After 80 operating years as one of the most glamorous transport agencies of the old American West, the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, running from Reno to Carson City and Minden, Nev., closed its books on May 31 and on that day its last train rolled down a clear track into the realm of legend. To […]
Atlas N ACF Precision Design boxcar Scale: N (1:160) Price: $30.95 (undecorated, $23.95) Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205; 908-687-0880; shop.atlasrr.com Atlas N ACF Precision Design boxcar features: Diagonal-panel roof Die-cast metal underframe Factory-applied end ladders, crossover handrails, and brake wheel Pin-mounted roller-bearing trucks Plastic wheelsets See-through plastic crossover platforms […]
Rapido Trains Inc. has released an updated version of its highly detailed HO scale model of United Aircraft’s TurboTrain. The firm is calling this release TurboTrain 2.0. Much like the real high-speed train sets developed and built in the late 1960s and then upgraded through their service lives, Rapido’s own HO scale model of the […]
Richmond, CA — The Richmond Pacific Railroad, a division of Levin Richmond Terminal that serves the Port of Richmond and surrounding industries, announced that its active roster now meets full Tier IV emissions standards. This milestone in environmental compliance was achieved through the recent commission of a MP15CC that was repowered by Western Rail, Inc. […]
ATLANTA — Norfolk Southern has put a different kind of yard goat to work at its Inman Yard in Atlanta. Goats — as in the four-legged domesticated farm animal, not a four-axle switcher — were used to get rid of invasive kudzu, the fast-growing vines that are the bane of the South. Kudzu can grow […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific will launch faster domestic intermodal service next month linking California’s Inland Empire with Chicago. UP says the new high-priority Z-train service between its Inland Empire Intermodal Terminal and Global 2 in Chicago will be up to 20% faster “than current industry options,” with a transit time of just over three […]
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Union Pacific dedicated its new Kansas City Intermodal Terminal with a ribbon-cutting today — and high hopes for boosting volume in a key intermodal market. The facility, located in Armourdale Yard, has twice the capacity as the old terminal in Neff Yard. It’s located in an expanding regional logistics hub, with […]
MAUI COUNTY, Hawaii — Wild fires continue to take a toll across the country. Earlier this week a brush fire consumed the shops of the Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific Railroad — the Sugar Cane Train — near Kaanapali. Lost in the fire were two steam locomotives and numerous passenger cars. A diesel locomotive was also […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak announced today that the first five Next Generation Acela trainsets will begin operating over its Boston-Washington Northeast Corridor on Thursday, Aug. 28. Information regarding which departures will be new Acelas and when they can be booked was not initially revealed. “As the official launch date approaches, customers should look for more information […]
WASHINGTON — The bipartisan Railroad Track Maintenance Credit Modernization bill, which supports short line railroad track and bridge projects, passed the 100 co-sponsor mark in the House of Representatives this week. To date, the bill to continue the tax credit that short lines receive for maintaining and improving their physical plants, has 102 sponsors, the […]
MINNEAPOLIS — Metro Transit will pull the plug on its Northstar commuter rail service in January due to a lethal combination of low ridership and rising costs. More frequent bus service will replace the trains beginning Jan. 5, 2026, Metro Transit officials said during a Metropolitan Council meeting yesterday. The last weekday Northstar trip will […]
I found this manuscript from the late John Grams in our manuscript files. There was no date on the envelope but it’s likely from the early 1990s. The article discusses 12 Lionel products that, while great inventions, were fraught with problems or didn’t work exactly as advertised. He included the following disclaimer: Lionel trains were […]
