Penn Central Company Penn Central was created February 1, 1968 by merger of Pennsylvania and New York Central. Entered bankruptcy on June 21, 1970. Because of PC’s failure and its size, the federal government created Conrail, to which PC was conveyed on April 1, 1976. Pennsylvania Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad chartered April 13, 1846; by 1852, […]
Henry Dreyfus created the timeless design worn by the streamlined 4-6-4s that pulled the Twentieth Century Limited. New York Central rostered North America’s largest fleet of Hudsons. In this photo, one of the speedsters prepares to depart LaSalle St. Station in Chicago. W.C. Merle, II In the early 1920s, as passenger train lengths grew and […]
Union Pacific Railroad Union Pacific has the right name-it’s the last major U.S. rail system whose name has never changed, dating from its charter in 1862 to build the nation’s first transcontinental westward from Omaha, Nebraska. Construction began in 1865, and was completed on May 10, 1869. Also notable for their longevity are Union Pacific’s […]
Caboose For more than a century, the caboose was a fixture at the end of every freight train in America. Like the red schoolhouse and the red barn, the red caboose became an American icon. Along with its vanished cousin the steam locomotive, the caboose evokes memories of the golden age of railroading. There are […]
Tower 55 HO GE ES44AC This superbly detailed model of a General Electric ES44AC heavyduty road diesel is the initial offering in a new line of HO plastic locomotives from Tower 55. Tower 55 is a subsidiary of Overland Models, a manufacturer of brass locomotives and rolling stock. The Explorer-series locomotive reviewed here includes an […]
A SMALL BUT NOTABLE trend in our hobby is the steady re-emergence of British three-rail O gauge toy trains, led by Ace Trains in London. In recent years we’ve reviewed Ace’s 4-4-4T steamers, electric multiple-unit commuter trains, passenger car sets, and, most recently, its new line of O gauge tank wagons. Each is beautifully crafted […]
Electro-Motive Division GP9 road switcher Here’s a great-looking model of the classic Electro-Motive Division GP9 road switcher that includes a powerful mechanism and provisions for easy conversion to Digital Command Control (DCC). Atlas O offers it in two versions for two-rail layouts that operate with either DC or Lionel’s TrainMaster Command Control and RailSounds 4.0 […]
East Broad Top 2-8-2 No. 12 pulls into Orbisonia station for another load of riders on Oct. 14, 1960, during the narrow-gauge’s reopening weekend. Don Wood photo June 24, 1951 Last of seven chartered railfan trips, dating to 1936, operates on EBT. Jan. 1, 1952 C. Roy Wilburn, who eventually would lead the railroad’s day-to-day […]
Atlas O scale EMD GP35 diesel O scale GP35 is a top performer This versatile EMD GP35 diesel road switcher is a good-looking and powerful second-generation general purpose locomotive that will be right at home hauling a hotshot freight or switching a yard. It’s made by Atlas O in two versions for two-rail layouts that […]
Kato HO EMD SD80MAC and SD9043MAC Two of North America’s largest road freight locomotives, the SD80MAC and the SD9043MAC, are the newest additions to Kato’s line of HO models. Both models feature excellent molded plastic bodies, smooth-running mechanisms, and numerous add-on parts that modelers once considered superdetails. With an overall length of 80′-2″, these Electro-Motive […]
Life-Like HO Budd Rail Diesel Car (RDC) Northern Pacific RDC-2 no. B-30 was preparing for departure as train no. 314 between Lewiston and Spokane, Wash., when J. M. Fredrickson photographed it in June 1955. Life-Like has released a limited-edition model of a Budd RDC-2 (Rail Diesel Car). It has a single power truck, comes ready-to-run […]
