Two Baldwin-built DR-6-4-20 “Sharknose” diesels depart Jersey City with the Broker in 1960. The pinstripe scheme was designed in 1934 for the GG1 electric. William D. Volkmer photo […]
Baldwin beauties
Type of Train: Diesel Locomotives
GATX adds four-axle EMDs, nine SD70ACes with Progress Rail locomotive purchase
CHICAGO — GATX Corp. is growing its locomotive lease fleet by 30% with the recent purchase of 156 locomotives from Progress Rail. “The acquired fleet is predominantly four-axle 1,500- and 2,000-hp locomotives such as GP38-2s and MP15s, which are core to GATX’s operating lease business. A limited number of high-horsepower six-axle locomotives, including nine SD70ACes, […]
News & Products for the week of September 3rd 2024
News & Products for the week of September 3rd 2024 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of September 3rd […]
Alcos for Ford
At least five Alco-built diesel switchers line up at Ford Motor Co.’s Dearborn, Mich., plant. Did you really think the automaker would buy locomotives from rival General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division? Classic Trains collection […]
An engineer’s life: The borrow out
Over the years… When there was a shortage of crews in Train, Yard, and Engine service (TY&E), and a surplus in other areas, my former employer would advertise for extra employees from other areas of the system. Permit me to digress a bit before I became a borrow out myself. At this point (1983) I […]
Steamtown resumes traditional Railfest schedule
SCRANTON, Pa. — The National Park Service’s Steamtown National Historic Site this weekend revived its traditional Labor Day Railfest event, operating steam and diesel shuttle trains, demonstrating machine-shop skills, and providing a festival venue for a wide array of rail-related activities. After cancellations and schedule disruptions caused by the COVID pandemic, the event returned to […]
Classic Toy Trains new products for September 2024
Locomotives & rolling stock The Lionel Collectors Club of America (LCCA) is selling a custom-run Lionel LCCA 2024 Omaha Convention Union Pacific Boat Loader (2401230). The car is 10 ½” long and operates on O-27 curves. Price: $95. Limit one car per member. To learn more visit lionelcollectors.org or call the business office at 815-223-0115. […]
Rapido Trains HO scale Budd Slumbercoach
A Budd Slumbercoach is the latest addition to the Rapido Trains HO scale passenger car fleet. The 24-single-room, 8-double-room car is based on the as-built version with steam heat equipment. The injection-molded plastic model features separate, factory-applied name boards; etched-metal end gates; and sprung diaphragms. Prototype history Budd produced the Slumbercoach from 1956 to 1959. […]
Sharks on the Monongahela
Two Baldwin RF16 “Sharknose” diesels of the Monongahela Railroad lug a train of empty coal hoppers along the carrier’s namesake river at Alicia, Pa., in the late 1960s. The ex-New York Central units later went to the Delaware & Hudson and for decades have been privately owned and stored at Escanaba, Mich. David H. Hamley […]
Rebuilding the S-Line | Amtrak in North Carolina and Virginia
Rebuilding the S-Line | As detailed in the November 2024 issue of Trains magazine, the neighboring states of North Carolina and Virginia are up to something big! They are cooperating, collaborating, and even co-funding to create a 110-mph interstate passenger-train speedway dubbed, the “S-Line”. Watch this video to see some of the existing Amtrak trains […]
Santa Fe’s celebrity PAs
Alco and Santa Fe pulled out all the stops when the road bought the first of the builder’s 2,000 h.p. postwar passenger diesels that came to be known as “PAs” (and “PBs” for booster units). Carrying ATSF road number 51, the brand-new three-unit locomotive heads a train down California’s Cajon Pass in October 1946. Santa […]
Ken Smith’s South Durham Ry.
Ken Smith’s South Durham Ry. is an HO scale shelf layout that fills a 9′-6″ x 11′-0″ spare room. The freelanced model railroad depicts a North Carolina bridge line connecting the Southern Ry. (SOU), Seaboard Coast Line (SCL), and Durham Southern in the 1970s. Second-generation diesel power moves grain, plastic pellets, perishable fruit, and other […]
