News & Products for the week of May 26th 2025

A white model tank car

News & Products for the week of May 26th 2025   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 May 26th, […]

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ARR plate clearances make room for trains

Orange train surrounded by trees

Railroads spend a lot of time worrying about clearances. One low bridge or a narrow tunnel will limit the kinds of cars able to move across that line. To sort out which cars can operate on a given line, the Association of American Railroads categorizes freight cars based on their outside dimensions. The AAR cross-section […]

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Ohio Railway Museum eyes Vision for the Future (updated)

Two tracks parallel cleared land

WORTHINGTON, Ohio — The 2025 National Train Day on May 10 became the perfect opportunity for the Ohio Railway Museum (ORM) to unveil its plans for the future.  In a presentation by ORM President William (Bill) DeVelin, the new development plan titled “Vision for the Future” showcased an initiative to revitalize both the current and […]

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Walthers HO 50-foot single-door boxcar

Color photo of HO scale boxcar painted red with black and white graphics

Walthers HO 50-foot single-door boxcar Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: $34.98 Era: post-World War II to 1980s Manufacturer: Wm. K. Walthers Inc., 5601 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53218; 414-527-0770; walthers.com Walthers HO 50-foot single-door boxcar features: 4-3-1 improved Dreadnaught ends 7-run side and end ladders 8’-0” Youngstown doors 8-panel riveted car sides 33” turned-metal wheelsets […]

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Lucius Beebe remembered

A black and white photograph of a man with a typewriter

Lucius Beebe was a major figure in railroad literature and photography for nearly three decades, but contemporary readers might be amazed at just how far his reputation spread beyond railroading. He could have starred in the old TV show, “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Beebe was born Dec. 9, 1902, in Wakefield, Mass. His […]

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Second life for an old boxcar

Boxcar reused as station

This is what happens when a railroad has more resourcefulness than resources. Perpetually short of funds but needing a station in the southeastern Iowa community of Mediapolis, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific RR, simply added a roof, two doors, and five tiny windows to an aging boxcar. It wasn’t just the Rock Island that […]

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MBTA, partners launch annual CapeFlyer summer service

Passenger train running next to water

BOSTON — Spring-like weather remains elusive for much of the northern U.S. But operationally, summer has arrived for commuter rail systems. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and its contract commuter operator, Keolis, on Friday (May 23) launched the seasonal CapeFlyer train between Boston and Cape Cod. The first day of Friday-Saturday-Sunday-holiday service came a day […]

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