PITTSBURGH — Rail Development Corp., the Pittsburgh-based company which includes part ownership of the Iowa Interstate Railroad and a wide range of freight, logistics, and passenger operations in South America and Europe, is the newest member of the RailPulse coalition. RailPulse is working to bring widespread use of GPS and other telematics technologies to the […]
The New England & Pacific, the Bay State Model Railroad Museum N scale layout, was featured in Great Model Railroads 2023. The Bay State Society of Model Engineers, the club that builds, maintains, and runs the museum’s layouts, was founded in 1968. The museum, in Roslindale, Mass., has four layouts in O, HO, HOn3, and […]
Gunderson rebuilt all-purpose 53-foot well car Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $44.98 Era: Mid-2000s to present Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com Gunderson rebuilt all-purpose 53-foot well car features: Carries 20- to 53-foot intermodal containers Etched-metal see-through walkways Heavy die-cast metal body Body weld line details Factory-installed wire grab irons, brake gear, […]
NEWARK, N.J. — NJ Transit has agreed to upgrade five of its stations to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has announced. The settlement covers the New Brunswick, Newark Penn, Princeton Junction, Metropark, and Trenton stations. While all five are considered wheelchair […]
FORT WORTH, Texas — There are plenty of barriers to be faced in equipping the U.S. freight car fleet with telematics, the use of GPS equipment and other sensors to provide real-time information about car location and all sorts of additional information. One is just getting all parties to agree on the benefits, and what […]
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The fatal collision and derailment of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief appears to have spurred action by officials in Missouri to address grade-crossing safety. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the Missouri Department of Transportation is seeking $50 million from the state’s general budget to address grade-crossing improvements. Currently, the state budgets about $1.5 […]
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad has had to cancel more excursion trains because of riverbank erosion along its route. All trains but the Cleveland Dinner and Event Train, which will operate on an abbreviated route, have been cancelled through Nov. 6. The dinner train will continue to run on Fridays through Oct. […]
CHARLESTON, S.C. — South Carolina Ports has broken ground on a new near-dock rail facility, the Navy Base Intermodal Facility in North Charleston, to bolster the competitive position of the Port of Charleston. The facility is about a mile from the port’s Leatherman Terminal; containers will move to and from the terminal on a dedicated […]
A 1944 photo shows an eastbound Santa Fe freight on the horseshoe curve east of Welch, Ariz. FT diesel 126 (foreground) is on the head end; a steam helper (background) is shoving hard on the caboose. Charles W. Lindenberg photo […]
October on ex-Sacramento Northern Railway Each October, two former Key System bridge units operated by the Western Railway Museum become more than artifacts of 20th century transit. They regain their original role of moving crowds of people, quickly. The riders now are mostly kids and families visiting a trackside pumpkin patch, not commuters headed to […]
This time, David advances the aging effects of his gons by working up (or upside down) from the wheels. Don’t miss his handy tips for painting wheelsets, weathering trucks, and applying decals! […]
The turntable build gets temporarily tabled, but David still has plenty of projects to keep him busy in the basement. Today’s effort involves roughing up a set of On30 gons to make the sides of the car look worn and ragged from heavy use. Even David is amazed how realistic the results of his technique […]
