Name: Todd Hein Forum User Name: ToddH Railroad Name: Minneapolis Northern Location: Crystal Minnesota Scale: O scale Theme: Two custom locomotives Description: I have made some custom Marx locomotives and cars for my Minneapolis Northern Railroad, most are repaints of standard Marx locomotives, but these two are modified. The Commodore Vollrath, as I call it, […]
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Vertical crossing signals
A less common crossing signal warned motorists of oncoming trains by blinking “stop.” Kevin King Q As a child in the 1950s and 1960s, I saw a number of railroad grade crossings on the Wabash that were protected by a row of vertical lights on the signal mast in addition to the standard red alternating […]
Two custom-made Marx locomotives
Name: Todd Hein Forum User Name: ToddH Railroad Name: Minneapolis Northern Location: Crystal Minnesota Scale: O scale Theme: Two custom locomotives Description: I have made some custom Marx locomotives and cars for my Minneapolis Northern Railroad, most are repaints of standard Marx locomotives, but these two are modified. The Commodore Vollrath, as I call it, […]
Highball
A southbound Norfolk Southern freight takes the clear signal at South Leesburg, Ind., on May 16, 2011. The former New York Central branch line was upgraded with Pennsylvania-style position light signals recycled from other routes during Penn Central ownership. Photo by Bob Jordan […]
Scenic South Fork
Norfolk Southern’s Norfolk & Western-painted heritage unit leads northbound train No. 124 through South Fork, Ky., and into the Green River valley on May 31, 2016. Photo by Jeff Wagoner […]
Two versions of the Marx 999 locomotive
Name: Todd Hein Forum User Name: ToddH Railroad Name: Minneapolis Northern Location: Crystal Minnesota Scale: O scale Theme: Collecting Marx Description: Marx made several versions of the 999, this video shows two early versions. The open spoke 999 was produced first, then after problems with the pilot breaking off the second version, the closed spoke, […]
Two versions of the Marx 999 locomotive
Name: Todd Hein Forum User Name: ToddH Railroad Name: Minneapolis Northern Location: Crystal Minnesota Scale: O scale Theme: Collecting Marx Description: Marx made several versions of the 999, this video shows two early versions. The open spoke 999 was produced first, then after problems with the pilot breaking off the second version, the closed spoke, […]
MR Insider: Charlie’s Trackside Conversation with Richard Foster, Editor of Model Rail
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page On a recent trip to the United Kingdom, MRVP Contributing Editor Charlie Conway enjoyed a delightful trackside chat with Richard Foster, Editor of Model Rail magazine. While a cavalcade of British trains raced by, Charlie and Richard discussed a number of modeling and […]
End of two eras
Two E8As and an E7B lead NYC 26, the 20th Century Limited, eastbound at VIckers, Ohio, on a summer evening in 1966, the train’s last full year. William L. Gwyer This picture was just about the last railroad photo I took. It was the culmination of my photographic exploration of contemporary railroading in the early […]
MR Insider: 2016 NMRA National Convention Report
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page The City of Indianapolis, Ind., recently hosted the National Model Railroad Association’s (NMRA) 2016 national convention, and MRVP’s Gerry Leone was there to capture some of the highlights! Come along with Gerry, as he shares the many ways you can experience and enjoy […]
1939’s big breakthrough: The FT
Seventy-five years ago on Nov. 25, 1939, Electro-Motive Corp.’s FT demonstrator diesel locomotive No. 103 left its birthplace at the company’s La Grange, Ill., plant. Nobody, not even its builders, knew what the new creation could do. True, the 17-year-old Electro-Motive had been a pioneer in diesel propulsion for railroad use, having built a successful […]
Whistles for helper engines
On West Virginia’s Cass Scenic Railroad, engine crews with three Shay locomotives signal each other with whistles for moves and stops. Steve Sweeney Q In the days of steam, when railroaders didn’t have radios or other one-to-one communication, how did the engineer on the lead locomotive communicate to the engineers in the “helper” locomotives as […]
