Soo Line passenger trains remembered

GP1604011

Soo Line passenger trains were simple affairs serving wide swaths of the rural Upper Midwest.     While passenger service was not a big part of Soo’s business, the road strived to maintain quality service, and with partner CP, offered Canadian connections. In 1889 MStP&SSM inaugurated the Minneapolis-Sault Ste. Marie Atlantic Limited, among the first […]

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The Lionel Legacy 2-6-0 makes a comeback

Lionel Legacy 2-6-0 in Strasburg paint

The Lionel Legacy 2-6-0 “Mogul” type locomotive graced the company’s 2022 Vol. 2 catalog. It’s a welcome re-release as the previous 2016 models were struck with gearing issues. These caused many of them to run poorly at slow speeds. Many were returned to Lionel and never made it to the the second-hand market. This new […]

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Champion at Richmond

20150504

Having arrived from Washington behind Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac E8s, the Miami-bound East Coast Champion stands at Richmond’s Broad Street Station with a fresh set of Atlantic Coast Line E units. William D. Middleton photo […]

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SP steam survivor

20180530

Southern Pacific 2-8-0 3406 works mixed train No. 1 on the Nacozari Railroad between Douglas, Ariz., and Nacozari, Mexico, in spring 1958. Steam lasted on the SP subsidiary until January 1959, two years after diesels took over the rest of the SP system. Donald Duke photo […]

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RS1 in the roundhouse

20180503

With seemingly every one of its hood doors open, Washington Terminal RS1 No. 54 stands inside the roundhouse in the city’s Ivy City section one night in June 1960. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]

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Returning a postwar Lionel GP7 to the rails

Lionel prewar GP7 in Burlington silver paint scheme

It’s not hard to give a postwar Lionel GP7 a new lease on life. Unless they’ve really been abused, these workhorses can be returned to service with some cleaning, adjustment, and maybe a little lubrication. This particular model had been stored for years in a dry climate. Additionally, the previous owner had removed the D-cell […]

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New Mexico mail pickup

20180522

The combined eastbound Super Chief/El Capitan approaches the mail crane at Los Cerrillos, N.Mex., on the Santa Fe in January 1962. In the train’s Railway Post Office car, a clerk is ready to snag the pouch. Clinton W. Morgan Jr. photo […]

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The Virginia & Western Tidewater District layout in HO scale

An image of a model railroad trackplan

Facts & features Name: Virginia & Western RR, Tidewater DistrictScale: HO (1:87.1)Size: 1′-3″ x 17′-0″Theme: Waterfront industrial districtLocale: Mid-Atlantic tidewaterEra: 1948-54Style: ShelfMainline run: NoneMinimum radius: Cosmetic curvesMinimum turnout: No. 5Maximum grade: NoneBenchwork: Plywood on shelf bracketsHeight: 44″Roadbed: CorkTrack: Handlaid code 70Scenery: tabletopBackdrop: Painted 1⁄4″ plywoodControl: Digitrax DCC Download a PDF of this track plan! Buy […]

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Going big: the MTH Premier SD24

MTH Premier SD24 side view of cab with crew figure

The MTH Premier SD24 is a massive model of a historic locomotive more widely used than its initial owners list would indicate. Many units found second and third lives on other railroads after their initial stints. Like all of MTH’s newer offerings this wasn’t in a catalog. Instead, it was announced in 2022 as a […]

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