Metra board approves deal for up to six battery locomotives

Illustration of Metra locomotive in green versioin of paint scheme

CHICAGO — More than a year after requesting proposals for the project, Metra’s board of directors has approved a plan to convert at least three of its oldest F40PH-3 locomotives, and as many as six, to battery power. Progress Rail will perform the conversions at its Patterson, Ga., facility, with delivery of the initial order […]

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Indiana Northeastern upgrades, repaints ex-Reading GP30

Front view of black locomotive with yellow stripes on nose

HUDSON, Ind. — Mechanical staff of the Indiana Northeaster Railroad is in the process of completing upgrades and repainting of ex-Reading Lines locomotive No. 2185, one of the two GP30s on the 105-mile system which operates in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Travis Bloom, chief mechanical officer for the railroad, leads a staff of four mechanical […]

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Almost a road-switcher

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Missouri Pacific 4102 and 4103 were Electro-Motive’s only model NW4 locomotives. Built in 1938 using 900 h.p. Winton 201A engines, road trucks, and other components from experimental box-cab passenger units 511 and 512, the steam-generator-equipped diesels possessed some of the characteristics of a road-switcher. Electro-Motive photo […]

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A Mikado out West, a Reading diesel in Pennsylvania, and a UP freight on the Plains

An Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive pulls a short freight through a Southwestern desert landscape

September 2022 Trackside Photos   Send us your photos Trackside Photos is a showcase for the work of Model Railroader readers. Send your photos (digital images 5 megapixels or larger) to: Model Railroader, Trackside Photos, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612; or upload them to fileupload.kalmbach.com/contribute. For our photo submission guidelines, contact senior associate editor […]

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WalthersProto Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotive

Dark green and orange diesel locomotive

Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotive Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin DCC plug, $219.98; with dual-mode ESU LokSound 5 decoder, $319.98. Era: 1960s to 1980s (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotive features: Road-specific details See-through steps, radiator, and dynamic brake fans […]

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Rapido General Motors Diesel Division F40PH-2D diesel locomotive

Gray and yellow train locomotive on tracks with a blue sky background

General Motors Diesel Division F40PH-2D diesel locomotive Scale: N (1:160) Price: Direct-current model, $169.95; with dual-mode sound decoder, $279.95 Era: 1986 to 2014 (varies depending on scheme) Manufacturer: Rapido Trains Inc., 500 Alden Road, Unit 21, Markham, Ontario L3R 5H5 Canada; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com General Motors Diesel Division F40PH-2D diesel locomotive features: Prototype-specific details Working headlights, ditch lights, and number boxes […]

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Rock Island FA diesel

Steam locomotive with freight train

Rock Island FA diesels 151 and 145 doublehead with 4-8-4 5119 on a westbound freight at Joliet, Ill., in fall 1951. The train is passing JD tower, where RI crossed the Santa Fe and GM&O. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]

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E7 on B&M’s Mountaineer

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Brand-new E7 3810 leads Boston & Maine’s Mountaineer out of Boston in June 1946. The diesel illustrates the as-delivered scheme of B&M’s E7’s, with silver at the rear of the maroon and yellow carbody. Albert G. Hale photo […]

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Fairbanks-Morse Locomotives, Vol. 1: Diesels from SilverLake Images LLC

Green book cover with black and white photo of a train engine and cars

Book: Fairbanks-Morse Locomotives Vol. 1: Diesels Price: $35 Publisher: SilverLake Images LLC, available from Ron’s Books, P.O. Box 714, Harrison, NY 10528; 914-967-7541; ronsbooks.com Fairbanks-Morse Locomotives Vol 1 features: 50-page softcover reproduction of two Fairbanks-Morse publications (Fairbanks-Morse Train Master: 2400 Horsepower Diesel Locomotive and Lackawanna Story) Train Master features look at the power plant, transmission, fuel […]

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