Action may be required on your Trains.com account in order to continue accessing content. Click here to learn more.
Some questions we get frequently are: “How do I lubricate my locomotives?” followed by “What type of lubrication should I use on them?” Here are some answers. And remember, when it comes to oil and grease on locomotives or other rolling stock, less is more. Fortunately, there’s a quick and easy answer for what to […]
A version of this article appeared in the December 2017 issue of Classic Toy Trains. Whenever Classic Toy Trains features a layout distinguished by snowy scenes and Santa Claus plus his reindeer, readers naturally assume whoever built it did so while a blizzard raged and icicles formed on eaves and downspouts. They can’t help envisioning […]
I recently bought a Weaver O gauge E8 A-A pair online. Eagerly, I waited for its delivery. Once it arrived, I quickly put it on my layout. Sadly, it was “Dead as a brick.” The pair was sold as “functional.” Contacting the seller, I was told, “We didn’t have any reason to think they didn’t […]
AURORA, N.C. — Fourteen cars of a Norfolk Southern train derailed early Saturday morning near the town of Aurora, leading to a leak of molten sulfur from one car. WITN-TV reports the derailment occurred about 1 a.m. Beaufort County Public Information Officer Brandon Tester told the station the sulfur hardened as it met the cold […]
It always bothered me that I couldn’t identify the engineer in this picture of Amtrak train No. 98, departing Main Street Station in Richmond, Va., on Sept. 14, 1974. He wasn’t the regular throttle jockey, whom I knew. Still, it’s one of my favorite images and was used to promote my first book, From the […]
Santa Fe 3460 Hudsons had an impact on the railroad much larger than their class size would indicate. Mention the Hudson steam locomotive and the name “Santa Fe” likely won’t come up right away. To be sure, the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway’s roster was light on 4-6-4s, just 16 of them. And they […]
Q: I’m experiencing a problem with trains that stop between wiring blocks on my N scale train layout. I have two identical direct current (DC) power packs and am using Kato Unitrack throughout the layout. One power pack runs the main line while the other operates the yards. The problem is that whenever I attempt […]
Over nearly 40 years I’ve built seven train layouts. I started out with N scale, then discovered large scale trains. I’ve built both indoor and outdoor large scale layouts over the years. I loved my backyard garden railroad but had to give it up due to structural issues and age. So I returned to my […]
Automatic knuckle couplers have been a part of model railroading for more than 60 years. Not only do these couplers look more like what you see on full-size locomotives and freight cars, they’re easy to install and use. You can learn more about them in my articles on HO and N scale couplers on Trains.com. […]
When first introduced, the Southern Pacific Daylight passenger trains shined through the dark days of the Great Depression. From the Pacific coast of California to the Heartland of Texas, learn which services flashed in the distinctive red and orange color scheme. Coast Daylight It’s easy to forget that the name “Daylight” already graced the SP […]
Jim Hediger, a member of the Model Railroader staff from 1972 to 2015, passed away on February 9, 2024 in Oconomowoc, Wis. Early years Jim was born in Chicago to Norm and Elenore Hediger. While in the Windy City, his father worked for the Grand Trunk Western. When Jim was 13, his family moved to […]
LONDON, Ontario — An Ontario man arrested for tampering with railroad tracks is not allowed to use tools as a condition of his bail, the London Free Press reports. Wael El-Ghadban, 35, of London, Ont., was arrested Feb. 1 and charged with mischief endangering human life after acts of tampering at several locations in Middlesex […]
