Growth of the Burlington Route

This Map of the Month appeared in the November 2004 issue of Trains magazine. “Everywhere West” was an appropriate slogan for a railroad that once operated over 12,000 route-miles across America’s heartland. The classically styled 1940 official railroad map at right shows how the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy grew from modest beginnings to become a major […]

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Rock Island Lines, 1964

Bill Metzger This Map of the Month appeared in the October 2005 issue of Trains magazine. Rock Island Lines serve 14 Western states,” the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific’s map in the Official Guides of 1964 proudly proclaimed, offering “7,849 miles of modern railroad.” Trouble was, Rock Island’s main lines went everywhere its parallel rivals […]

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Union Pacific predecessors

Jeff Wilson and Robert Wegner This Map of the Month appeared in the October 2004 issue of Trains magazine. It’s fitting that the largest U.S. railroad today, the Union Pacific, was born as part of a grandiose plan — to build the nation’s first transcontinental railroad. From that not-so-humble beginning, UP has grown into the […]

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News & Products for December 17, 2009

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD70M and SD75M diesel locomotives. Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Canadian National, CSX (SD70M), and Ontario Northland. Three road numbers each. Five-pole skew-wound motor with dual flywheels, cab interior, and directional lighting. $149.98. April 2010. Ready-to-run. Genesis series. Athearn Trains Electro-Motive Division SW9/1200 diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Chessie […]

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Graphics Promoting Tourism

John Gruber collection John Gruber collection John Gruber collection John Gruber collection In the 1920s, the United States poured millions into a federal highway program that coincided with the automakers’ creation of lower-cost cars. The developments enabled almost all Americans the freedom to travel independently for the first time. But personal cars – even limousines […]

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News & Products for August 13, 2009

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD40 diesel locomotive. Detroit Edison Co. (DEEX reporting marks), First Union Rail (FURX), Montana Rail Link, Penn Central, Soo Line, and Wheeling & Lake Erie. Two road numbers each. Plastic handrails, wire grab irons, prototype-specific dynamic brakes, and McHenry scale magnetic knuckle couplers. $109.98 December 2009. Ready-to-Roll. Athearn Trains General […]

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National Train Show 2009 preliminary report

Once again, Model Railroader magazine is reporting from the National Train Show, which this year is being held in Hartford, Conn., from July 10-12. What follows is a list of new products being announced by model railroad manufacturers exhibiting at the show. This is a preliminary list, including items revealed to Model Railroader before the […]

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News and products for the week of May 15, 2008

HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division FP9 and F9B diesel locomotives. Algoma Central (two numbers available for A unit, one for B unit), Canadian National (A and B units, four numbers each), Chicago & North Western (A unit only, four numbers), and CP Rail (A and B, four numbers each). Etched-metal details, wire grab irons, and […]

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News & Products for the week of December 27, 2007

HO scale locomotivesElectro-Motive Division F7A diesel locomotives. Western Pacific. Five-pole skew-wound motor with dual flywheels, screw-mounted chassis, and operating headlights and Mars lights. A-A set without sound $279.98, with dual-mode sound decoder $419.98. April 2008. Ready-to-run. Genesis. Athearn Trains HO scale freight carsEvans 50-foot double-plug-door boxcar. Wisconsin & Southern Strides Against Cancer. RP-25 contour metal […]

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News & Products for the week of November 21, 2007

HO scale locomotivesAlco C-424 and C-425 diesel locomotives. New paint schemes on C-424 are Canadian National (black-and-white stripes), Canadian Pacific (Action Red; maroon and gray), and Cuyahoga Valley Scenic RR (special edition). New paint schemes on C-425 are Burlington Northern, Pennsylvania RR (Brunswick Green), and Seminole Gulf (special edition). New road numbers on C-425s decorated […]

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Trainfest 2007 show report

Trainfest was held November 10-11, 2007, at the Wisconsin Exposition Center at State Fair Park in West Allis, Wis., a suburb of Milwaukee. The two-day show featured more than 130 vendors and manufacturers, 58 model railroad layouts, and 25 clinicians and demonstrations. Attendance for Trainfest was 20,979, a record for the show. Electro-Motive Division MP15AC […]

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News & Products for the week of September 6, 2007

Cash Mine HO scale structuresCash Mine. Laser-cut wood kit with tab-and-slot construction. Includes doors, trim, ladders, running boards, floors, roofing, structural frames, Tichy windows, and Blair Line signs. Based on the Silver King Ore House in Park City, Utah. Measures 7-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ x 10-1/4″. $129.95. Blair Line Cover plates for locations where locomotive headlights […]

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