Atlas Electric Locomotives from SilverLake Images LLC

Red book with black and white electric locomotive on cover

Book: Atlas Electric Locomotives Price: $35 Publisher: SilverLake Images LLC, available from Ron’s Books, P.O. Box 714, Harrison, NY 10528; 914-967-7541; ronsbooks.com Atlas Electric Locomotives Manufacturers’ Catalog features: 100-page softcover reproduction of an Atlas Car & Manufacturing Co. catalog Looks at advantages of electric storage battery locomotives Features information on drive mechanism and other components Includes […]

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News photo: Amtrak wraps locomotive to promote King Tut event

Locomotive wrapped in blue and gold design featuring King Tut mask

WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s has specially wrapped one of its ACS64 electric locomotives to promote a National Geographic exhibit on King Tut in Boston and Washington. This is not the first time Amtrak and King Tut have been linked. An Amtrak Cascades F59PHI was wrapped to promote a King Tut exhibit at the Pacific Science Center […]

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‘Pittsburgh: Streetcar City’ book review

Cover of Pittsburgh: Streetcar City book in color

The new book “Pittsburgh: Streetcar City” looks at the Steel City’s rail transit. Pittsburgh’s trolley system rose to fame as one of the last operations to use original PCC cars in the U.S. Beyond the equipment, however, Pittsburgh’s system offered a smorgasbord of variety: incline elevators, operation on public streets and private rights-of-way, tunnels, bridges, […]

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Virginian box-cab electrics

Virginian Railway box cab electric in Oakdale, Pa.

A trio of the Virginian Railway’s original box-cab electrics rolls downgrade with a freight at Oakdale, W.Va., in September 1953. The road electrified its main line between Mullens, W.Va., and Roanoke, Va., in the mid-1920s. Richard J. Cook photo […]

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A postwar Lionel haul unboxing

Postwar Lionel haul unboxing with Hal Miller and Roger Carp

A postwar Lionel haul unboxing featuring Roger “Professor” Carp and CTT editor Hal Miller. The trains belong to a co-worker who received them from her father. He received his first Lionel train in 1941 – in fact, we have his original no. 1089 set box! Have a look at some of the well-loved and time-worn […]

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Electric Railways of North America in Color, Vol. 1 book review

Electric Railways of North America book cover

Electric railroads served a variety of purposes in North America: carrying commuters, industrial switching, and mainline freight and passenger service. From coal-hauling, six-axle, red-white-and-blue motors in British Columbia to plain green electric m.u. cars in New Jersey, there can be broad interest in electric railroads.   Noted railfan Matthew Herson has lended his photographic collection […]

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Where can I buy large-scale rolling stock decals?

White boxcar with purple lettering

Large-scale rolling stock decals: Unlike modeling scales with specific definitions like HO scale (1:87.1) or N scale (1:160), the term “large scale” actually encompasses a variety of modeling proportions (generally from 1:13.7 down to 1:32). This segments the market into small pieces. Because of the limited customer base, there are few commercially made decal options […]

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Electric Railways of North America in Color, Vol. 1 book review

The electric railways of North America served a variety of purposes: carrying commuters, industrial switching, and mainline freight and passenger service. From coal-hauling, six-axle, red-white-and-blue motors in British Columbia to plain green electric M.U. cars in New Jersey, there can be broad interest in electric railroads. Noted railfan Matthew Herson has lent his photographic collection […]

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Testing EMD electric freight locomotives

White electric locomotive on freight train on curve.

Nearly five decades have passed since General Motors debuted two new EMD electric freight locomotives. There were two models: the 6,000-hp GM6C, which operated on two six-wheel trucks, and the 10,000-horsepower GM10B, which operated on three four-wheel trucks. The GM6C began testing in 1975, the GM10B in 1976. The only practical choice for evaluation at […]

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Lionel Legacy Acela sets are loaded with great features

Lionel Acela Amtrak and Polar Express models

This review of the Lionel Legacy Acela High Speed Train Set is by Chris Montagna of the popular Chris’s Trains and Things channel on YouTube. One of the more highly-anticipated models from Lionel in its 2021 Volume 1 catalog was the re-release of the Acela High-Speed Train Set. We’ve come to expect Lionel to re-release […]

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