Rapido HO FM H16-44 diesel Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model, $225; with ESU LokSound V5 sound decoder, $335 Manufacturer: Rapido Trains, 382 High St., Buffalo, NY 14204; 905-474-3314; rapidotrains.com Rapido HO FM H16-44 diesel features: Carbodies with and without dynamic brakes Dofasco or Fairbanks-Morse trucks as appropriate Illuminated number boxes, headlights, and green and […]
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STB’s Hedlund on possible transcontinental merger: ‘Bring it’
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. — If a transcontinental rail merger is proposed — as has been a subject of speculation in recent months — it would be up to the Surface Transportation Board to approve or deny the request. But the STB, like most government agencies, is now smaller than it was before the start of […]
CSX says crew members were unhurt in Atlanta accident (updated)
SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — CSX says its crew members are uninjured following a grade-crossing collision and fire this afternoon near Atlanta — contrary to local news reports that said the crew members were among four people with significant injuries. A WAGA-TV report quoted local police as saying the collision between a train and tractor-trailer rig […]
Norfolk & Western No. 611 to return to Buckingham Branch Railroad for fall excursions
STAUNTON, Va. — Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 is poised to return to the Buckingham Branch Railroad this fall. Beginning on Sept. 26, 2025, the 4-8-4 will lead the Virginia Scenic Railway’s Shenandoah Valley Limited for five weekends. The locomotive operated these trips in 2023, but sat out for 2024 due to essential […]
Model Railroader Photo of the Day: Bringing up the rear
Even though Doug Tagsold has a large HO scale model railroad, he didn’t let that stop him from building another layout – this time in On3. Doug took this photo of a D&RGW wood caboose bringing up the rear of a freight passing through Rockwood, Colo. Doug’s layout is based on the Denver & Rio […]
Classic Toy Trains Photo of the Day: Tommy Rhoden’s O gauge layout
Tommy Rhoden considers himself another huge fan of the Angela Trotta Thomas illustrated locomotives and rolling stock cataloged by Lionel. As a lifelong three-rail operator and collector, he has a blast laying FasTrack under his Christmas tree in Evans, Ga., and running everything from his boyhood Marx set from 1959 to some of the latest […]
Caltrain’s Bouchard named chair of Commuter Rail Coalition
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Michelle Bouchard, executive director of Caltrain, has been elected chair of the Commuter Rail Coalition’s board of directors as part of a new leadership team announced this week by the national advocacy group for commuter rail agencies and operators. Bouchard, who previously served as the coalition’s vice chair, helped lead Caltrain’s $2.4 […]
Federal court vacates STB’s reciprocal switching rule that took aim at inadequate service
CHICAGO – A federal court has tossed out the Surface Transportation Board’s 2024 reciprocal switching rule that would have allowed shippers who suffer from inadequate rail service to gain access to a second railroad. The STB exceeded its authority when it adopted the rule, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit said in […]
CREATE’s Forest Hill Flyover project marks construction milestone
CHICAGO — CSX announced Tuesday (July 8, 2025) that the final girder has been placed for the Forest Hill Flyover, a landmark moment in the portion of the CREATE’s massive 75th Street Corridor Improvement Project that will separate CSX main lines in South Chicago from tracks used by Norfolk Southern, Metra, and the Belt Railway […]
Galesburg, Ill., council approves lease for National Railroad Hall of Fame
GALESBURG, Ill. — The National Railroad Hall of Fame is one step closer to having an actual Hall. The Galesburg, Ill., city council on Monday approved an agreement for a 99-year lease on approximately 25,000 square feet of land in Colton Park, near the city’s Amtrak station, for construction of the Hall of Fame, a […]
Contractor and groundbreaking confirmed for Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania’s new roundhouse
STRASBURG, Pa. — The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of General Services, announced today (July 8) that eciConstruction of Dillsburg, Pa., has been confirmed as the general contractor for the museum’s roundhouse project. The bidding process began Feb. 21, 2025, for […]
Athearn Genesis HO GP40-2L
The Athearn Genesis HO GP40-2L diesel locomotive, based on a prototype built by General Motors Diesel Division, recently arrived at our offices. Join Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he provides a brief history of the four-axle road unit and Quebec-Gatineau Ry. No. 3014; points out the many factory-applied details; and demonstrates the sound […]
