At the beginning of 2024, the initial closing and reorganization of Hattons and M.B. Klein/Model Train Stuff raised concerns about the future of the model railroad hobby. Buried among the stir here in the United States, yet hitting close to home in the United Kingdom, was the Jan. 11 announcement to discontinue the Warley National […]
PITTSBURGH — Wabtec will work with the Australian Rail Track Corp. to help develop interoperability of the country’s rail system, the two companies have announced. Wabtec will work to develop the interoperability standard between ARTC’s Advanced Train Management System and European Rail Traffic Management System 2, also used in Australia. “ARTC recognizes the complex challenge […]
MILAN, Italy — The Canadian government will provide C$300,000 to the International Transport Forum to help rebuilding of Ukraine’s road and rail network, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced last week at a meeting of the G7 Transport Ministers. The funding, under the Clean Transportation System program, will focus on aiding greener intercity and international travel […]
The “Jacobite” or “Harry Potter” steam train, running from Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, will resume operations as of Monday, April 15, operator West Coast Railway announced today. Initially, the train will operate just once a day, instead of the two daily trips planned previously. The train has been subject of a long-running debate […]
Italian national rail company Trenitalia launched its latest hybrid passenger trains earlier this month on the scenic route from Taranto to Reggio Calabria on the nation’s southern coast. The trains, built by Hitachi in Italy, are claimed to be the world’s first four-mode hybrid trains — and while they are the first to enter service, […]
SYDNEY, Australia — Well, that’s a horse of a different color. Passengers at a Sydney commuter train station were startled last Friday night to discover they suddenly were sharing the platform with an escaped horse from a nearby stable, which — showing good horse sense — properly remained behind the yellow safety line as a […]
LONDON — British passenger charter train operator and car leasing company West Coast Railways has announced it is suspending operation of the world-famous “Jacobite” train between Fort William and Mallaig on Scotland’s west coast, popularly known as the “Harry Potter train” for the train’s role in the popular movies. The decision, announced just a week […]
Rapido Trains has announced a tour across the continental United States. The tour, which began on March 17th at the California Southern Model Railroad Club in Los Angeles, will make stops at model railroad clubs, rail museums, and hobby shops from California to Michigan en route to Rapido Trains headquarters in Toronto. Per a statement […]
CONTAGEM, Brazil — Wabtec will build three C23EMP locomotives for Uruguay’s Grupo RAS, a multinational logistics company entering the Uruguayan railway market, the manufacturer announced Wednesday. “This deal with Wabtec is a cornerstone for Grupo RAS,” Ruben Azar Scarone, president and founder of Grupo RAS, said in a press release. “It allows us to integrate […]
Seemingly bringing an end to a saga of uncertainty, Model Train Stuff is set to reopen under the Factory Direct Hobbies family. In a statement released by Factory Direct Hobbies President Joe Grubba, it was announced that M.B. Klein and Model Train Stuff will live on as a part of the Arden, North Carolina-based company. […]
Rails of Sheffield has announced that it has bought the Hattons brand, allowing the famed company’s legacy to live on for years to come. Per a statement released by Rails of Sheffield: “We are pleased to annnounce that we have now brought ‘Hattons Model Railways’ into the Rails family! It was a shock to the […]
ERIE, Pa. — If you’ve wondered what it looks like to paint a locomotive, Wabtec has released a short video condensing the 7-to-10-day process — requiring two-person crews working two shifts — to just over a minute and a half. The locomotive being painted in this video, incidentally, is not your run-of-the-mill diesel with your […]
