CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad launched its first trips for 2026 with four excursions from Cumberland to Frostburg, Md., on Jan. 3 and 4. The trips were powered by the railroad’s former Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309, which ran flawlessly. Named the Allegheny Winter Express, the 10-car trains were well patronized, […]
Townsfolk of New Lisbon, Wis., inspect Milwaukee Road Class A No. 2 after the 4-4-2 clipped off 14 miles at a steady 112.5 mph on a Hiawatha pre-inaugural test run on May 15, 1935. MILW photo […]
Dirty Chicago & North Western class H-1 4-8-4 No. 3029 departs Chicago with train 13, a local for Omaha, on June 8, 1953. R. R. Malinoski photo […]
2025 marked another great year for new releases in model railroading. Whatever your scale or discipline in the hobby, odds are good that there was a new release that caught your eye and had you reaching for your wallet. As we look forward to 2026, Eric White, Cody Grivno, Lucas Iverson, and David Popp take […]
Even though it’s a tank locomotive (with the water tank around the boiler), Rayonier 2-6-6-2T No. 111 also sports a tender for additional water capacity. The fitting atop the stack is a Gerlinger spark arrestor. Whit Towers photo […]
West Side Lumber Co. two-truck Heisler No. 3 was one of about 600 geared locomotives produced by the Heisler Locomotive Works of Erie, Pa., between 1891 and 1941. Glenn W. Beier photo […]
Q: I have several On30 locomotives with Digital Command Control (DCC), but was recently gifted a passenger set that has a direct-current (DC) locomotive. If some DCC locomotives are sitting on the track, can I use a DC transformer to operate the DC engine on the same track without damaging the DCC locomotives? What would […]
Maryland & Pennsylvania 0-6-0 No. 30 stands at the road’s ramshackle coal dock at Baltimore in March 1955. H. N. Proctor photo […]
Two Western Maryland F3s haul a 2-10-0 and its train on the outskirts of Baltimore. The diesels were on the train for just a short distance to keep the Decapod from running afoul of municipal anti-smoke laws. Francis Riffle photo […]
In this episode of The Roundhouse, Classic Trains editor Brian Schmidt sits down with David Popp to discuss his unique path into the railroad hobby. David shares how he started as a model railroader but developed a passion for railfanning after discovering 1:1 scale trains routing near his childhood home. This dual interest led him to incorporate prototype […]
The list of 2025 rail preservation happenings is long. There are many organizations working on numerous fronts and making significant progress toward preserving America’s railroad heritage. The past 12 months have seen new buildings open, steam locomotives fired up, and relics discovered. Narrowing down the list, here are 10 of the most significant 2025 rail preservation […]
New York Central 4-8-4 Niagara 6023 is near the end of its short life as it rambles through Millbury Junction, Ohio, (7.5 miles east of Toledo) with nine-car mail-and-express train X-78 in September 1955. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
