At 9:52 on the morning of June 2, 1953, Grand Trunk Western U-4 No. 6410 accelerates the Toronto-bound Maple Leaf away from Dearborn Station, Chicago. R. R. Malinoski photo […]
Streamlined 4-8-4 with GTW’s Maple Leaf
Era: 1946 - 1970
Backdating the MR&T locomotive fleet
Q: The historic cars for the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy featured in the January 2025 episode of Ask Trains were very interesting (I grew up in Spokane, Portland & Seattle territory and am modeling some of that). What sort of steam and early diesel power would have been used to go with the cars of […]
Steam and diesel on the Union Pacific
June 13, 1950, finds three Fairbanks-Morse H20-44 end-cab road-switchers and 4-8-2 No. 7019 at Union Pacific’s San Bernardino (Calif.) engine house. The F-Ms had taken over Cajon Pass helper chores in 1948. When they were found wanting, UP brought steam back for a spell in 1950–51. Chard Walker photo […]
South Wind heading north
Streamlined Louisville & Nashville 4-6-2 275 departs Birmingham, Ala., with the every-third-day South Wind from Miami to Chicago on February 4, 1941. James Wade, L&NHS coll. […]
News & Products for the week of March 3rd 2025
News & Products for the week of March 3rd 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 March 3rd, […]
American Flyer postwar Baldwin switchers
Founded in l830, the Philadelphia-based Baldwin Locomotive Works grew into the world’s largest steam locomotive builder. Baldwin locomotives ruled the rails of countries large and small in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Baldwin’s legendary boss, Samuel Valcain, was intrigued with the diesel by l920, and BLW produced its first demonstrator in l925. In […]
Seashore Lines Budd Car
One of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines’ 12 Budd Rail Diesel Cars pauses at Collingswood, N.J., about 3 miles out of Camden on the old West Jersey & Seashore, in September 1964. William J. Coxey photo […]
The Rio Grande’s Farmington Branch
It was an oddball branch line with a just-as-odd history that is still worth recounting. The Rio Grande’s Farmington Branch was built in 1905 to connect Carbon Junction, Colo. (just outside of Durango to the southeast), and Farmington, N.M. It was a modest, 47.68-mile standard gauge line (later narrow gauge) that followed the […]
Make track look realistic
Today, model railroaders are blessed with a wide variety of commercial track in most popular scales. It wasn’t all that long ago that off-the-shelf track was largely one-size-fits all, with oversized rail, bulky ties, and little detail. Now, mass-produced track is available in different rail heights (called codes) with simulated wood or concrete ties, prototypical […]
The Rise of HO Scale Model Trains
HO scale model trains are a significant part of model railroading history, and we can partially credit the overall popularity of model trains with the rise of a convenient, tabletop scale like HO. With origins dating back a century, HO scale trains have grown into the most popular model train scale in the world. Model […]
Rapido Trains HO scale EMD GP38
An Electro-Motive Division GP38 diesel locomotive is now available in HO scale from Rapido Trains. The four-axle road switcher features plastic and die-cast metal construction, railroad-specific details, and body-mounted metal couplers. Prototype history Electro-Motive Division produced the GP38 from January 1966 through December 1971. During the course of the production run, 733 units were built […]
Photo of the Day
This 40-foot Canadian National boxcar was built in November 1923 and was still in service in the 1970s. The car is single-sheathed (meaning sheathed only on the inside of the truss-style metal bracing) and has wood sides and ends. Note the modern AEI panel on the 1923-built car. Michael Dean photo […]
