Q This is a follow-up question to one in the July 2010 issue about the three air hoses on locomotives (page 58). I saw engines in the ’70s and earlier with four hoses and some with only two. Why the difference?— Dan Mirabelli, Neenah, Wis. A The two-line m.u. setup was generally for 14EL-equipped units. […]
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Measuring track curvature
Q How do railroad design engineers measure track curvature in the United States? I believe it has something to do with measuring the degrees between two radii of a circle having the track as the arc length, but I don’t fully understand how it is measured, or from where exactly on the tracks the radii […]
Build a 1:22.5-scale warehouse with loading dock
Download the PDF of this project here. This PDF is formatted to print on your home printer. Most pieces are formatted to fit on a 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper. For larger parts of the plan, you will see “break lines.” Line up the break lines to create the larger piece. Despite our best […]
Old model-railroad books
Marc Horovitz Here are a few of my favorite old model-train books, all published before 1960, in chronological order. There are many more. These are a mix of US and British books. I’ve tried to give a very brief synopsis of each. If you have a favorite old book, drop me a line at mhorovitz@gardenrailways.com […]
Serving the South once again
Click the image to download this interactive PDF. It ’s not likely that Trains readers would immediately recognize the significance of the East Tennessee, Virginia & Georgia Railroad. However, the ETV&G (whose earliest ancestor lines date to 1856) merged with the Richmond & Danville in 1894 to create a more recognizable company name: Southern Railway. […]
Domeliners in the United States and Canada
Santa Fe’s premier train, the Chicago-Los Angeles Super Chief, was the first to get dome cars. Santa Fe called them “Pleasure Domes.” Santa Fe Railway Milwaukee Road’s upper-level domes stretched almost the full length of the car, earning the name “Super Dome.” Milwaukee Road Workers service a full-length Milwaukee Road Super Dome from the Olympian […]
Rebuilding RDCs for a new generation
Sign over car shop. Employee notifications are posted in English and French. Bob Johnston This unusual RDC4 originally built for Canadian Pacific will be refurbished for VIA’s Sudbury-White River, Ont., train. Bob Johnston A welder works on an RDC. Bob Johnston The new RDC engineer’s cab includes a computer display to monitor train performance. Bob […]
Ringling Bros. Circus Train Roster
Ringling’s Blue Unit circus train exits Huntsman Canyon at Moapa, Nev., June 15, 2010, oln its way to Las Vegas. This rare view shows the entire 61-car, 5,409-foot, 4,490-ton consist. Kenneth Kuehne The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus rail car fleet is an amazing collection of equipment from many railroads and many configurations. […]
News & Products for December 23, 2010
HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP39-2 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (“Kodachrome” scheme); Boston & Maine (Guilford scheme); CSX; and Delaware & Hudson. Two road numbers each; also available undecorated. Five-pole skew-wound armature motor with flywheels, separately applied details, and Accumate magnetic knuckle couplers. $102.95 (undecorated, $97.95). May 2011. Ready-to-run. […]
Fox Valley Models HO scale Hiawatha passenger train
Fox Valley Models HO scale Hiawatha passenger train It’s hard not to smile when watching this HO scale 1935 Hiawatha. The model is of a streamlined train that was an icon of railroading and the Art Deco age. In fact, models of the train have been offered almost as far back as the real train’s […]
Walthers HO scale Trinity 6,351- cubic-foot-capacity covered hopper
Walthers HO scale Trinity 6351- cubic-foot-capacity covered hopper Price: $34.98 ManufacturerWm. K. Walthers Inc.P.O. Box 3039Milwaukee, WI 53201www.walthers.com Era: 2001 to present Comments: An HO model of a TinityRail covered hopper is now available from Walthers. The prototype is a 6,351-cubic-foot car that Trinity debuted in 2001. The car is commonly used in the ethanol […]
Broadway Limited Imports 1941 Morning Daylight parlor-observation car
Broadway Limited Imports 1941 Morning Daylight parlor-observation car One of the most recognizable name passenger trains of the 20th century, the Southern Pacific RR’s Morning Daylight, gets the star treatment with Broadway Limited Imports’ HO scale 1941 Daylight parlor-observation car. The Daylight ran along the SP’s famed Coast Line between San Francisco and Los Angeles […]
