DAYTON, Ohio – Two railfan events scheduled for summer 2020 are cancelled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The annual Carillon Park Rail Festival in Dayton is cancelled for 2020. The event, which features miniature train rides with live steam locomotives, historical exhibits, and a swap meet, is traditionally held the weekend after Father’s Day. […]
The Grapevine Vintage Railroad, shown in 2017, will resume operations on Saturday. TRAINS: David Lassen Thursday afternoon rail news: — The Grapevine Vintage Railroad in Grapevine, Texas, will resume operations Saturday after closing in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. On Sunday, the railroad will offer four 1-hour Mother’s Day excursions, departing at 10 a.m., […]
More Tuesday rail news: — The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority expects lowered ridership to continue for much of the next year, but nonetheless is beginning to plan for a return to full schedules. The Boston Globe reports the agency will increase service to allow social distancing as Massachusetts begins to emerge from its stay-at-home order. […]
In August 1968, two years before author Dierks’ ride and when the Boise City mixed carried a combine instead of just a caboose, Santa Fe train 174 is at Elkhart, Kans. Joe McMillan This wasn’t my first rodeo, so to speak. I had ridden mixed trains in Utah and Idaho, and, just four days ago, one in Kansas. […]
The Milwaukee Road was one of the big players in Sioux Falls. One of its hottest trains in the late 1940s was the daily-except-Sunday meat train to Chicago, seen passing a diesel switcher as it departs Sioux Falls. Mikado 508 carries an extra tender to reduce water stops. Henry J. McCord Growing up in an […]
Also in this issue: MRVP Tech, pg. 64 A Raspberry Pi for your layout DCC Programming, pg. 66 A guide to grouping locomotives Off the Rails, pg. 70 Tool tips for every modeler Let’s Make a Scene, pg. 72 Kathy’s best winter modeling tips It’s My Railroad, pg. 75 Easy signals for hidden track Q&A […]
DDA40X Original DDA40X is on display in Omaha, Nebraska. Jim Wrinn DDA40X •YEARS BUILT: 1969-1971 •MANUFACTURER: EMD •OPERATED ON: Union Pacific (special order from UP) •NAME: Centennial, named to mark the 100th anniversary of the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah. •QUANTITY: 47 •HORSEPOWER: 6,600 •KNOWN FOR: The most successful of UP’s twin-engine freight […]
Metra No. 166 leads a train at Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 2011. Jim Wrinn F40PH-series •YEARS BUILT: 1976-1988 •MANUFACTURERS: Electro-Motive Division of General Motors, GMD of Canada •OPERATED ON: Amtrak, GO Transit, MBTA, Metra, Via Rail Canada •NAMES: F40PH, F40PHR, F40PH-2, F40PH-2M, F40PH-2C, F40PHM-2C; nicknames, Winnebago, Screamer, Thunder Box, Thunder Wagon •QUANTITY: 486 •HORSEPOWER: 3,000 •KNOWN […]
Lancaster & Chester GP38-2 type locomotives hauling a passenger train special. Jim Wrinn GP38/AC/-2 •YEARS BUILT: 1966-1986 •MANUFACTURER: EMD/GMD •OPERATED ON: Most North American Class I freight railroads •NAMES: GP38, GP38AC, GP38-2; nicknames: Geep, High Hood (for SR and N&W), Wide Nose (for CN) •QUANTITY: 3,231 (967 GP38, GP38AC), (2,264 GP38-2) •HORSEPOWER: 2,000 •KNOWN FOR: […]
Wisconsin Central No. 7525 at the Illinois Railway Museum. Jim Wrinn SD45/-2 series •YEARS BUILT: 1966-1975 •MANUFACTURER: EMD •OPERATED ON: Most North American Class I freight railroads •NAMES: Hustle Muscle, Flares, Speed Machines, Tunnel Motor (for SD45T-2) •QUANTITY: 1,695 (1,312 SD45, SDP45), (383 SD45-2, SD45T-2) •HORSEPOWER: 3,600 •KNOWN FOR: Angled radiators at the rear on […]
BNSF Railway SD70 series SD70ACE No. 8762 pulls a Norfolk Southern train in Indiana. Jim Wrinn EMD-built SD70 series locomotives •YEARS BUILT: 1993-present •MANUFACTURER: EMD •OPERATED ON: Most North American Class I freight railroads •NAMES: SD70, SD70I, SD70M, SD70MAC, SD75I, SD75M, SD70M-2, SD70ACe, SD70ACe-P4, SD70ACe-P6, SD70ACe-T4, and SD70-ACe-T4P4; nicknames: Big Mac, Mac, Grinstein, Flags, Flares […]
Canadian Pacific Train Master No. 8905 at ExpoRail in Montreal, Quebec. Jim Wrinn Train Master •YEARS BUILT: 1953-1956 •MANUFACTURER: Fairbanks-Morse •OPERATED ON: Canadian National; Canadian Pacific; Central of New Jersey; Delaware, Lackawanna & Western; Pennsylvania Railroad; Reading; Southern; Southern Pacific; Virginian; Wabash •NAMES: Train Master, H-24-66 •QUANTITY: 127 •HORSEPOWER: 2,400 •KNOWN FOR: Poor performance at […]
