2024 saw some great model railroad product releases. As we begin a new year, Eric White, Cody Grivno, Mitch Horner, and I take a look back at some Model Railroader’s favorite products of 2024. ScaleTrains HO scale Milwaukee, Racine & Troy steel cupola caboose As you may have heard, Model Railroader’s HO scale staff […]
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 […]
News & Products for the week of December 30th 2024 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of December 30th […]
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state legislative leaders have rejected a $65 billion capital plan for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, citing a major funding shortfall. The website Gothamist reports that State Senate Majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie notified MTA CEO Jannon Lieber of the rejection in a Christmas Eve letter. The […]
News & Products for the week of December 23rd 2024 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of December 23rd […]
As many of you know, my primary modeling interest is the early days of the Burlington Northern (1970-1974) in Crookston, Minn., my hometown. One of the rail-served industries that has long intrigued me is the Otter Tail Power Co. (OTPCO) power plant. The 10,000 kilowatt plant, which hugged the banks of the Red Lake River […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration has issued a new final rule on freight car safety standards including limitations on cars or parts from China or another “country of concern.” The rule, released Thursday, Dec. 19 and effective Jan. 21, 2025, fulfils a requirement of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The rule requires railcars […]
The North American passenger rail landscape in 2024 included a number of service debuts, some so noteworthy that they earned a spot in the year’s top stories, which will appear through Dec. 31. But the overarching theme was continued growth punctuated by intermittent operating lapses. Leading the way with new ridership achievements — thanks, in […]
The Trinity Industries “Pullman-design” 4,750-cubic-foot capacity three-bay covered hopper is now available from Tangent Scale Models. Features on the HO scale car, designed from Pullman-Standard plans and field measurements, include road-specific details, Barber S-2 100-ton trucks with rotating bearing caps and separate brake beam detail, and Kadee scale couplers. Prototype history The Tangent model is […]
In the February 2025 issue of Model Railroader, readers got to learn more about Ted Van Pelt’s Sn3 Rio Grande Southern. The 22 x 22-foot layout, set in Colorado in 1930, features narrow gauge freight and passenger action, many scratchbuilt structures, and photo backdrops of prototype locations in the Centennial State. The walk-in layout has […]
WASHINGTON—Despite responses from prospective manufacturers indicating already-published concepts for replacing bilevel Superliners would be difficult to execute, Amtrak management moved ahead with requests that carbuilders subsequently rejected. The result has been a seven-month delay in issuing a final Request for Proposals that might be acceptable to remaining bidders. That’s among the conclusions of Amtrak’s independent […]
Little more than a year ago, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority was battered by problems and criticism. Its rail system was riddled with slow orders. Delivery of new rolling stock from China’s CRRC was far behind schedule. And it was still trying to correct issues addressed in directives from the Federal Transit Authority in 2022. […]
