When it come to track plans, everyone has a favorite. After all, each modeler values and prioritizes different aspects of model railroading. Some prefer intricate freight switching layouts, while others prefer long, continuous passenger routes. Some like layouts with dense foliage and rolling hills, whereas other modelers may prefer flat, desert landscapes. We here at […]
In this episode, host Gerry Leone takes a bit of a respite from construction of his HO scale Bona Vista HO scale model railroad. Join Gerry at Milwaukee’s Trainfest 2024 event, where he works with miniprints owner Bernard Hellen (a.k.a “Dr. Mini”) to prepare O and HO scale life-like figures of himself! Want to see […]
Of the many first-rate photographers who became fascinated by postwar railroading, one of the best was James La Vake. An airline pilot by profession, he also had some experience as a photographer, and it showed: his photos in Trains magazine in the late 1940s and early ’50s are among the best featuring diesel-powered streamliners. I’ve […]
EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — Norfolk Southern and the Village of East Palestine have reached a $22 million settlement to resolve all claims by the village resulting from the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment and hazardous-materials release, the two parties have announced. A joint statement on the East Palestine website says the village recognizes the approximately $13.5 […]
In Chicago, an observation car originally built for Great Northern’s 1947 Empire Builder is ready for its first run on the Western Star in June 1951. The trains utilized Chicago, Burlington & Quincy trackage east of Minnesota’s Twin Cities. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
In 1980 and 1981, my wife and I rode round trips on the Viking and Badger, respectively, when they were still being used as railroad carferries operating between Wisconsin and Michigan. After those trips, I wanted to build an N scale version of the Viking. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the time or skills required back […]
A replica Pioneer coach rides a special flatcar at the Chicago & North Western station in Fond du Lac, Wis., on June 27, 1948. The original operated with Galena & Chicago Union locomotive Pioneer, a C&NW predecessor, in October 1848. Harold Nehls, Lake States Railway Historical Society collection […]
IRVINE, Ky. — A former Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive is going to the auction block to settle a legal judgment. The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. said today (Jan. 23) in a public notice that NKP No. 587, a Class H-6o 2-8-2 built by Baldwin in 1918, will be the subject of a sealed-bid auction […]
CHICAGO — Commuter operator Metra says it is considering the rarely used option of outside financing to address its increasingly urgent need to replace aging bridges. Metra owns 446 of the 926 bridges on its system, and of those 446, 50% are more than 100 years old and another 30% are more than 75 years […]
Industrial park railroading has long been an area of interest to model railroaders. This type of railroading serves a concentrated group businesses, and it may or may not be affiliated with a class one railroad. Often the industrial park has its own railroad, or its tracks are served by a local company or nearby short […]
A driver backs a brand-new 40-foot Union Pacific trailer into position on a likewise-new 85-foot flatcar in a 1959 publicity shot. The trailer was one of 10 new insulated trailers from Utility, and the flatcars were among 100 new UP cars equipped with two ACF hitches. Union Pacific photo […]
CHICAGO — Amtrak’s cold-weather cancellations in the Midwest continue to mount, with the cancellations now extending into Thursday, Jan. 23 — seven days after the first trains were cancelled. The newest cancellations, according to an update at 4:20 p.m. ET today (Jan. 21, 2025); an update on Thursday, Jan. 23 has added new information on […]
