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The Lionel No. 773 4-6-4 Hudson steam engine and tender from 1950 did much to revive the passion dedicated O gauge modeler Walt Urban Jr. has for toy trains. He reminds us that hobbyists who grew up during the 1950s will remember the annual holiday shopping season as being particularly nostalgic. Like him, many of […]
It’s nice to have structures on our railways. You can often see coaling towers, sand stations, water towers, and sometimes a sawmill. A sawmill can also be a source of additional industries, such as a lumber store for cut planks or a log storage area, featuring an overhead crane. You might add animated features to […]
Norfolk & Western’s top fast-freight engines were 43 class A simple articulated 2-6-6-4s. No. 1239, built in 1949 as part of the final A order, couples to time freight 84 at Roanoke. Sister 1218 would rise to fame in the 1980s under successor Norfolk Southern’s steam program. W. A. Akin Jr. photo […]
The Pennsylvania Railroad liked to double-head K4s Pacifics on heavy passenger trains. Here, the second section of eastbound train 76, the Trail Blazer, leaves Englewood, Ill., in south suburban Chicago in January 1941. Paul Eilenberger, Harold Stinton collection […]
ROANOKE, Va. — Norfolk & Western Class A locomotive No. 1218, the 2-6-6-4 built by the railroad’s East End Shops in Roanoke in 1943, will be added to the National Register of Historic Places and has been designated as a Virginia Historic Landmark. The locomotive, retired in 1959 and restored for excursion service between 1987 […]
Has any class of homebuilt, remanufactured mainline steam locomotive ever performed as brilliantly as the Reading T-1 4-8-4? Given the long lives of four from its illustrious class of 30 engines, I’d say no. I came to this conclusion during a recent visit to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, which has announced that ex-RDG […]
Louisville & Nashville 4-8-2 No. 407 on Cincinnati–Birmingham train 7 passes 2-8-0 No. 1212 on a northbound freight on double track 10 miles south of Louisville in November 1948. C. William Streit photo […]
SUGARCREEK, Ohio — The Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum will launch its 2025 season on Thursday, April 3, the museum has announced. The season will run through Nov. 22, with tours offered on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 10 a.m., noon, and 2 p.m. Family tours begin June 6 and conclude Aug. 30. Special events, […]
A rakish Otto Kuhler–designed observation car brings up the rear of a Hiawatha departing Milwaukee, 85 miles from the end of its Minneapolis–Chicago run. W. A. Akin Jr. photo […]
What do I collect? I collect S gauge Gilbert American Flyer, as it’s the scale and brand with which I entered the model railroading hobby. I have always enjoyed S gauge, as the size is nice and Gilbert American Flyer enjoys a great history and loyal, albeit somewhat small, following. When did I start collecting? […]
Q: In Model Railroader product reviews, locomotive speed is often measured and compared with the prototype. I was wondering how this is done so I can run my trains at prototypical speeds. — George Smitton A: When we test locomotives at the workbench, we use the Model Railroad Technologies Accutrak II train speedometer for measuring […]
Spring has officially sprung, and like warmer days ahead, announcements will soon be heating up for when and where you can experience big mainline steam in 2025. Some of these massive locomotives have already gotten head starts in their operating seasons with more expected to be out of hibernation before Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial […]
