Visitors look at models of CRRC equipment at InnoTrans in Berlin during the 2016 trade show. New legislation would block Washington’s Metro from buying equipment from CRRC. TRAINS: David Lassen WASHINGTON — Legislation proposed by Washington-area senators would authorize 10 years of funding for the DC Metro system — but only if Metro agrees not […]
A Union Pacific train passes under a signal bridge and past a positive train control installation on BNSF Railway track in Cajon Pass, Calif., in 2013. TRAINS: Steve Sweeney The nation’s railroads continue to work toward completion of positive train control installation. While the process seems like it might be inching along, railroads have made […]
The unique steam locomotive Skookum is bedded down on a truck Sunday at Tillamook, Ore., for its trip to California. Martin E. Hansen TILLAMOOK, Ore. — The long and successful restoration of Baldwin’s first logging Mallet known as Skookum reached a milestone this morning when a pair of heavy-haul semi-trucks departed the blimp hanger in […]
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The West Virginia railroad club that sponsored the annual New River Train blames its financial woes on the cancellation of its annual October excursions on Amtrak, but an analysis of financial reporting shows the club may have been in trouble long before Amtrak began increasing its chartered private train rates in 2018. […]
HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP39-2 diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (“Kodachrome” and blue-and-yellow warbonnet); Burlington Northern (Cascade Green with nose stripes, four road numbers); CSX (D&H Guilford scheme patchout); Delaware & Hudson (Guilford scheme, four numbers); Missouri-Kansas-Texas (green and yellow, four numbers); and Soo Line (Candy Apple Red). Two numbers per scheme […]
Broadway Limited Imports N scale PRR T1 4-4-4-4 The T1 is equipped with magnetic knuckle couplers. Details like wire grab irons and train-phone system antenna add to the realism. I recently reviewed two N scale diesel locomotives from Broadway Limited Imports (BLI) featuring Paragon3 Digital Command Control (DCC) decoders with Rolling Thunder (March and May […]
ScaleTrains.com HO scale GE C44-9W diesel With its myriad roadname- and roadnumber-specific detail variations, this HO scale General Electric C44-9W diesel-electric locomotive from ScaleTrains.com ensures that there’s plenty for all the “rivet counters” out there to scrutinize. And they won’t be disappointed. For this review I tested a Rivet Counter-series model that came factory- equipped […]
Arrowhead Models HO scale ‘Committee Design’ hopper The slope sheets with their steeper ends are clearly visible on Arrowhead Models’ Committee Design 70-ton hopper. Design by committee isn’t usually a ringing endorsement, but these new HO scale 70-ton coal hoppers from Arrowhead Models could certainly turn the tide. The committee in question included Pennsylvania RR, […]
Walthers Cornerstone HO scale American Bungalow kit Price: $29.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53218 www.walthers.com Era: 1910s to present Comments: The American Bungalow is the latest addition to the Walthers Cornerstone series. The HO scale plastic kit measures 35⁄8″ x 611⁄32″. Introduced more than a century ago, the […]
Bachmann HO scale test weight car Price: $39 Manufacturer Bachmann Trains 1400 East Erie Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19124 www.bachmanntrains.com Era: 1930s to present Road names: Burlington Northern, Baltimore & Ohio, Canadian National, and Union Pacific. Also available painted black but unlettered. Comments: Used for calibrating track scales, test weight cars (also called scale test cars) […]
Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads reported U.S. rail traffic on Wednesday for the week ending April 6. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 510,192 carloads and intermodal units, down 2.8 % compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending April 6 […]
Signal problems caused delays for Metra BNSF trains at Chicago Union Station on Thursday morning. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — Metra BNSF line trains experienced delays arriving and departing from Union Station on Thursday morning because of Amtrak signal problems, WGN-TV reported. Delays of 30 to 45 minutes were reported during the morning commute. “Trains […]
