to my garden, have fun around the pool, and engage my kids in a new way to play with Dad. My new chapter had to include a […]
