Helper locomotives are an essential part of modern railroading

Helper locomotives Helper locomotives are an essential part of modern railroading. It is an additional locomotive (or locomotives) added to a train in order to provide sufficient horsepower when the train is working through steep inclines (or grades), or must keep up a specific speed. Many routes with stiff grades will have specifically designated “helper […]

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News & Products for the week of June 12th 2023

News & Products for the week of June 12th 2023 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 June 12th 2023. […]

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The Atlas O Multi-Max autorack

The Atlas O Master Gunderson Multi-Max Auto Carrier is out after an almost two-year wait. The company announced the newly tooled cars in its Summer 2021 catalog. For modern operator-collectors with the real estate on their layout, having an autorack train is a virtual must. Before the announcement of these the only scale option was […]

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YouTube builds tracks for railroad videography

From the ground up The roots of railroad videography can be traced back to the late 19th century when French brothers, Louis and Auguste Lumière released Arrivée d’un train (à la Ciotat) as a marketing tool for their developing Cinématographe. While not being fully restricted to many, filming [later video recording] trains was approached for […]

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Golden Spike National Historic Site profile

Visit the Golden Spike National Historic Site where the Transcontinental Railroad was completed with the driving of a golden spike on May 10, 1869. Promontory Summit has been preserved by the National Park Service much as it existed over 150 years ago and includes a visitors’ center, several miles of preserved right-of-way, and two full-size, […]

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Big Boy Men: The genius behind a steam legend

The Big Boy Men William M. Jeffers, Union Pacific Railroad president, and Otto Jabelmann, vice president — research and mechanical standards, began their careers in the lowest ranking positions. Both men were known for their tempers and a belief that the only way to get a job done was to do it with their own […]

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The Lionel Fairbanks-Morse H15-44

The Lionel Fairbanks-Morse H15-44 is out and ready to pull whatever you can throw behind it! This O gauge Legacy model has been released in a variety of road names including Rock Island; Central of Georgia; Rio Grande; Kansas City Southern; Monon; and Union Pacific. Reviewer Chris Montagna has a custom-run item from Trainworld in […]

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Steamtown National Historic Site profile

The restored Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad shop complex in Scranton is home to one of the most complete railroad history museums known as Steamtown National Historic Site. Located on 66 acres, the park includes outdoor exhibits, tours of a working restoration shop, and train rides behind historic steam and diesel locomotives. It also affords […]

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Freight forecaster: Intermodal doldrums will run through next year

Don’t expect North American intermodal traffic to break out of its slump anytime soon. The decline of imports from pandemic-related highs, the ongoing shift of imports to East Coast and Gulf Coast ports, and tough truck competition are all contributing to the 10% decline in intermodal volume for the year to date, says Todd Tranausky, […]

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Must-See Big Steam for Summer 2023

Summer has arrived, and so has the busy season for museums and tourist railroads! Mainline steam excursions were once a flourishing tradition around this time. While this summer’s schedule is relatively slim, there are still opportunities to experience Big Steam in summer 2023. Here are eight mainline steam locomotives for you to check out. Grand […]

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