Quick Look: WalthersMainline HO 53-foot Thrall corrugated-side gondola

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WalthersMainline HO 53-foot Thrall corrugated-side gondola Price: $24.98 Manufacturer Wm. K. Walthers Inc. 5601 W. Florist Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53218 www.walthers.com Road names: Great Northern; Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Burlington Northern; Conrail; Southern Pacific; and Union Pacific Era: Late 1960s to 1990s Comments: Walthers is offering a ready-to-run version of the HO scale Thrall […]

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Quick Look: Atlas N scale FMC boxcar

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Atlas N scale FMC boxcar Price: $23.95 (undecorated, $18.95) Manufacturer Atlas Model Railroad Co. 378 Florence Ave. Hillside, NJ 07205 www.atlasrr.com Era: late 1980s to present (as painted) Road names: Burlington Northern; Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay; Atlantic & Western; Cadiz RR; Escanaba & Lake Superior; Lake Erie, Franklin & Clarion; Port Huron & Detroit; […]

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Galvanic corrosion

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This coal hopper, seen in Butler, Wis., has a main body built from aluminum and a center sill made of steel. Freight-car makers use non-conductive materials to separate the metals and prevent galvanic corrosion. Steve Sweeney Q There are aluminum-body Talgos and aluminum-body coal cars, both with steel center sills. High school chemistry teaches that […]

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Trains under the Christmas tree

Vintage Lionel steam locomotive

Name:    Neal Mayer Forum User Name:    NealM Railroad Name:    Trains Under the Tree Location:    Boston, MA Scale:    Traditional O Gauge Theme:    Christmas trains Description:    My Dad’s childhood train from the ‘30s, a Lionel 259, became my childhood train in the ’60’s. During my kids’ childhood in the 90’s, It became the Christmas train. The kids […]

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Trains under the Christmas tree

Vintage Lionel steam locomotive

Name:    Neal Mayer Forum User Name:    NealM Railroad Name:    Trains Under the Tree Location:    Boston, MA Scale:    Traditional O Gauge Theme:    Christmas trains Description:    My Dad’s childhood train from the ‘30s, a Lionel 259, became my childhood train in the ’60’s. During my kids’ childhood in the 90’s, It became the Christmas train. The kids […]

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The time I got to run ‘my unit’

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On June 15, 1972 — six years before author Olson’s ride on it — Illinois Central Gulf SD40 6000 pulls into Markham Yard at Homewood, Ill., with GP40 3011. J. David Ingles I have always had a thing for “class units,” that is, the first in a series, and “my engine” is Illinois Central 6000, […]

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O gauge Alco RS-3 from MTH Electric Trains

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O GAUGE ALCO RS-3 FROM MTH ELECTRIC TRAINS Price: $319.95 (no. 30-20295-1) Min Curve: O-27 Cmd Low: 2.1 smph Cnv Low: 5.2 smph High: 63 smph Drawbar pull: 1 lb., 4 oz. Features: Can-style motor, ProtoSound 3.0 command and sound system, smoke, coil couplers Current-production road names: CP Rail, New Haven, New York Central, Providence […]

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O gauge train station from Menards

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O gauge train station from Menards Price: $99.95 (no. 279-3846) plus shipping (free shipping to your local Menards), see your local Menards or go to www.menards.com to order. Unless your O gauge railroad is freight-only, you need a place for passengers to embark on their cross-layout journeys. There is certainly no shortage of stations in […]

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The Railroad Comes Through The Middle of The House

Silver Rail Club railroad goes through the middle of the house

Name:    Peter Martens Forum User Name:    Peter_J_M Railroad Name:    The Silver Rail Club (founding chapter) Location:    Cumberland, Virginia Scale:    O-scale Theme:    A different kind of ‘music video’. Description:    Inspired by Rusty Draper’s 1956 hit song, ‘The Railroad Comes Through The Middle Of The House’, Peter J. Martens, founder of the Silver Rail Club, built this […]

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The Railroad Comes Through The Middle of The House

Silver Rail Club railroad goes through the middle of the house

Name:    Peter Martens Forum User Name:    Peter_J_M Railroad Name:    The Silver Rail Club (founding chapter) Location:    Cumberland, Virginia Scale:    O-scale Theme:    A different kind of ‘music video’. Description:    Inspired by Rusty Draper’s 1956 hit song, ‘The Railroad Comes Through The Middle Of The House’, Peter J. Martens, founder of the Silver Rail Club, built this […]

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Baltimore yards and rail lines, 1948

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It was an act of sheer audacity that made Baltimore the cradle of American railroading. Baltimore’s topography of hills broken by short, steep valleys was exactly wrong for a canal, and the city’s outlet to the west, the National Road, was expensive and slow. So city leaders proposed a railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio, to […]

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1990s B units

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Santa Fe management ordered 23 GP60B units in 1991 for road service. Today, these four-axle veterans still ply BNSF Railway rails, but mostly on local jobs. Bob Miller Q I was watching railroad videos of the 1990s and saw locomotives without cabs in various consists. I rarely see these units on the main lines of […]

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