Four Rio Grande FT diesels labor up the Front Range of the Rockies with a 55-car freight out of Denver in March 1942. Smoke from the train’s 2-8-2 pusher is visible in the distance. This line up to and though Moffatt Tunnel was built by the Denver & Salt Lake but used heavily by Rio […]
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A late afternoon photo from 1951 at Central Station, Illinois Central’s main terminal in Chicago, finds three trains ready to depart. From left: IC’s Panama Limited to New Orleans, New York Central’s Twilight Limited to Detroit, and IC’s Seminole to Jacksonville, Fla. Part of the Seminole’s run was on the Central of Georgia, which assigned […]
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Union Pacific Big Boy 4004 pulls alongside the Pacific Fruit Express icing platform at Laramie, Wyo., in the mid-1950s. Conveyors have pulled the ice blocks into position for the train’s arrival. Union Pacific photo […]
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What instrument would have been used as a railroad dinner chime? Cody answers a reader’s question about what instrument was often used as the railroad dinner chime prompted by an article in the the January 1941 issue of Trains magazine titled “Meals en route.” Are you looking to learn more about your model railroad, or […]
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Cut-glass partitions with imagery representing the mining and timber industries decorate the interior of a 36-seat dining car built for Great Northern’s Empire Builder in 1950. Great Northern photo […]
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In September 1955, employees of New York short line Dansville & Mount Morris conduct repairs on former Lackawanna Mogul No. 565. D&MM would use one of its two steam engines in one year, the other in the next. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
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Can you help find a specific X-Acto cutting mat?: Cody helps a viewer find a specific X-Acto cutting mat with 1/8″ or 1/10″ cutting squares as seen in a Model Railroader story story from January 2023. Are you looking to learn more about your model railroad, or do you have questions about full-size trains? Send […]
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Framed by the road’s trademark color position-light signals, a Baltimore & Ohio freight passes Ashford Junction, N.Y., where B&O’s former Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad lines diverge to Rochester (left) and Buffalo (right). B&O was part of Chessie System at the time of this 1970s photo. Robert E. Gabbey photo […]
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The Wabash’s Chicago–St. Louis Banner Blue rolls through Chicago Ridge, Ill., in August 1948. Carrying the markers is a classic open-platform parlor-observation car. The Banner Blue would remain an all-heavyweight train until 1960. Bob Borcherding photo […]
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How do I find out of production locomotive wheelsets? Cody provides tips for finding out of production locomotive wheelsets at various locations, from online bidding sites to the consignment section of a local model railroad shops. Are you looking to learn more about your model railroad, or do you have questions about full-size trains? Send […]
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The Illinois Central’s depot at Emery, Ill., 9 miles north of Decatur on IC’s original line down the center of the state, served as a train-order station and also had a small freight room. Note the Western Union telegraph sign at the corner of the building. Classic Trains coll. […]
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Workers at Missouri Pacific’s Sedalia (Mo.) shops line up in a “V for victory” formation in August 1942 in a ceremony to commemorate the last of 25 Sedalia-built 4-8-4s. Missouri Pacific photo […]
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