Interior of the recently re-opened Cincinnati Union Terminal. David T. Rohdenburg The year 2018 was significant for some of the grandes dames of America’s railroad past, present and future. CINCINNATI In Cincinnati, the art deco masterpiece Union Terminal reopened after a 30-month, $228-million restoration project. The building is home to several museums and is a […]
SPROG USA Pi-SPROG One DCC system Instead of conventional throttles, the Pi-SPROG relies on smartphones or tablets running throttle apps, such as WiThrottle (above) or Engine Driver. Android-based WiFi throttles, such as PIKO SmartControl or ESU CabControl, can also be used with the system. Raspberry Pi isn’t a tasty dessert. It’s an inexpensive, single-board computer […]
Athearn HO scale SD70ACe with Tsunami2 A skew-wound motor with brass flywheels is secured to the center of the die-cast metal frame. Plastic driveshafts power all 12 wheels, which also pick up current. In 1943, employees of the Union Pacific RR agreed to an extra deduction in their paychecks to buy War Bonds during World […]
Atlas O Pullman-Bradley coach Price: $139.95 Manufacturer Atlas O 378 Florence Ave. Hillside, NJ 07205 www.atlasrr.com Era: 1950 to 1968 (as decorated) Road names: New York, New Haven & Hartford; Boston & Maine; Kansas City Southern; Long Island Rail Road; and Southern Pacific. Four road numbers per scheme. Also available painted dark green with black […]
Bachmann N Sound Value Baldwin 2-8-0 It was only a few months ago – in the September 2018 issue – that we last reviewed a Baldwin 2-8-0 steam locomotive from Bachmann. But that was an HO scale model. Bachmann’s new Consolidation is an N scale model. This freight hauler is well detailed, nicely decorated, and […]
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada has selected Siemens to build the new equipment for its Quebec City-Windsor, Ont., corridor, a $740-million ($999-million Canadian) contract to build 32 trainsets with delivery beginning in 2022. The bidirectional trainsets will use Siemens Charger locomotives, which meet U.S. EPA Tier 4 emission standards. Similar locomotives are now in use […]
Association of American Railroads Association of American Railroads WASHINGTON — The Association of American Railroads on Wednesday reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending Dec. 8. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 570,225 carloads and intermodal units, up 3.1 percent compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the […]
Rescue workers survey the scene of a train accident in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday. A high speed train hit a locomotive engine and crashed into a pedestrian overpass. Associated Press A high speed trainset for Turkey’s state railway is displayed at InnoTrans in Berlin in 2016. One of six similar trainsets was involved in Thursday’s […]
UP steam shop crew places the front engine under Big Boy No. 4014 on Dec. 11. R.T. Burnham CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 is feeling like at least half of its old self today. Photos published on Facebook news groups showed Union Pacific steam shop crews on Tuesday lifting the smokebox and […]
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Members of California’s congressional delegation have joined the effort to save Amtrak’s reservation call center in Riverside, which employs about 500 workers. The Riverside Press-Enterprise reports that 37 of the state’s representatives in Congress have agreed to sign a letter asking Amtrak to change its plan to close the Riverside center on […]
A GE-built TE33A locomotive for Ukraine. GE Transportation MELITOPOL, Ukraine — GE Transportation and Ukrainian Railways today celebrated a major accomplishment as the first Evolution Series locomotive entered service in Ukraine, part of an ongoing cooperative effort to comprehensively upgrade the country’s diesel-electric rail fleet. The project goal is to modernize Ukraine’s transportation infrastructure and […]
A Metra SouthWest Service train arrives at the Larraway Road station in New Lenox, Ill. Metra has signed a contract for a new train-tracking system which should help get more reliable information about train status to riders. TRAINS: David Lassen A screenshot from Metra’s website shows the location of two trains on the Milwaukee North […]
