Watco’s Decatur & Eastern Illinois makes its first run on Sunday, between Decatur and Paris, Ill. Steve Smedley DECATUR, ILL. — The Midwest has a new railroad. The Decatur & Eastern Illinois Railroad made its inaugural run out of Decatur on Sunday, Sept. 9. The first revenue move left the Decatur yards on Sunday morning […]
MISSOULA, Mont. — Tom Walsh, who has been with Montana Rail Link since the railroad’s inception, has announced his retirement as the company’s president. Stacy Posey will become the new Montana Rail Link president, effective Jan. 1, 2019, the company announced Monday. Walsh has been with MRL for 31 years. “My time at Montana Rail […]
Athearn N scale class Z-8 Challenger 4-6-6-4 Even in N scale the class Z-8 4-6-6-4 is an imposing steam locomotive. Like the Athearn Genesis HO Z-8 that I reviewed in the August 2017 Model Railroader, the accurately detailed N scale model is available with a factory installed SoundTraxx Tsunami dual-mode decoder. The model delivered smooth […]
WalthersProto HO scale Jordan Spreader Walthers has added a Jordan Spreader to its HO scale Proto series. But this isn’t an assembled version of the kit from the 1990s. No, this is a newly tooled model that has several features not found on the kit, including positionable wings and slopers, wire grab irons, and railroad-specific […]
Atlas Trainman HO scale GP39-2 with ESU LokSound New road names and factory-installed sound highlight the latest version of the Atlas Trainman Electro-Motive Division (EMD) GP39-2. We first reviewed a direct-current (DC) version of the GP39-2 in the January 2010 issue. This latest release has a dual-mode ESU LokSound Select decoder that provides realistic sound […]
Athearn Ready-To-Roll 40-foot boxcar Price: $27.98 Manufacturer Athearn 1600 Forbes Way, Suite 120 Long Beach, CA 90810 www.athearn.com Era: 1970-1980, as decorated Road names: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Chicago & Illinois Midland; Chicago & North Western; Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; Elgin, Joliet & Eastern; Maine Central; Monon; Reading Co.; Southern Pacific; St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton […]
Bachmann N scale tight-bottom ore gondola Price: $33 Manufacturer Bachmann Industries 1400 E. Erie Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19124 www.bachmanntrains.com Era: 1960s to 1990s Road names: Union Pacific; Pennsylvania (black or Tuscan Red) Canadian Pacific; Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range; Norfolk & Western Comments: An ore car that’s been offered in HO scale for decades is […]
The often-delayed Capitol Limited passes through Goshen, Ind., on Norfolk Southern on July 14, 2017. Bob Johnston CHICAGO — Host railroads and Amtrak have settled into an uncomfortable détente during the last year instead of making serious efforts to develop accurate, a Trains News Wire analysis reveals. “Amtrak slammed by delays,” on page 24 of […]
A British group has formed a subsidiary to build a new version of the V4 steam locomotive. One of the original V4s is shown here. A1 Steam Locomotive Trust DARLINGTON, England — The Brits are at it again. The British group behind the Tornado — the first main line steam locomotive built in the United […]
Nashville’s Radnor Yard. CSX Transportation JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX Transportation has resumed hump operations at Radnor Yard in Nashville, Tenn., which was among the eight classification yards converted to flat-switching facilities last year under then-CEO E. Hunter Harrison. Radnor’s layout ultimately proved cumbersome for flat switching. So in June the railroad began work on retarders and […]
C&O EMD GP7 No. 5704 and its new as-delivered cosmetic restoration on the Lebanon Mason & Monroe Railroad in Lebanon, Ohio. Lebanon Mason & Monroe Railroad LEBANON, Ohio – A Chesapeake & Ohio EMD GP7 has been restored to its as-delivered blue-and-gold paint scheme. C&O GP7 No. 5704 is the latest restoration project to ply […]
A Union Pacific Cold Connect produce train passes through Lombard, Ill. UP is adding to its refrigerator-car fleet. TRAINS: David Lassen SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Union Pacific will acquire 1,000 new refrigerator cars with the possibility of expanding the order to 1,600, a UP official told a recent shippers’ conference. The Produce News reports that […]
