“Who is going to keep steam alive in the 21st century? Who are the young guns?” These were the questions asked in Erik G. Ledbetter’s Steam’s young guns from Trains’ May 2006 issue as well as the 2008-aired episode of PBS’ Tracks Ahead. Having had opportunities to cut my teeth in the steam preservation movement […]
Rail preservation efforts often can come full circle. For 29-year-old Aaron Farmer, his career has circled back to the Steam Railroading Institute (SRI) in Owosso, Mich. From the beginning as a young volunteer to now being employed as the Master Mechanic of Rolling Stock for the non-profit organization, his journey involves understanding the value of […]
SILVIS, Ill. – Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) continues to make progress on several projects at its former Rock Island shop in Silvis. The group is planning to return to service former Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985, 2-10-2 No. 5511, and “Centennial” DDA40X diesel No. 6936. National Railway Equipment, which shares the Silvis shop complex […]
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A 0-4-0T locomotive that served as a shop switcher for a New York Central subsidiary will be preserved by the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum. Despatch Shops No. 5, built in 1924 by the Vulcan Works in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was purchased by Merchants Despatch Transportation Corp. for use at its freight […]
News & Products for the week of July 10th 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of July 10th 2023. […]
What is the largest radius curve on your layout? If you said anything less than 24”, you won’t be running 85-foot passenger cars any time soon. Even then, a 24” curve is extremely tight for those cars to navigate. Fear not, I have the solution for your long passenger car dilemma: short steam era passenger […]
ALTOONA, Pa. — Work to construct a new $425,000 firebox for Pennsylvania Railroad Class K4s steam locomotive No. 1361 (PRR Juniata Shops, 1918) is moving along rapidly, with the inner wrapper sheets scheduled to be assembled late next month or in early September. The locomotive is in the midst of a $2.6 million restoration to […]
After almost twenty years on static display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, Va., Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611 returned to operation in 2015. Her time on the mainline was very brief though, lasting only three years. Since then, new venues have been needed to operate the large engine. Let’s get […]
With the release of the Lionel Pennsylvania RR L1 Mikado, it seems that we’ve returned to pre-pandemic manufacturing timelines with the manufacturer. This Legacy engine, cataloged in Lionel’s 2022 Volume II edition, has been delivered in less than a year. This is another product made with tooling acquired from MTH Trains a few years ago. […]
When my wife and I had another couple over for dinner back in April, the cork was barely out of the wine bottle when our friends popped the question: What on earth is going on with railroads? In the wake of the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, and intense media coverage […]
Simpson Lumber Co. No. 12, a 2-8-2T with tender, waits at the loading spar. By this 1949 view, the Washington line was a truck-to-rail reload operation. Fred Matthews photo […]
News & Products for the week of July 5th 2023 Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of July 5th 2023. […]
