Six model railroad photography tips. Whether it’s a feature for the pages of Model Railroader or an article for the Trains.com website, photography can make or break a story. Readers and website viewers expect quality images that are sharp, well composed, and free of distractions. There have been more than a few times in my […]
PALESTINE, Texas — The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a lower-court ruling that Union Pacific is no longer bound by an agreement requiring it to maintain a certain number of employees in the city of Palestine, which dates to an 1872 contract with one of the railroad’s predecessors. The railroad filed suit in […]
WASHINGTON — Amtrak has reduced the price of its USA Rail Pass from $499 to $299 through Jan. 20. The unusually large discount affords travelers interested in covering a lot of ground or booking multiple-stop itineraries a cost-effective way to get around, as long as they can forego upgrades to sleeping car accommodations or business […]
BOSTON — A Boston jury has acquitted a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority light rail operator of negligence for a July 2021 collision that injured 27 people, the Boston Globe reports. After just 30 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Owen Turner, 51, not guilty of a misdemeanor count of negligence for the July 30, 2021, […]
NEW YORK — Ventilation-fan issues are continuing to delay the opening of the Long Island Rail Road’s new Grand Central Madison station in Manhattan, with a January start to operations now in jeopardy. The New York Daily News reports Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Janno Lieber said Wednesday that a January start is “possible. But I’m […]
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen has sworn in a new executive committee and elected eight new members to its advisory board, the union announced. Edward A. Hall became the union’s new national president Jan. 1. He is joined on the executive committee by first vice president Mark L. Wallace and […]
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A recent public briefing by Sierra Northern Railway and local non-profit Valley Vision on Sierra Northern’s hydrogen locomotive project is now available for review online. The program outlined the project’s ability to improve air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve quality of life in lineside communities. The briefing is available […]
WASHINGTON — A double-digit drop in intermodal traffic dragged down U.S. rail volume for the first week of 2023, according to statistics for the Association of American Railroads. For the week ending Jan. 7, overall traffic was 416,489 carloads and intermodal units, a 5.5% drop from the corresponding week in 2022. That included 212,962 carloads, […]
Q: I would like to add red and green lights to my HO scale Peco turnouts. How would I use an LED to indicate turnout direction? – Joseph Chiarolanzio A: There’s a simple way to do it, but it depends on your turnout being powered. The easiest way is if you’re using a Tortoise by […]
Handsome Rock Island 4-6-2 No. 922 steps across the Pennsylvania Railroad diamonds at Englewood Union Station as it departs with a Chicago–Blue Island suburban train in July 1952. W. H. N. Rossiter photo […]
What is Amtrak’s “rainbow” fleet? Amtrak began operations on May 1, 1971, and at the time had only one piece of equipment sporting Amtrak’s first logo, E8 No. 4316. This engine is currently offered by Rapido. All of the passenger equipment came from the railroads that joined to form Amtrak, including over 400 from the […]
Looking at old Model Railroader back issues, I found poisonous model railroad materials. I give those hobbyists a lot of credit; you couldn’t drive over to the hobby store and pick up ground cover or resin to make a water feature. You often used materials from the hardware store, or whatever you had on hand. […]
