How to clean a dirty diesel locomotive Q: I just bought a 35-year-old Athearn HO SD45 painted as Electro-Motive Division’s demonstrator No. 4353. The old model has picked up a lot of dirt over the years, and I’m not sure how to go about cleaning it without damaging the paint job. Also, were the prototype […]
Type of Train: Diesel Locomotives
American Z Line September 2022 diesel locomotive announcements
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 […]
FRA study sees issues with locomotive cab automation
WASHINGTON — A Federal Railroad Administration-sponsored study on the use of locomotive cab automation systems found human errors occurred in three of 10 sessions in a locomotive simulator, and recommends further training on the systems for engineers, conductors and dispatchers. The study, “Human Error Analyses Associated with Locomotive Cab Automation,” also calls for further study […]
Electro-Motive Division’s NW5
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 […]
New FTs on the Rio Grande
Denver & Rio Grande Western FT set No. 541, purchased in 1942, hauls a freight up the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains at Arena, later renamed Rocky, Colo. John W. Maxwell photo […]
Menards Rocket Diner review
Menards Rocket Diner is a great place for your O scale folks to eat. After all, it doesn’t take much arm-twisting for a train enthusiast to stop and chow down at a railroad-themed or trackside restaurant. I’ve dined at two eateries in the Seattle area that used old passenger cars for service. In Cincinnati there […]
Missouri tourist railroad restores former Pennsylvania E8 to classic pinstripe scheme (with video)
JACKSON, Mo. — Tourist operator St. Louis Iron Mountain & Southern Railway has repainted its former Pennsylvania Railroad E8, No. 5898, in the classic Pennsy pinstripe livery. The locomotive, built by EMD in La Grange, Ill, in 1951, was purchased from the Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad in 1998. Since 2020, the engine has […]
Siemens optimistic about US passenger market
BERLIN — The prospects for a number of transformative passenger projects, as well as the potential for more rail electrification, have the CEO of Siemens Mobility in North America upbeat as he considers his company’s future. Marc Buncher heads a company that has grown rapidly in North America, with its Sacramento, Calif., manufacturing site employing […]
Wabtec planning for transition from diesel
BERLIN — Wabtec has presented a range of new technology at the InnoTrans trade fair intended to enable rail operators to reduce fuel bills while offering shippers more efficient and predictable service. In a series of exclusive interviews with Trains News Wire, Wabtec executives outlined the likely transition from diesel to alternative fuel types for […]
Restoration effort begins for last surviving U34CH
BOONTON, N.J. — The United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey has begun restoration of the last surviving U34CH locomotive, a project it is undertaking in partnership with contractor and consulting firm FMW Solutions. The organization has begun the project with a $10,000 matching donation from the Tri-State Railway Historical Society. It will display the […]
Southern E6 diesels in Atlanta
With a Seaboard Air Line E unit and a Southern Railway Ps-4 Pacific in the background, SR E6 cab and booster set No. 2902 stands at Atlanta on April 25, 1948. James G. La Vake photo […]
Alco locomotives on NY shortline railroads
Alco locomotives on NY shortline railroads Alco locomotives on NY shortline railroads: A drive along twisting mountain byways through freshly fallen snow, ears straining for the slightest hint of the groan from the horn atop an ALCO RS-3, camera at the ready for the first sign of a brightly colored locomotive is how my trip […]