General Electric AC4400CW Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $204.99; with dual-mode ESU LokSound 5 sound decoder, $299.99 Era: 1995 to present (varies depending on paint scheme) Manufacturer: ScaleTrains, 7598 Highway 411, Benton, TN 37307; 844-987-2467; scaletrains.com Features: Road-number-specific details Factory-installed wire grab irons, m.u. clusters, uncoupling levers, windshield wipers, and more […]
52′-6″ drop-end gondola Scale: N (1:160) Price: To be announced Era: Varies depending on paint scheme Manufacturer: Bachmann Trains, 1400 E. Erie Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19124; 215-533-1600; bachmanntrains.com Features: Positionable drop-end gates E-Z Mate Mark II couplers Blackened metal RP-25 contoured wheels Release date: 2023 Paint scheme: Great Northern (Vermillion Red), New York Central (black), […]
Electro-Motive Division GP40 Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: To be announced Era: April 1966 to present (varies depending on paint scheme Manufacturer: ClassOneModelWorks.com, 8610 NW 107th Terrace, Kansas City, MO, 64153; 816-243-0044; ClassOneModelWorks.com Features: Road- and unit-specific body styles Flat cap 48” fans Diamond mesh radiator intake screen Early triangular fuel tank mounts Ribbed cab base […]
WASHINGTON — The Presidential Emergency Board charged with making recommendations to resolve the longstanding contract differences between the U.S. Class I railroads and their unionized workforce today submitted its report to the White House, railroads, and organized labor. The board recommended a 22% wage increase, along with $5,000 in service recognition bonus payments, over the […]
OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific’s operations are recovering as more conductors graduate from training classes and are deployed in revenue service, executives said at an investor conference today. UP’s traffic is up 2% in the quarter to date, but would be higher if not for ongoing service problems related to crew shortages, particularly on the […]
MOJAVE, Calif. — Kern County, Calif., supervisors have approved a proclamation in support of the Mojave Inland Port, a planned 410-acre facility intended to receive and distribute up to 3 million containers per year from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. “The Mojave Inland Port is a fully permitted industrial site that will […]
On the eastern fringes of the Los Angeles area, a Union Pacific freight train is safely in a siding for a meet with train 1, the westbound Los Angeles Limited, powered by 4-8-4 No. 821 in the road’s postwar “greyhound” paint scheme. Fletcher Swan photo […]
PALESTINE, Texas — The city of Palestine and Anderson County, Texas, are asking a federal court to rehear their case attempting to uphold a 1954 agreement, with roots dating to 1872, which requires Union Pacific to maintain a set number of jobs in Palestine. A July ruling by a three-member panel of the U.S. Appeals […]
If there’s one thing all railroaders have in common, it’s the ability to complain about anything and everything. They’re world-class grumblers. So when train crews and labor unions bash the railroads for this, that, and the other thing, sometimes you have to wonder if they’re crying wolf. Wonder no more. The union-management pot, which is […]
Overland passenger cars Scale: HO (1:87:1) Price: Coach, $42.99; four-pack (Busines car, coach, combine, and Railway Post Office), $149.98 Era: 1890s+ Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com Features: End handrails and ladders Clear (sides) and green-tinted (clerestory) windows RP-25 contour machined metal wheels Body mounted McHenry scale couplers Minimum radius: […]
OAKLAND, Calif. — Video from a locomotive camera shows that the operator of a Union Pacific maintenance-of-way vehicle turned in front of an Amtrak train and fouled the track just prior to a July collision in Oakland, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s preliminary report on the July 15 accident. The preliminary report was […]
2-8-0 steam locomotive Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin plug, $214.99; with dual-mode SoundTraxx Econami sound decoder, $284.99 Era: 1890s+ Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com 2-8-0 steam locomotive features: See-through cab windows Separate, factory-applied wire-form details Smokestack Boiler-mounted bell Light-emitting diode lighting Heavy die-cast metal frame RP-25 contour wheels Minimum […]
