Whatever happened to the New York Central?

This Map of the Month was featured in the March 2007 issue of  Trains magazine. Imagine if you were to go back in time and tell Cornelius Vanderbilt that the giant railroad system he had methodically assembled — the powerful New York Central — would one day be carved up by two coal roads from […]

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BNSF Railway’s carload network

This Map of the Month appeared in the January 2004 issue of  Trains. Al first glance, this looks like the route map of an airline. In reality, it’s BNSF Railway’s merchandise freight traffic network (i.e., cars not moving in unit trains from one common origin to one destination). It’s no coincidence they look the same, for […]

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New products for March 29, 2012

HO Scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division F3A and B diesel locomotives. New paint scheme: Denver & Rio Grande (passenger scheme). Five-pole skew-wound motor with dual flywheels, separately applied prototype-specific details, and magnetic knuckle couplers. A unit: Direct-current model, $169.98; with SoundTraxx Digital Command Control sound decoder, $269.98. A-B set: DC models, $309.98; with DCC and sound, […]

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Pennsylvania sewer?

Two eastbound movements on Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line: a stack train pushed by two SD40E helpers is overtaken by another SD40E helper set in Lilly, Pa., on Dec. 27, 2009. Barely three years earlier, Lilly and surrounding communities opened the Central Mainline Sewer Authority — named after the Pennsylvania Railroad, which preceded NS. Photo by […]

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New products for February 23, 2012

Athearn HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotives HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes and road numbers: Southern Pacific; CP Rail; Denver & Rio Grande Western; Nickel Plate Road; Toledo, Peoria & Western; and Western Maryland. Three road numbers each. Directional headlights, prototype-specific details, and McHenry scale magnetic knuckle couplers. […]

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Atlas HO scale coil steel car

Atlas HO scale coil steel car An HO scale model of a 52-foot coil steel car with distinctive fish-belly side sills is now available from Atlas Model Railroad Co. The ready-to-run car is based on a modern prototype introduced by Canada’s National Steel Car Co. in the mid-1990s. The new NSC cars are 51′-10″ long […]

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ExactRail HO scale 60-foot Greenville boxcar

ExactRail HO scale 60-foot Greenville boxcar Price: $36.95 ManufacturerExactRail LLC251 W. River Park Drive, Suite 300Provo, UT 84604exactrail.com Era: 1973 to present Road names (multiple road numbers available): Conrail (CR or NYC reporting marks); Detroit, Toledo & Ironton; Norfolk Southern; Penn Central Comments: This HO scale Greenville boxcar from ExactRail is an accurately detailed model […]

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New products for December 15, 2011

HO scale locomotives  General Electric Dash 8-40C and 8-40CW diesel locomotives. New road numbers and paint schemes. Dash 8-40C: Canadian National (15th anniversary or modern paint schemes), Ferrocarriles Nationales de Mexico (three road numbers). Dash 8-40CW: BNSF (three new numbers); Conrail (“Quality” lettering), CSX (patched Conrail), Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific (three new numbers). Two […]

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Running long hood forward

Southern Railway SD45 No. 3121 leads long hood forward on a unit coal train at Oreton, Va., in 1984. Such design enhanced bidirectional capability. Ron Flanary Q When did railroads such as the Norfolk & Western stop running their road engines “long hood first?” How effective was this practice for crew safety? Did it have […]

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New products for August 25, 2011

HO scale locomotives  Baldwin AS-16, AS-616, and DRS 6-6-1500 diesel locomotives. Lehigh Valley (AS-16, two road numbers), National Ry. of Mexico (AS-616), Norfolk Southern (pre-1982 company, AS-616), Pacific Electric (DRS 6-6-1500 with trolley pole), Peabody Coal Co. (AS-16), Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines (AS-16), Union Pacific (AS-616). Four road numbers each except as noted above. Can motor […]

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2011 National Train Show preliminary report

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP7 and GP9 diesel locomotives. New paint scheme on GP7 is Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (zebra stripes). New scheme on GP9 is New York Central (two-tone gray). Separately applied details, wire grab irons, and plastic handrails. Both road names offered with and without steam generators. Direct-current models with Quick […]

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Railroad timeline, 1950-1989

1950: Dieselization – Ten Class 1 railroads had already dieselized before this year, including the Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay; Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville (Monon); Columbus & Greenville; Detroit & Mackinac; Elgin, Joliet & Eastern; Gulf, Mobile & Ohio; Lehigh & New England; New York, Ontario & Western; New York, Susquehanna & Western; and Texas-Mexican. […]

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