Meet Mark Bottrill

blue model train on a garden railway

Meet Mark Bottrill In a paragraph, how did you get started in the hobby? Despite being a lifelong railfan, I had no knowledge of large scale or US garden trains prior to 2003. This changed when I saw a screensaver on the computer monitor of a USAF Major I met while serving in the military […]

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Industries in northern Ohio

a model train on track on garden railway

Industries in northern Ohio: The track and buildings are relatively level, but the walking area follows the contour of the ground. The entrance at the east is the highest, with the track and buildings being about one foot higher than the path. As you proceed to the west end, the path descends a little, so […]

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Kansas City Southern locomotives remembered

Red, yellow, and black streamlined diesel locomotive with passenger train

Kansas City Southern locomotives were full of surprises in both the steam and diesel fleets.     Steam locomotives saw a gradual evolution, from 2-8-0 to articulated 0-6-6-0s (an oddball in the industry for road service) and 2-8-8-0s and eventually the much-vaunted 2-10-4s of 1937. The 0-6-6-0s were the largest group of the type built […]

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Three U.S. senators introduce new rail safety bill

Overhead view of derailed train

WASHINGTON — Three Democratic Senators from Pennsylvania and Ohio have called for new rail safety legislation they say is intended to build on provisions of the Rail Safety Act introduced earlier in March by addressing wheel-related failures and enacting new inspection rules, among other provisions. The Railway Accountability Act was introduced Thursday by U.S. Sens. […]

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Gregg Condon’s Milwaukee Road in HO scale

Explore Gregg Condon’s HO scale (1:87.1) model railroad based on 1950s-era Milwaukee Road operations along the Shullsburg Branch in Wisconsin! You’ll enjoy following the action over the rails, plus all the realistic scenes, structures, and details modeled around and about the right-of-way. All of this is a pre-cursor to even more in-depth coverage of the […]

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Gregg Condon’s Milwaukee Road in HO scale

Explore Gregg Condon’s HO scale (1:87.1) model railroad based on 1950s-era Milwaukee Road operations along the Shullsburg Branch in Wisconsin! You’ll enjoy following the action over the rails, plus all the realistic scenes, structures, and details modeled around and about the right-of-way. All of this is a pre-cursor to even more in-depth coverage of the […]

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15 cars of ore derail on CN train in Pennsylvania

Canadian National logo

BRADY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Fifteen cars of a Canadian National train carrying iron ore derailed Wednesday, WTAE-TV reports. The derailment occurred about 8 a.m. Wednesday. No injuries were reported, and the railroad told the station that no hazardous materials were involved. Video footage on the station website showed cleanup in progress at the site continuing […]

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