Photo gallery: Amtrak’s Michigan Line track improvements

FULL SCREEN Ties await installation on the unused brick platform at Chelsea, Mich., east of Jackson. FULL SCREEN A Norfolk Southern tie gang finishes up for the day east of Chelsea. FULL SCREEN One mile further east, a tamper pushes gravel under and around newly installed ties at Chelsea, Mich. FULL SCREEN A laser beam […]

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Great Photography in Bad Weather

FULL SCREEN Mark Llanuza The headlights of an eastbound Metra train slice through the rain and heavy fog setting in over Elgin, Ill., in November of 2012. FULL SCREEN Mark Llanuza An early morning mix of rain and sleet greets commuters as they board a Metra train at the Bartlett, Ill., station in 2012. FULL […]

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Bachmann N scale F7A and B unit diesel locomotives

Bachmann N scale F7A and B units Bachmann Trains is introducing an N scale model of one of the most iconic locomotives ever built, equipped with a Digital Command Control decoder. The N scale locomotives, which come in A and B versions, have sharp paint jobs, are powered by can motors with dual brass flywheels, […]

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Kansas City tonnage: 1971 and 2003

Chicago might have more trains, and St. Louis a big shiny arch, but Kansas City is the ton-mile king, with over 1 billion tons passing through the city (or above it, on flyovers) in 2003. That is 15 percent more tons than Chicago. What is remarkable about K.C. is its sheer growth, from 378 million […]

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Extended network

Two Norfolk Southern GE ponies, with Union Pacific train Z-CHEM in tow, gallop out of North Lake, Wis., on their journey to Minneapolis, Minn. The Triple Crown train is one of the few that operates off NS rails. Photo by Matt Krause […]

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Athearn Genesis GP50 diesel locomotive

Athearn Genesis GP50 diesel locomotives Not to be confused with the earlier Ready-to-Roll model, this Genesis-series GP50 from Athearn features all-new tooling for both Phase I and Phase II versions and many prototype-specific details. Our test samples came equipped with feature-laden SoundTraxx Digital Command Control decoders. A DC version with a DCC socket that accepts […]

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Back to the Bakken

Empty oil cans return to the oil field of North Dakota behind two fresh Norfolk Southern GE ES44ACs. BNSF Railway train U-NSDFYN rolls west up the BNSF’s St. Croix Subdivision on July 8, 2013. Photo by Matt Krause […]

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Atlas N scale Electo-Motive Division SD60 diesel locomotive

Atlas N scale EMD SD60 diesel locomotive A popular modern-day Electro-­Motive Division workhorse is being offered in new paint schemes by Atlas. The 6-axle, 3,800-hp SD60 was the replacement for EMD’s aging SD40 and less than successful SD50. ­Atlas’ version is an accurately scaled, finely molded, and crisply painted N scale model. History. In the […]

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Walthers HO scale GP20 diesel locomotive

Walthers HO scale GP20 diesel locomotive The GP20 is back on HO scale rails, in a new selection of road names and detailed to match each prototype. The WalthersProto GP20 uses upgraded tooling based on the Life-Like Proto 2000 GP20 reviewed in the August 1998 Model Railroader. (A review of the high-hood version is in […]

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Rolling Stones Web Gallery and Map

FULL SCREEN Todd Atkinson CSX Transportation No. 2477, an SD50-2, leads an empty westbound stone train across the Little Kanawha River Bridge at Parkersburg, W.Va., on March 2, 2007. In the background, a loaded CSX coal train crosses the Ohio River bridge that was once part of the Baltimore & Ohio’s main line to St. […]

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