Amtrak uses make-up equipment to avoid cancelling Empire Builder

Passenger train with two locomotives passing under signal bridge with Chicago skyline in background

CHICAGO — In a change from recent operations, Amtrak was able to put together a makeup trainset to prevent cancellation of the westbound Empire Builder that departed Chicago on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Significant long-distance train delays have often resulted in cascading cancellations for lack of equipment since Amtrak lost nearly complete Superliner sets to devastating […]

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Bill Neale’s PRR Panhandle Division in HO scale

Follow Model Railroader Editor Eric White on a journey into the thick of operations on the Pennsylvania Railroad’s Panhandle Division, as replicated on Bill Neale’s HO scale (1:87.1) model railroad! As feature in Great Model Railroads 2010, Bill’s 200-foot multi-level layout captures a vital stretch of mainline serving the coal and steel country of western Pennsylvania […]

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Age of Steam Roundhouse acquires 2-6-6-2 No. 1308

Black and while photo of Mallet-type steam locomotive

SUGARCREEK, Ohio — The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum will once again expand its impressive collection with the acquisition of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 2-6-6-2 No. 1308. Ownership was transferred from the Collis P. Huntington Railroad Historical Society of Huntington, W.V. Tim Sposato, Age of Steam’s chief mechanical officer, emphasized in a news release […]

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East Troy Industrial Park Sidetrack | Building a glass plant, Part 5

In this Sidetrack Series departure from the HO scale (1:87.1) East Troy Industrial Park Project Railroad, you’ll learn how to use brass wire and flat bar to create durable, small-diameter brackets and tension wires for the scratchbuilt generator structures. Throughout the demo, Eric shows viewers how to use specialized tools, including wire nippers and metal-bending […]

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East Troy Industrial Park, Ep. 24 | Road Markings & Terrain Painting

The initial segment of the HO scale (1:87.1) East Troy Industrial Park project layout edges closer to completion! In this episode, you’ll see how Cody Grivno and David Popp refine roadway detail and paint a touch of earth-tone color over the plaster covered terrain. Be sure to keep up with the construction progress by linking […]

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Classic Toy Trains Insider | Cover Shoot at the Milwaukee Lionel Railroad Club

Travel with CTT Editor Rene Schweitzer and the Art Crew, as they work the angles at the Milwaukee Lionel Railroad Club in New Berlin, Wisconsin! That’s where they went on assignment to capture a photos for use in the forthcoming special issue (SIP), Great Layouts You Can Visit, coming soon to the Trains.com Store. Watch […]

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Fox River Expansion transforms National Railroad Museum

Train passes new railroad museum building. National Railroad Museum opens Fox River Expansion.

ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — The National Railroad Museum has opened its new Fox River Expansion, a 21,000 square foot, climate-controlled exhibit hall, which faces the waterway running along the museum campus. The $17 million project is the first of four museum expansion phases and has been nearly 10 years in the making. The new facility, says […]

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East Troy Industrial Park, Ep. 23 | Smoothing Terrain & Adding a Grade Crossing

In this episode covering the HO scale (1:87.1) East Troy Industrial Park project layout, the construction crew dives into adding scenery and details. They first demonstrate techniques for shaping and smoothing scenes representative of rolling Wisconsin terrain. And then you’ll see the process for adding a grade crossing where the road meets the rails.     Be sure […]

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Illinois Railway Museum to restore ‘Centennial’ diesel to operation

Yellow diesel locomotive on display

UNION, Ill. — The Illinois Railway Museum has announced ambitious plans to restore its Union Pacific DDA40 “Centennial” No. 6930 to full operational status. The “Revive the Centennial” campaign was publicly unveiled on Sept. 17 via the museum’s social media channels. This significant undertaking will involve extensive upgrades and repairs, including the crucial acquisition and […]

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Former Michigan Central coaling tower demolished

Construction equipment demolishes a concrete structure over a set of railroad tracks

MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA — Demolition experts wasted little time in dismantling the top of the former Michigan Central coaling tower that straddles Amtrak’s Michigan line, which normally hosts Wolverine and Blue Water trains. The process of crushing this fortress and another one on Michigan-owned track west of Augusta, Mich., between Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, has […]

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