Almost exactly 160 years ago, the American Civil War wound down to a messy and anticlimactic end. By December 1864, it was apparent the Union had prevailed. It didn’t necessarily win, but at least southern secession had been thwarted. If noticed at all, the anniversary might be an occasion to recount the many roles railroading […]
The rapid expansion of America’s railroad system in the 1800s and early 1900s was driven largely by a small group of powerful businessmen. Here we profile 12 of the most influential railroad magnates who helped shape modern America. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the men on this list built railroad empires connecting cities, opening the […]
Q: I need help identifying a specific Pennsylvania RR steam engine. The number on the cab was 1299. What class was this locomotive? I have a picture of me as a boy looking out the fireman’s window and want to model the engine in HO scale. — John Nagle A: Thanks for writing in and […]
A Denver & Salt Lake passenger train pauses at Arrow, Colo., on the original Rollins Pass line in 1905. At left is the main line west to Middle Park, which has a 4-percent grade. Today, Union Pacific freights and Amtrak’s California Zephyr bypass this treacherous trackage with Moffat Tunnel, completed in 1928. L. C. McClure photo […]
Frank Hornby, British businessman and inventor born in 1863, is a name known across the globe for model trains and toys alike. This book, Hornby: Book of Collectable Toys, takes a deep dive into the history of the Hornby manufacturing company and its many subsidiaries. This book isn’t just about model trains–it includes all of […]
It’s nice to have structures on our railways. You can often see coaling towers, sand stations, water towers, and sometimes a sawmill. A sawmill can also be a source of additional industries, such as a lumber store for cut planks or a log storage area, featuring an overhead crane. You might add animated features to […]
Menards continues to add to their line of industrial structures. A little more than a year ago, they introduced Sooty’s Coal Tipple, and have now added an O gauge Sooty’s Mine Shaft to the lineup. Shaft mining is a method of excavation that accesses an ore deposit from the top down. The term “shaft” refers […]
HO scale model trains are a significant part of model railroading history, and we can partially credit the overall popularity of model trains with the rise of a convenient, tabletop scale like HO. With origins dating back a century, HO scale trains have grown into the most popular model train scale in the world. Model […]
Q: I was wondering if you could provide me with information on what kind of loads an oyster cannery sends and receives? — Markus Russ A: I cast the net wide (pun fully intended) to help answer your question. I started internally. Trains magazine Associate Editor Bob Lettenberger wrote “Five mind-blowing facts — Stilwell Oyster […]
Original article published in Garden Railway’s Dec. 2019 issue by Bill Mefford; edited and updated for Trains.com by Lucas Iverson. For many model railroaders and garden railway enthusiasts, a trip to the Greater Cincinnati Tri-State area was on the bucket list. That’s because it was the home to EnterTRAINment Junction, which boasted the biggest indoor […]
If your garden railroad is set in the steam or steam-to-diesel transition era, it’s going to need a coal tower. When I started to gather rolling stock and build my railroad in 2013, there were no commercial coal towers on the market. The only existing product was from Pola, but I couldn’t find one on […]
Q: Many of Model Railroader’s articles, reviews, and advertisements focus on products representing the “modern” era, say the 1940s to the present. That’s OK, and much of your audience obviously enjoys modeling contemporary railroading. However, I’m interested in modeling the railroad industry as it was in the 19th century. Can you suggest the names of […]
