Rocky Patel Rolling Smoke Cigar Train The “Rocky Patel Rolling Smoke Cigar Train” behind Nickel Plate Road SD9 No. 358 ran a round-trip excursion from Pleasant Lake, Ind., to Hillsdale, Mich., and return on Oct. 12, 2024. The special is one of several themed excursions offered as part of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s […]
Model Railroader’s famed 28 x 54-foot, HO scale staff layout, the Milwaukee, Racine & Troy, is no more. The layout, which celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2024, began as a concept in Kalmbach Media’s downtown Milwaukee offices in 1975. I won’t attempt to write the full history of the layout; indeed, there is likely no […]
Longtime Model Railroader author and photographer Paul Dolkos passed away on August 9, 2024. You can read his obituary here. In this photo gallery, we’ll take a look back at Paul’s home layouts, as well as his photography work published throughout his 50-year association with the magazine. The staff at Model Railroader extends its sympathy […]
NJ Transit has wrapped and painted numerous locomotives to reflect its heritage, commemorate significant service dates, honor the armed forces and recognize New Jersey businesses and social concerns. This “eye candy” makes the daily commute a bit more fun, not knowing how the next locomotive into the station will be decorated. Beyond the images presented […]
On Monday, July 1, 2024, Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) moved its Final Spike Steam Tour train north out of Nahant Yard south of Davenport, Iowa. Trains Magazine was on hand to document the move to Dubuque, Iowa. The train is headed to its next appearance in Winnipeg, Manitoba, for an event on July 6. […]
Final Spike Steam Tour On Thursday, May 9, 2024, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad’s Class H-1b Hudson No. 2816 continued its Final Spike Steam Tour operating over former Milwaukee Road trackage into Iowa following a display day in Franklin Park, Ill. The 4-6-4 and the CPKC executive train rolled west across the old Milwaukee Road […]
Jim Hediger, a member of the Model Railroader staff for 43 years, passed away on February 9, 2024. His family generously donated his slide collection to Kalmbach Media. While going through the images, I found several slides featuring Jim’s HO scale Detroit Western RR. The layout was the successor to the 5 x 9-foot NJ&E […]
Trains Magazine covers Whether past or present — staff, correspondents, and contributors — were asked to submit one of their favorite covers since the magazine’s inception in November 1940 — 84 years of railroading history in the making. This is what they came up with and why. If there is a particular cover you like, […]
Indiana Northeastern Railroad The Indiana Northeastern Railroad is a shortline railroad running in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. It is owned and operated by a close-knit family and friendly employees. The railroad has an all-Electro-Motive Division locomotive roster, which is maintained in a state-of-the-art shop at Hudson, Ind. The shop forces have rebuilt several of the […]
A railroad study in snow On Jan. 15, 1885, Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, a farmer from Jericho, Vt., became the first person to successfully photograph a single snow crystal — a snowflake. Bentley, in his study of snow, went on to capture images of more than 5,000 individual snowflakes, finding that, in fact, no two were […]
If it’s December, it must be time to put on a crackling fire, pour a hot chocolate, and explore some snowy model railroad scenes compiled from the pages of Model Railroader. If you’d like to see last year’s gallery of snowy model railroad scenes, follow this link. […]
CSX Santa Train The CSX Santa Train, enjoying new life after a two-year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic, again delighted children and adults along its 110-mile former Clinchfield Railroad route between Shelby, Ky., and Kingsport, Tenn. This year’s train featured a new “Santa Car” rebuilt from a former Pan Am Railways office car, as well […]
