An International Car Co. (ICC) wide-cupola caboose is the latest model to join the ScaleTrains S-Helper Service product range. The S scale model features an injection-molded plastic body and features wire handrails and grab irons, factory-installed and painted crew figures, and illuminated light-emitting-diode marker lights. Prototype history The sample we received is decorated as Reading […]
Era: 2000 - Present
Alaska by Rail holiday — The last day — Alaska, forget me not
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail holiday. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. Today is a travel day. Our group dined together last evening to wrap up the trip. Today we are […]
Amtrak passenger train names: A legacy unfolds
Amtrak has honored past passenger trains over the years by inheriting their names. How many are in service today and how close — or far — do they follow the original routes? Auto Train Eugene K. Garfield’s Auto-Train carried passengers and their automobiles over the former Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac and Seaboard Coast Line railroads […]
Alaska by Rail outing Day 9 — The Alaska Railroad shops
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail outing. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. No train travel today, just our bus Pendleton with driver John for a 45 minute run from Girdwood back […]
Analysis: What a work stoppage at East, Gulf coast ports means for CSX, NS
Class I railroads’ intermodal volumes have been strong this year, but the growing threat of an East Coast ports work stoppage risks upending supply chains just as the freight industry was normalizing. East Coast Class I railroads CSX and Norfolk Southern are keeping an eye on the potential for a widespread strike at […]
Updated Grafton & Upton paint scheme introduced
NORTH GRAFTON, Mass. — The Grafton & Upton paint scheme has been yellow and black ever since its first diesels – two General Electric 44-tonners – arrived on the property in 1946. Those colors carried over to an Alco S4 switcher, and earlier in this century on an eclectic roster of older EMD road-switchers […]
Alaska by Rail Day 8 — Seeking sunshine, sea lions
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail adventure. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. There was a beautiful sunrise in southern Alaska this morning — and we got to see it! Yes, after […]
Take Amtrak to see a model railroad
If you’re like me and enjoy riding Amtrak, but also enjoy model railroading, you’ve likely asked yourself “can I take Amtrak to see a model railroad?” The answer is yes! Four model railroads call Amtrak stations their home Durand Union Station Model Railroad Engineers Inc. Durand Union Station 200 Railroad Street Durand, Mich. 48429 […]
Commentary: How to re-invigorate your love of toy trains
Editor’s note: I’ve found a number of unpublished manuscripts in our file cabinets. This one dates from around 1999. Does it still apply today? Do you think that simplifying or finding a new aspect of the hobby can re-invigorate your love of toy trains? Leave a comment and let us know. As railroad enthusiasts go, […]
Alaska by Rail tour Day 7 — Glaciers, ghosts, tunnels
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail adventure. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. This morning Anchorage experienced a sunrise as colorful as last evening’s sunset. The colors lasted for only a short […]
Alaska by Rail expedition Day 6 — An Alaskan sunset
Welcome aboard the Trains–Special Interest Tours 2024 Alaska by Rail expedition. Please join us as we travel on the Alaska Railroad for 9 days from Sept. 8 to 17, heading south from Fairbanks to Anchorage, Alaska. Today we start with breaking Alaskan wilderness news! There has been a Denali sighting. The morning in Talkeetna began […]
Montreal commuter rail lines threatened
MONTREAL — There are Montreal commuter rail lines threatened with closure. A report by Autorité Régionale de Transport Métropolitain suggests that closing three commuter rail lines could save up to C$21 million annually, CBC News reports. Commuters would be served by bus connection to adjacent rail lines instead. They are the three least-traveled EXO commuter […]
