Seaboard Coast Line C420s Nos. 1214 and 1222 work Rochelle, Fla., on April 13, 1974. The rare units later were shipped to SCL affiliate Louisville & Nashville when that railroad became power short in the late 1970s. Photo by William J. Husa Jr. […]
Name: Tennessee, Carolina & Coast Layout designer: Kent Roberts Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 28 x 32 feet Prototype: Tennessee Central Locale: eastern Tennessee Era: 1968 to 1972 Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 340 feet Minimum radius: 30″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared in the June 2012 issue of Model Railroader. […]
This Map of the Month was featured in the February 2009 issue of Trains magazine. The railroad Abraham Lincoln so ardently championed in the 1800s had changed dramatically in the ensuing century. On a mainly double-track speedway (enhanced with Automatic Train Stop in Illinois), diesel locomotives rushed goods from Gulf Coast ports and farms to […]
Illinois Railway Museum’s Burlington E5 No. 9911-A, and the Nebraska Zephyr occasionally makes an appearance outside of the museum. On Sept. 29, 1993, the set overnights on the Wisconsin Central in Burlington, Wis. Photo by Tom Danneman […]
Today, it’s a busy Metra station, but on Sept. 27, 1979, LaSalle Street Station in downtown Chicago was a place for rust and weeds. An extended strike crippled the Rock Island Railroad, leading to the desolate scene. Photo by Ralcon Wagner […]
Name: South Jersey & Delaware Ry. Layout designer: Neil Besougloff Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 4 x 8 feet Prototype: Penn Central/Conrail Locale: New Jersey Era: late 1970s Style: tabletop Mainline run: 20 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: none Originally appeared in the February 2012 issue of Model Railroader. Click on […]
As a prelude to today’s high speed Acela Express service, Amtrak tested two types of European high speed trains, a German ICE trainset and this tilting X2000 train from Sweden. The demonstration equipment made revenue runs on the Northeast Corridor and toured other parts of the country. Pushed by two Amtrak Tubroliner power cars, the […]
Name: Moffat Road Layout designer: Mike Danneman Scale: N (1:160) Size: 18′-6″ x 24′-9″ Prototype: Rio Grande Locale: Colorado Style: walkaround Era: early 1960s and early 1980s Mainline run: 258 feet Minimum radius: 18″ Minimum turnout: no 8 (main), no. 6 (yard) Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared in the December 2011 issue of Model […]
Name: Keystone Specialty Metals coke plant Layout designer: Randy Costanza Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 3 x 24 feet (three 8-foot modules) Prototype: freelance Locale: western Pennsylvania Era: 1990 Layout style: modular Layout height: 48″ Benchwork: lauan waffle construction Roadbed: 3/16″ lauan Track: Atlas code 100 Turnout minimum: no. 6 Minimum radius: 54″ (branch line), 20″ […]
Q On which railroad was the 1975 movie “Breakheart Pass” filmed? — Klaus Schmidt, Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. A “Breakheart Pass” was filmed on the Camas Prairie Railroad, a short line in Northern Idaho. Originally a cooperative building effort by predecessors of the Union Pacific and the BNSF in the early 20th century, as of 2004, […]
Name: Milwaukee Road’s Beer Line Layout designer: Rich Steenwyk Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 20 x 48 feet Prototype: Milwaukee Road Chestnut Street Branch Locale: Milwaukee Era: 1975 Style: around-the-walls Branch line run: 85 feet Minimum radius: 26″ (main), 15″ (spurs) Minimum turnout: no. 5 Maximum grade: 2 percent Originally appeared in the November 2011 issue […]
High speed in New England in the 1970s meant these turbine-powered trainsets built by United Aircraft, which sprinted between Boston and New York from 1969 to 1976. The two Turbotrains (Amtrak later bought a third set from VIA Rail Canada) achieved the route’s best-ever timings — 3 hours and 48 minutes between Boston and New […]
