WASHINGTON — Last week’s fourth day of testimony at the Surface Transportation Board’s hearing on Amtrak Gulf Coast service focused on two questions: — “Where did the data used for traffic modeling come from?” — “What constitutes a train that can cause ‘unreasonable impairment’ to freight operations” if two passenger round trips are introduced between […]
Walthers announced that a modernized 40-foot American Car & Foundry boxcar will be joining its popular WalthersMainline series. The HO scale car is scheduled for release in June. Road names in the first release of boxcars will include Erie Lackawanna, Green Bay & Western, Illinois Central, Lehigh Valley, Penn Central, Pennsylvania RR, Reading Co., and […]
Broadway Limited Imports will be adding a Reading Co. class T1 4-8-4 to its N scale steam locomotive lineup. The model is scheduled for release in December. Road names on the 4-8-4 will include Reading Co. (in-service and Iron Horse Rambles excursion, three road numbers each); 1976 American Freedom Train no. 1; Chessie Steam Special; […]
Frank Vodvarka’s layout, the 23′ x 27′ Eclectic Empire, is featured in the May-June 2022 Classic Toy Trains. It’s colorful and entertaining, with pre- and postwar Lionel and other O- and Standard gauge trains from the U.S. and abroad. Plus it has accessories, figures, and structures from multiple eras and manufacturers like Bayko, Britains, Bassett-Lowke, […]
Broadway Limited Imports is bringing the Norfolk & Western class Y6b 2-8-8-2 steam locomotive to N scale. The model is scheduled for release in October. Initial paint schemes on the model will be Norfolk & Western (as-delivered black with gold lettering in five road numbers, fictional 1960s blue scheme in one number, and fictional Tuscan […]
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific’s famed Big Boy steam locomotive No. 4014 is set to return to the tracks this summer for what UP’s Steam Club is calling the “West Coast Steam Tour,” kicking off on June 26 from the railroad’s heritage headquarters in Cheyenne. This year’s tour celebrates Union Pacific’s 160th anniversary, its heritage, […]
The Big Four: Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Ry. Q: Before my father-in-law passed away some years ago, we’d talk about the trains of long ago. As a boy, he loved to watch rail traffic pass by his childhood home in Pana, Ill. He mentioned the “Big Four” rail lines but couldn’t remember what […]
The Ontario Southland Railway helped keep General Motors plants humming when a bridge clearance issue arose after a track project on Canadian National. CN, which handles the majority of traffic in St. Thomas, Ontario, suffered a line outage on the Talbot Spur when a program to fix track in the St. Thomas yard resulted in […]
South Shore street running: Bruce Stahl captured an unusually powerful freight train for northwestern Indiana in April. To wit: six locomotives led by South Shore No. 805 haul four grain hoppers down a torn-up street in Michigan City, Indiana. Stahl captured this rapture of motive power on Sunday, April 10, 2022, on “Church” curve. “The […]
O gauge locomotives General Electric P42 diesel locomotive. Amtrak Operation Lifesaver 50th anniversary unit (black, yellow, and white scheme). One road number. Die-cast metal truck sideframes, pilots, and fuel tank; two painted crew figures; and Proto-Sound 3.0 DCS. Model is scaled to 1:48 proportions. $639.95. Second quarter 2022. Premier line. Atlas O, 908-687-0880, shop.atlasrr.com O […]
Large scale locomotives Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Ry. 0-4-4RT Forney steam locomotive. One road number. Features ball bearing Bühler motor, various light and sound functions, digitally controlled smoke unit, and mfx/Digital Command Control decoder. $779. Second quarter 2022. LGB (Märklin, Inc.), 800-321-8811, lgb.com Large scale freight cars Union Pacific double-sheathed center-cupola caboose. Separate, factory-applied parts […]
KRAMATORSK, Ukraine – A station in Kramatorsk, packed with refugees waiting for trains to take them westward, was hit by a Russian missile attack on April 8. The death toll updated by the Ukrainian government on April 10 stands at 57 with 109 injured. Pictures from the scene depict abandoned belongings and children’s toys, in […]
