Also in this issue: ON TRAINS.COM, pg. 6 The latest features on our website FROM THE EDITOR, pg. 8 Putting the model into Model Railroader RAILWAY POST OFFICE, pg. 10 Letters from our readers WELCOME TO FIRECROWN MEDIA, pg. 11 A letter from CEO Craig Fuller NEWS AND PRODUCTS, pg. 12 ScaleTrains HO Trinity refrigerator car […]
Read More…
While on a recent trip to the National Model Railroad Association’s Southeast Regional Convention in Decatur, Ala., I was fortunate enough to go on a trip to Huntsville’s International Intermodal Center. Right when our van arrived in the parking lot, I knew that this would be a perfect real-world industry that anyone can model on […]
Read More…
High Street Trains is set to become the first U.S.-based distributor of British OO gauge model railroad products. The Menominee Falls, Wisconsin-based retailer, which began business operations in 2024, aims to meet a domestic demand for OO gauge trains. In years past, most OO gauge trains have been sourced from overseas manufacturers and distributors, which […]
Read More…
The Rapido Trains HO scale GP9RM, based on prototypes rebuilt by Canadian National in the 1980s, recently arrived at our offices. Join Senior Editor Cody Grivno as he shares a brief history of CN No. 4000; highlights the many separate, factory-applied parts on the model; and demonstrates the sound and lighting effects (and a few […]
Read More…
News & Products for the week of July 29th 2024 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of July 29th […]
Read More…
If you’re like me, you put a lot of work into your model railroad scenery, and the last thing you want to see is an operator putting his paperwork on the layout during an operating session. This situation was a concern for me, so I turned to hook and loop fasteners and piano hinges to […]
Read More…
Q: I’m familiar with where the water filler is on more modern steam locomotive tenders. But I don’t see a similar place for water to be taken in on the old wood burning engines, like The General. Can you enlighten me? — Robert Taunt A: The General was a 4-4-0 American-type steam locomotive belonging to […]
Read More…
Large language models (LLMs) or as they are colloquially known, AI, have made impressive progress since I last explored possible use cases relating to model railroading last summer, in the form of both chat-based programs and image generation. With a year having passed between then and now, I thought it would be worth revisiting this […]
Read More…
PIKO is a well-known European manufacturer that has a following among G scale modelers in the United States. More recently, the firm has released HO scale engines for the North American market, including a Whitcomb 65-ton switcher and Krauss-Maffei ML-4000 diesel-hydraulic locomotive. However, PIKO is also a producer of Digital Command Control (DCC) products, ranging […]
Read More…
News & Products for the week of July 22nd 2024 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of July 22nd […]
Read More…
If you’ve read Model Railroader or many of our books and special issues, you’ve probably seen references to timetable-and-train-order operation, or TTTO for short. Employee timetables (ETT) that governed TTTO operation listed station names, mileposts, train numbers and classes, departure and arrival times, and operating instructions, among other items, to govern train movements. So why […]
Read More…
Q: Did short line railroads use timetables for such loads as logs, lumber, cattle, grain, merchandise, and the like for short distances such as 100 miles or less? For example, is a timetable necessary for a train running back and forth between a log landing site and a small lumber mill? — Russell Brenchley, Cottage […]
Read More…