Athearn HO scale EMD SW1500

Title screen of Athearn HO scale EMD SW1500 Product Review video

The Athearn HO scale EMD SW1500 pays a visit to the Jones Island section of our Milwaukee, Racine & Troy staff layout. Model Railroader Senior Editor Cody Grivno discusses the features on the end-cab switcher, which is being offered with light-emitting-diode lighting and a SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder for the first time. In addition, he […]

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Would sanding model railroad track improve traction?

A cleaning block is used to scrub the railhead of HO scale rail

Q: I have a tight HO scale helix with a grade of 3%. My smaller steam engines have a hard time pulling more than two or three cars up the grade.  I know the standard answers: increase engine weight, add a second engine, apply Bullfrog Snot to the drivers, make sure car trucks roll smoothly. […]

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Wabash locomotives remembered

Man leans out window on blue-and-gray Wabash locomotives with passenger train

Wabash locomotives were distinctive in both steam and diesel eras.     After depending on more than 150 2-8-2s for freights that succeeded typical smaller types, Wabash in 1930 received 50 handsome 4-8-2s and 4-8-4s (25 each) from Baldwin. Perhaps more remembered were seven 4-6-4 Hudsons, rebuilt at Decatur from unsuccessful three-cylinder Mikados in the […]

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Amtrak Midwest routes see three days of cancellations

Diesel with front caked with snow crosses diamond

CHICAGO — Amtrak Midwest state-supported services have taken another weather-related hit, with cancellations today through Monday for a trains on a number of routes. In an update posted at 9 a.m. today (Saturday, Jan. 20), Amtrak announced these trains have been cancelled in their entirety: Lincoln Service (Chicago-St. Louis) — Today, Sunday, and Monday: Trains […]

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Head of California high speed rail agency to step down

Computer rendering of California high speed rail train at dusk

SACRAMENTO — The CEO of California’s high speed rail project has tendered his resignation, but will stay on while the agency finds a successor. The Fresno Bee reports Brian Kelly, head of the California High-Speed Rail Authority since 2018, announced his departure on Thursday, submitting his resignation to the board’s chairperson, Fresno developer Tom Richards. […]

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Two appointed to Canadian Transportation Agency

Logo of Canadian Transportation Agency

OTTAWA, Ontario — J. Mark MacKeigan has been reappointed to the Canadian Transportation Agency, while Marisa Eva Victor has been newly appointed to the regulatory body, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced. MacKeigan was reappointed for a four-year term, effective Nov. 28, 2023. He rejoined the agency in 2018 after having previously served as a member […]

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STB seeks answers for delay on Gulf Coast settlement: Analysis

aerial view of land along railroad tracks near water

WASHINGTON —The Surface Transportation Board has called for Amtrak, CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Port of Mobile, Ala., to provide “detailed information regarding the status of the implementation of the settlement agreement” agreed to in November 2022 to allow Amtrak service to begin between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. — and scheduled a February hearing […]

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Maryland may renew funding for MARC commuter rail line

MARC_timekeeping_Hartley

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Gov. Wes Moore’s Fiscal 2025 budget proposal includes $150 million in restored funding for transportation projects across the state, including $8 million for the continued operation and expansion of MARC’s Brunswick Line into West Virginia, the Frederick News-Post reported. Some of the funds would also go toward a pilot program offering new […]

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Mexico receive proposal from five companies to run passenger trains

CPKC logo

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s Transport Ministry this week said it has received five proposals from interested parties to participate in a project to boost passenger service on railroads being developed across the country, Reuters reported. The ministry did not identify which companies had expressed interest, but Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) told Reuters it had filed […]

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Forest Service deals blow to Uinta Basin Railway

Yellow and green shield logo

SALT LAKE CITY — In a blow to its efforts to construct a new railroad, on Jan. 17, the U.S. Forest Service withdrew its approval of a right-of-way permit allowing construction of the Uinta Basin Railway through about 12 miles of protected forest in northeastern Utah, the Associated Press reported. The Uinta Basin Rail project […]

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Trainfest 2024 dates and location set

red logo

In a press release sent to Kalmbach Media, Great American Train Shows has confirmed the dates and location of the 2024 Trainfest show. The event will be held from November 23-24 at the Baird Center, located at 400 W. Wisconsin Ave., in Milwaukee, Wis. According to the GTS website, consumer tickets will go on sale […]

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