News & Products for the week of November 2, 2006

HO scale locomotivesUnion Pacific 4-6-6-4 Challenger steam locomotive. Union Pacific no. 3985 (fan trip locomotive) with oil tender, no. 3958 with coal tender, and no. 3983 (two-tone gray) with oil tender. Ready-to-run locomotive with dual-mode Digital Command Control and Vibranta sound system. $399.98. Ready-to-run. Genesis series. Athearn Trains General Electric AC4400 diesel locomotive. Canadian Pacific, […]

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A Star is born: Nashville commuter trains to begin Sept. 18

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nashville is set to become the 18th North American metropolitan area to be served by commuter trains (vs. light-rail/trolley and/or heavy-rail/subway) with the inaugural run on Monday, Sept. 18, of the Music City Star. Tickets will be available on-line starting next week, and commuters who plan to purchase monthly tickets should act […]

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Athearn HO SD45-2 is available with DCC and sound

Athearn HO SD45-2 with DCC and sound A classic six-axle road diesel is now available to HO modelers as an Athearn Genesis model. It’s Electro-Motive Division’s SD45-2 in a DC version without sound and a version with sound and a dual-mode Digital Command Control (DCC) decoder. The model has a powerful, smooth-running mechanism, and locomotives […]

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2006 National Train Show final report: Part 1

The 2006 National Train Show was held July 7-9 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in conjunction with the National Model Railroad Association National Convention in Philadelphia. We saw several new products at the show, so many that we had to split our report into two sections. Be sure to click on the link at the […]

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North America’s hump yards

Norfolk Southern’s Linwood, N.C., classification yard Matt Van Hattem More than half of the hump yards in North America have closed in the past 25 years. From 152 operating classification yards in 1975, the number dropped to 122 in 1985, and 72 by 1993. In 2002, there were 59 active hump yards. The reasons for […]

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Where to hike

Will the U.S. rails-with-trails movement continue gaining momentum? Or will rail safety and congestion issues stop it in its tracks? In the September 2005 issue, Trains Magazine looked at the issues surrounding locations where recreational activities and active rail lines coexist in a shared space. Want to sample some of these trails yourself? Below is […]

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Inside Willow Springs

A groundsman watches while an overhead crane lowers another truck trailer onto a flatcar at BNSF’s Willow Springs intermodal facility. Matt Van Hattem You can feel the heat rising from the asphalt beneath you on this humid summer evening. But your attention is directed elsewhere, at two men in reflectorized vests who-without saying a single […]

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F7: The most famous face in railroading

Missouri-Kansas-Texas FP7A No. 78-C shows off the locomotive’s famous bulldog nose at Oklahoma City, Okla. Bill Bryant “COVERED WAGONS.” “CARBODY UNITS.” “STREAMLINERS.” “F UNITS.” Call ’em what you will, when you’re talking the F-for-freight series from General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division, you’re talking the most famous diesel in railroading. Maybe “F” should stand for Face. It’s […]

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Chicago’s hot spots

If you want to know railroads, you’ve got to know Chicago. And Trains Magazine takes you there in its July 2003 Special Issue. You’ll see how 500 freight trains a day thread their way through the city, check in at the 30 active interlocking towers, pay homage to the city’s six great passenger stations, and […]

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Fostoria, Ohio

CSX AC4400CW 37 rolls past Fostoria, Ohio’s F Tower on the point of southward grain train G061 on February 18, 2001. With two railroads, three main lines, diamonds, and an active tower, Fostoria provides countless opportunities and angles for train watchers. James B. Winters A triangle of steel rails cross each other, the echoes of […]

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Palmer, Mass.

A westbound CSX freight approaches the diamond at Palmer, Mass., in February of 2000. James B. Winters Palmer, Mass., is one of two New England hot spots profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Railroad Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below: DescriptionGrade-level crossing of CSX’s single-track Boston Subdivision (former Conrail […]

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Perryville and Havre de Grace, Md.

A westbound NortheastDirect train crosses the Susquehanna River at twilight in October 2000, seen from the Jean S. Roberts Memorial Park in Havre de Grace, Md. Dale R. Jacobson Halfway between Baltimore and Wilmington, Del., lie the cities of Perryville and Havre de Grace, Md., separated from each other by the Susquehanna River at the […]

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