In the “Fallen Flags Remembered” section of the Spring 2001 CLASSIC TRAINS magazine, author Mike Condren reminisces about the St. Louis-San Francisco. Here we present a selection of Frisco photos. Alex L. H. Darragh Seen from an eastbound train stopped in a siding, Mountain type 1505 and another engine doublehead a westbound passenger train at […]
JOHN W. BARRIGER III One of the most peripatetic chief executives in railroading-he led Monon, P&LE, Katy, and Boston & Maine-was also one of the most sagacious. “J.W.B.’s” vision of the Super Railroad was the template for every Class 1 of the 1990’s. RALPH BUDD Scholar as well as railroader, Budd ran Great Northern and […]
Walthers HO scale ready-mix concrete plant This modern ready-mix concrete plant is a recent addition to the Walthers Cornerstone line of structure kits. It’s a common construction industry that’s found all over North America. Numerous molded styrene panels make up the main buildings while the optional piping and other details are molded separately. Most of […]
Life-Like HO Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC) Northern Pacific RDC-2 no. B-30 was preparing for departure as train no. 314 between Lewiston and Spokane, Wash., when J. M. Fredrickson photographed it in June 1955. Life-Like has released a limited-edition model of a Budd RDC-2 (Rail Diesel Car). It has a single power truck, comes ready-to-run […]
Walthers Cornerstone Series N scale lumberyard Walthers calls this Cornerstone Series lumberyard kit easy-to-build, and it certainly is. The pieces on the six structures fit together well, and construction is straightforward. It’s a good way for beginners to quickly assemble an N scale scene. The kit also has kitbashing possibilities, as there are pieces left […]
At age 4, I looked forward to 2 p.m. That was the hour my grandfather would return to our house on Wicome Avenue in Newport News, Va., for his afternoon break, followed by our daily trip to trackside. Shortly after Granddaddy’s cup of coffee, we would drive in his white fin-tailed Cadillac over to the […]
Many of us didn’t want to believe that the steam era was drawing to a close — that diesels, those cousins of the automobile with their garish tin shrouds, were winning the battle over the noble iron horse — until a dreary Sunday afternoon in the summer of 1953. After that, we could no longer […]
I’m awakened by the sound of the phone ringing and his muffled voice saying, “It’s two-thirty. They probably want W-2 pushed east.” The old stairs squeak under his weight as he quickly descends them to answer the phone. “Hello?” “Yes, it is.” There is a long pause then he repeats bits of the message, “Ridgway, […]
In the small town of Goshen, Ind., where I grew up, one was always aware of the New York Central. Goshen was astride the New York-Chicago main line, so the railroad was not only a key to the city’s economy but also part of its very consciousness. For my own generation of high school boys […]
All the high excitement, thrills and tensions of railway experience are not the exclusive province of the operating department employees. Many a trackman, carman, and other railway workers have anxieties and thrills in the course of performing their daily tasks. As superintendent of motive power, I had my share of pressing situations that extended a […]
Branchline Trains HO AAR standard 50-foot boxcar Branchline Trains, the maker of this HO scale 50-foot boxcar, isn’t a new name in the model railroad industry. For several years Branchline has applied custom paint schemes to other manufacturers’ freight cars, earning a well-deserved reputation for sharp lettering and accurate colors. This boxcar is Branchline’s first […]
Red Caboose HO GS drop-bottom composite- and steel-side gondolas For its latest HO scale freight car release Red Caboose has chosen the general service (GS) gondola, a car which might not be familiar to Eastern modelers but one that’s needed in large numbers by those interested in Western railroads. Red Caboose has produced two versions […]
