2016 Trains Photo Contest Winners: Water

FULL SCREEN Brandon Townley A Loram crew sprays water to prevent fires from forming, following the rail-grinding process on Norfolk Southern’s Sandusky District in Chatfield, Ohio. FULL SCREEN David Honan Westbound manifest train M-LAUPAS passes through this dramatic scene on Montana Rail Link’s 4th Subdivision at Hope, Idaho, on Aug. 31, 2014. FULL SCREEN Mitch […]

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2017 Trains Photo Contest

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Grand Prize winner: A reflection of a BNSF Railway engine in water droplets near Old Monroe, Mo., on the BNSF K-Line. Barry Gaston This year we are publishing our 77th volume, so it seemed fitting to call the 2017 Trains Photo Contest “Lucky 7.” As always, you can interpret our theme in any way you […]

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HO scale Los Angeles Junction Everett Avenue

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Name: Los Angeles Junction Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 5′-0″, x 9′-6″ Prototype: Los Angeles Junction Ry. Era: present day Style: shelf Mainline run: not applicable Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none The track plan originally appeared in the May 2015 issue of Model Railroader. Click on the link to download a […]

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MR Insider: Highball to Indy!

Dana Kawala entering Amtrak station in Milwaukee

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page To get to the National Model Railroad Association’s (NMRA) 2016 national convention in Indianapolis, Ind., MRVP’s Ben Lake and Model Railroader magazine’s Dana Kawala hopped aboard Amtrak’s Hiawatha and Iowa Pacific’s Hoosier State. Enjoy Ben’s narrated journey to Indiana’s capital city, and then […]

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N scale Geneva Subdivision

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Name: Geneva Subdivision Layout owner: Daryl Kruse Scale: N (1:160) Size: 25 x 48 feet Prototype: Union Pacific (ex-Chicago & North Western) Locale: Northern Illinois Era: Present Style: single deck Mainline run: 160 feet Minimum radius: 36″ Turnouts: no. 10 (mainline), no. 8 (secondary and yard track) Maximum grade: 0.5 percent Benchwork: open-grid Height: 55″ […]

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3D Track Plans: Canadian Canyons in N scale

Canadian Canyons track planning

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Inspired by a recent Drew’s Trackside Adventures, MRVP’s David Popp aimed to design a layout that highlights the amazing scenery and railroad operation found in Canada’s Thompson and Fraser River Canyons. Ben Lake takes that scheme even further with this 3D rendering of […]

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3D Track Plans: Canadian Canyons in N scale

Canadian Canyons track planning

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Inspired by a recent Drew’s Trackside Adventures, MRVP’s David Popp aimed to design a layout that highlights the amazing scenery and railroad operation found in Canada’s Thompson and Fraser River Canyons. Ben Lake takes that scheme even further with this 3D rendering of […]

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NS ‘barcode’ unit

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SD70ACe No. 1111 Randy Olson Q I recently saw a Norfolk Southern locomotive passing through Vermillion, Ohio, with only four vertical stripes on the cab where a unit number should be. Can you explain what this designation is? — Joseph McCormick, Oberlin, Ohio A The stripes are really four “1s” for NS’s SD70ACe No. 1111. […]

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Franklin Park visitor

Former Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 pulls west on Metra’s former Milwaukee Road main line at Franklin Park, Ill., on June 10, 2016, en route to the 2016 Franklin Park Railroad Days. Photo by Benjamin J. Muciek […]

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