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Model Railroader magazine remains the leading source of information for our great hobby. You can get access to all of the more than 1,000 issues of Model Railroader from January 1934 to the present day by signing up for the exclusive online archive. Check out this classic story from the April 1988 issue. […]
The Cold hard tracks Crystal Lake was once used for harvesting ice. Blocks of ice were cut from the lake in winter, then stored in warehouses along the shore. The ice was shipped in refrigerator cars to Chicago via the “Ice Track,” a 2-mile branch that ran from the C&NW main line through the west […]
All this month — December 2019 — Classic Trains editors are celebrating the heritage, history, and images of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad. Please enjoy this photo gallery of images from the David P. Morgan Library archives at Kalmbach Media that include Rio Grande diesel- and steam-powered freight trains through time. You might […]
Name: The Placerville Branch Layout owner: Tom Ebert Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 11 x 27 feet Prototype: Southern Pacific Locale: Northern California foothills Era: 1930s Style: double-deck continuous-climb walkaround Mainline run: 110 feet Minimum radius: 24″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Benchwork: L-girder and open-grid Height: 34″ (lower staging) to 62″ Roadbed: cork […]
This track plan originally appeared in Great Model Railroads 2020. Click on the link below to download a PDF copy of this track plan. Name: Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Layout owner: Lou Sassi Scale: On30 (1:48, 30″ track gauge) Size: 7 x 16 feet Prototype: Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Locale: north-central Maine Era: […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Contributing editor Lou Sassi models north-central Maine in the 1930s on his 7 x 16-foot On30 Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes model train layout. Featured in Great Model Railroads 2020, the layout features superdetailed scenes and equipment. […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Contributing editor Lou Sassi models north-central Maine in the 1930s on his 7 x 16-foot On30 Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes model train layout. Featured in Great Model Railroads 2020, the layout features superdetailed scenes and equipment. […]
In the 1910s, automobiles were shipped as “knock-downs,” with the bodies removed from the chassis and then loaded in boxcars. This is Ford’s Highland Park, Mich., plant in 1915. Ford Motor Co. photo […]
Click on the image to download a PDF copy of this track plan. Name: Rio Grande Southern, Western Division Layout owner: Roy Allan Scale: Fn3 (1:20.3, 36″ gauge) Size: 26′-6″ x 36′-3″ Prototype: Rio Grande Southern Locale: southwestern Colorado Era: 1937 to 1942 Style: island Mainline run: 200 feet Minimum radius: 60″ (main), 51″ (sidings) […]
St. Louis-San Francisco semi-streamlined 4-8-2 No. 1503 works at Kirkwood, Mo., in 1942. The railroad, best known simply as the Frisco, had 30 such locomotives built by Baldwin from 1923 to 1926. William Barham photo, Don Wirth collection […]
Huntsville & Lake of Bays Transportation Co. engines Nos. 1 and 2, which often doubleheaded together, are serviced at the South Portage water tank. Antiques even in the 1940s, both 0-4-0T’s still carry their shield-shaped H. K. Porter builder’s plates from 1888: No. 1 was construction number 911; No. 2 was c/n 912. Robert Holden […]
Travelers during World War II swarm the New York Central ticket windows in Grand Central Terminal. Signs above the windows caution against “unnecessary travel” during wartime. New York Central photo […]
