Herington pusher

Rock Island train in Kansas in 1963

Rock Island train 39 heads west from Kansas City, Kans., on UP trackage rights (as far as Topeka) on March 2, 1963. Tagging along behind the Southern Pacific coach for Los Angeles at the rear of the train is RDC3 9016, the “Herington pusher.” At that Kansas junction, it will uncouple and go 73 miles […]

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Frisco forsaken

Scrapped steam locomotive

Scrapping a steam locomotive was a relatively simple matter. Workers at Sheffield Steel in Kansas City just started at the rear of Frisco 4-8-2 4308 one day in April 1953 and worked their way forward. Photo by James A. Williams […]

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Rapido HO scale Northeastern caboose review

A bright red center-cupola caboose with four windows.

Rapido HO scale Northeastern caboose review: After locomotives, the next most distinctive thing on a railroad was its cabooses, and the new Rapido HO scale Northeastern caboose is one of the best models of this classic and widely used rolling office.   Prototype history The Reading Co. started building steel eight-wheel cabooses in 1924 following, mostly, a […]

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Faded glory

Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Alco on a siding in Illinois

Its paint and glory faded, Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Alco DL109 No. 271 rests on a siding along the Indiana Harbor Belt at La Grange, Ill., on its way to scrapping for trade-in credit on new EMD locomotives in September 1963. Photo by Jim C. Seacrest […]

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Cowboy state conveyance

Night Crawler in Casper, Wyoming in 1966

Workers fuel and exchange mail on Chicago, Burlington & Quincy train 29, known informally as the “Night Crawler,” at Casper, Wyo., in July 1966. Passengers have detrained for breakfast in town while “Chinese red” EMD and GE diesels on a freight wait to follow the passenger train out of town, the largest in the state […]

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Coal country cooperation

Coal trains on the Pittsburgh & West Virginia

Pittsburgh & West Virginia and Wheeling & Lake Erie engines and crews ran through between Brewster, Ohio, and Rook, Pa. In September 1950 at Mingo on the P&WV, Wheeling 2-8-2 6008 heads onto the Ohio River bridge with the first section of train 92 as P&WV Mikado 1010 waits with a westbound extra. Photo by […]

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Six new HO models from Rapido Trains

Color photo of room with display tables and people walking around.

Rapido Trains hosted a dealer open house at the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023 in Essex, Conn. During the event, the manufacturer unveiled several new HO scale products. Here’s a rundown of some of the items announced. Locomotives Electro-Motive Division SD7, SD9, and SD10 diesel locomotives were among the six […]

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ScaleTrains HO boxcar kit

Color image of HO scale painted Synthetic Red with yellow graphics.

The Pullman-Standard (PS) 40-foot PS-1 boxcar, a staple on prototype railroads from the late 1940s through the 1980s, is now available as an easy-to-build HO scale kit from ScaleTrains. The injection-molded plastic model, which uses former MTH Electric Trains tooling, features a one-piece body, various modeler-installed parts, and a freestanding brake system. Prototype history Pullman-Standard […]

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Model a pike-size passenger train

Color photo of three-car passenger train with blue truck in front of last car.

When you think of Burlington Northern, passenger service may not be the first thing that comes to mind. But from March 2, 1970 (Burlington Northern’s first day) to April 30, 1971 (the day before Amtrak started operations), the railroad offered passenger service. Among the name trains were the Empire Builder, Mainstreeter, North Coast Limited, and […]

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Capitol capture

Two Chicago & North Western E units leaving Madison, Wisconsin

On a frigid December 30, 1948, two Chicago & North Western E units leave Madison, Wis., with a Chicago-bound mail-and-express train. The train is crossing the Milwaukee Road diamond at MX Tower, located at the intersection of two causeways across Lake Monona; the state capitol rises beyond. Photo by William D. Middleton […]

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Walt Downer’s collection of Lionel Factory Layouts

Walt Downer’s collection of Lionel Factory Layouts Ever since Walt Downer can remember, he has been fascinated by things that move. That desire to see something move explains the approach Walt has taken to collecting Lionel trains and accessories from the postwar era. Passionate about Lionel history, he set out to build a great collection […]

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The GMDH1 diesel-hydraulic locomotives

Yellow-and-black centercab GMDH1 diesel-hydraulic locomotives outside factory

The GMDH1 diesel-hydraulic locomotives led a short life with one staying near their birthplace of London, Ontario.     Diesel-hydraulic railroad locomotives are just what they say they are: diesel engines connected to a hydraulic transmission via the same principle as you would in your automobile. They can be found in various parts of the […]

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