Baldwin’s best?

Profile of diesel locomotive with pointed nose

Baldwin’s best? Baldwin’s best-known diesels are its sharknose cab units, in particular the DR-4-4-15 and RF-16 freight units that became favorites among railfans. Here DR-4-4-15 demonstrator 6001 and a booster pause at Des Moines, Iowa, on the Wabash in 1950. Louis A. Marre collection […]

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So, you want to own a caboose?

Red caboose with extended-vision cupola

After being a ubiquitous part of American railroads for more than 150 years, they went away some 40 years ago. Today, you’ll find a rare and rusty handful on Class I railroads in use as lowly “shoving platforms,” with their windows and doors often welded shut. The lucky ones got away to museums, tourist railroads, […]

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Member video: Following Southern Pacific’s Sunset Limited

Peter Atonna layout track view

Name: Peter Atonna Railroad Name: Seligman & Paulden Lines 
Location: Arizona 
Scale: O Theme: Railroad running through Arizona serving its big and little towns Description: The Sunset Limited was the Southern Pacific’s premier streamlined passenger train passing through Douglas, Ariz. on its way from Los Angeles to New Orleans. This is my tribute to it from spending youthful days at the […]

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How to strip paint from plastic models

Piece of a train car being dipped in chemicals and scrubbed with a toothbrush

Eric White couldn’t find a Northeastern style caboose painted for the Lehigh Valley, but a vendor at a train show had several models in another paint scheme. In less than an hour, Eric had a model that was ready for new paint. Watch this video to see how he stripped the original paint. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT […]

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How to strip paint from plastic models

Piece of a train car being dipped in chemicals and scrubbed with a toothbrush

Eric White couldn’t find a Northeastern style caboose painted for the Lehigh Valley, but a vendor at a train show had several models in another paint scheme. In less than an hour, Eric had a model that was ready for new paint. Watch this video to see how he stripped the original paint. VIDEO TRANSCRIPT […]

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Biden budget proposal includes $13.5 billion for transit, increased Amtrak funding

Trains Washington Watch logo

WASHINGTON — Transit projects would receive $13.5 billion and Amtrak would get $2.7 billion as part of $88 billion devoted to the U.S. Department of Transportation under the Biden Administration budget proposal submitted to Congress today. “This budget reflects our Administration’s priorities, and responds to our country’s needs,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a […]

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Central Railroad of New Jersey: A history

Streamlined and road-switcher diesel locomotives with freight train

History of the Central Railroad of New Jersey At its peak, the Central Railroad of New Jersey, the self-proclaimed “Big Little Railroad,” operated only about 700 route-miles, but in keeping with its densely populated region, totaled over 1,900 miles of track, two-thirds in New Jersey. CNJ’s Central Division extended from Jersey City to Phillipsburg, on […]

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Ask MR: Should wood running boards be painted?

The roofs of several freight cars are seen in a black-and-white photo of a rail yard

Q: My N scale layout is set in 1933. Several years ago, someone whose railroading knowledge I respect told me that running boards on early freight cars weren’t painted since they would be dangerously slippery when wet. However, all the models I see sold now have the running boards painted the same color as the […]

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