A trio of six-axle Alcos moves tonnage through Partridge, Mich., on Feb. 19, 1981 on the Chicago & Northwestern. Tom Murray photo […]
Toting minerals in Michigan
Tag: 1971 – 1999
Southern Alco paradise
Louisville & Nashville Alco C420s Nos. 1377 and 1361 lead a freight at East Bernstadt, Ky., on June 29, 1978. L&N’s four-axle Alco fleet was one of the last big bastions of Alcos. Tom Murray photo […]
Burlington Northern 34th Subdivision
Name: Burlington Northern 34th Subdivision Layout designer: Cody Grivno, associate editor Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: Burlington Northern Locale: Northwestern Minnesota Era: 1988 Mainline run: 14 feet Minimum radius: 20″ Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: none Click on the link to download the PDF of this track plan. […]
Bay Junction (Milwaukee, Racine & Troy)
Name: Bay Junction (Milwaukee, Racine & Troy) Layout designers: The MR staff Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 6′-8″ x 26′-0″ Theme: freelanced junction town Locale: southern Wisconsin Era: 1990s Style: walkaround Mainline run: 42 feet Minimum radius: 30″ (except as noted) Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 3 percent Originally appeared in the January 2011 issue […]
The Huron Terminal
Name: The Huron Terminal Layout designer: Mark Olstyn Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 12′-0″ x 16′-6″ Theme: urban switching Locale: freelanced, inner city Era: 1990s Style: walkaround Mainline run: 46 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: none Click on the link to download the PDF of this track plan. […]
Lakeside Lines RR
Name: Lakeside Lines RR Layout designer: Tom Harris Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 24 × 40 feet (plus staging) Prototype: freelanced, based on Chesapeake & Ohio and Norfolk & Western Locale: eastern West Virginia Period: early summer, 1980 Mainline run: 146 feet Minimum turnout: no. 6 (yard), no. 8 (main) Maximum grade: 1 percent Click on […]
Atlas O bulkhead flatcar
The Atlas O 68-foot bulkhead flatcar is back in new paint schemes and road numbers. Model Railroader magazine Senior Editor Cody Grivno hosts our latest product review video, taking an in-depth look at the Trainman series model. Features on the bulkhead flatcar include side stake pockets, simulated tie loops, a fish-belly center sill, pull plates, […]
B-Line
Name: B-Line Layout designer: Robert Sprague Scale: N (1:160) Size: 16 x 16 feet Prototype: Norfolk Southern Locale: Manassas, Va., to Front Royal, Va. Era: 1988 to present Style: modified walkaround, double deck Mainline run: 170 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 4 percent Originally appeared in the August 2010 issue […]
Intermodal trains per day in 1984
Intermodal haulage on railroads initially resembled loose-car railroading: Cities of varying sizes had ramps that originated a few flatcars, which were added to merchandise freights. A trucker, though, could beat that service easily. Larger cities generated solid intermodal trains, but the cost of terminals, equipment, and operations made the business lucrative only in lanes of […]
Mainline tonnage of the early 1970s
In the early 1970s, economic growth was transforming the South and West, and Western railroads surpassed Eastern roads in ton-miles carried for the first time in 1971. Traffic declines in the East heped trigger a rash of bankruptcies, which spurred Congress to commission detailed studies of railroad lines and operations. The results warned that, absent […]
Chesapeake & Ohio passes through Thurmond
Chesapeake & Ohio B30-7 No. 8242 is sandwiched between SD45s, with 4383 in the lead, as they pass through Thurmond, W.Va., on July 26, 1984. Kermit Geary Jr. photo […]
Mainline tonnage, 1980/2005
Jeff Wilson and Robert Wegner This Map of the Month appeared in the February 2007 issue of Trains magazine. Twenty-five years separate these two maps showing the busiest freight railroad lines in the United States. The 1980 map depicts American railroads at the end of regulation — the Staggers Rail Act of 1980 was signed […]
