Simpson Lumber Co. No. 12, a 2-8-2T with tender, waits at the loading spar. By this 1949 view, the Washington line was a truck-to-rail reload operation. Fred Matthews photo […]
2-8-2T logging engine
Era: 1946 - 1970
Southern Pacific locomotive roster overview
The Southern Pacific locomotive roster was expansive. A headlight breaking the horizon in the 1960s meant one thing; you never were sure what the motive power would be. In its latter years, despite having hundreds of Electro-Motive Division Geeps and SDs and General Electric U-Boats of all models, SP would assemble whatever was available on […]
Diesel locomotives by generation
If you’ve read stories about diesel locomotives on Trains.com or in Kalmbach Media’s railroad magazines and books, you’ve most likely seen references to diesel locomotives by generation. But what does generation mean? Unlike automobiles, locomotive manufacturers don’t bring out new models each year. The same basic locomotive model can stay in production for years – […]
Checking out the 3rd Rail GP9 locomotive
The 3rd Rail GP9 locomotive models the durable first-generation diesel-electric workhorse. The follow-on to the GP7, it was perhaps the exclamation point on the phrase, “Steam is gone and it’s not coming back!” General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division produced a whopping 4,257 including 165 cabless units between 1954 and 1963. GP stands for “general purpose” and […]
Heaviest 4-6-4 Hudsons: Chesapeake & Ohio’s L2a
Ask someone to associate a railroad with the heaviest 4-6-4 Hudsons and they’ll likely guess “New York Central.” After all, it was NYC and its supplier, American Locomotive Co., that first developed the 4-6-4 in 1927, and it was NYC that gave the engine its famous name: Hudson, named for the river the Central’s main […]
William N. Deramus III and Deramus red locomotives
The three railroads that shared Deramus red locomotives also shared the leadership of William N. Deramus III. He began working on the Wabash in 1939 and served in the U.S. Army Transportation Corps in British India before becoming general manager of the Kansas City Southern after the war. He died Nov. 15, 1989, at age […]
Better as a model: The Lionel turbine locomotive
The Lionel turbine locomotive has gone down in history as one of the model maker’s iconic products. From its success, reputation as a great runner, and longevity, you’d think the locomotive it’s based on was one of the greatest of all time. It wasn’t. The Pennsylvania RR S2 Lionel’s 6-8-6 is based on the Class […]
Madison Hardware’s gold Lionel EP-5 shells
Madison Hardware’s gold Lionel EP-5 shells are a story akin to getting lemons and making lemonade. The store sold unusual Lionel trains from all periods of production. Lou Shur and Carl Shaw, the brothers who ran the legendary retail outlet in New York City until it closed in 1989, seemed to have endless supplies of […]
Adding diesel sound to American Flyer trains
Adding diesel sound to American Flyer trains is easier than ever thanks to ready-made electronics. If you can accomplish basic wiring tasks, you can install the needed components. I run a mix of postwar American Flyer and Flyer produced by Lionel. That means with newer stuff I’m quite used to the sounds of modern electronics […]
Rapido Trains HO scale P-S New Haven County-series baggage-lounge cars
Rapido Trains HO scale P-S New Haven County-series baggage-lounge cars: Rapido Trains has been a great friend to New Haven passenger train modelers, providing icons such as the EP-5 electric passenger locomotive, EMD FL9s, and an ever-growing fleet of HO scale NH Pullman-Standard stainless-steel and lightweight Osgood-Bradley passenger cars. The most recent additions are the […]
The MTH Baldwin VO1000 is a sturdy O gauge switcher
The MTH Baldwin VO1000 switcher has arrived. This Premier line model was announced in mid-April 2022. It’s a solid locomotive for any size layout with wonderfully detailed features. It’s not uncommon for MTH to put smaller locomotives like the VO1000 in its scale RailKing lineup; however, for this run we get a purple box and […]
Locomotives We Love: Lionel No. 1656 0-4-0 steam engine
Peter H. Riddle has written books and many stories for Classic Toy Trains. What toy train locomotive means the most to you? The beginning of my story is a familiar one, undoubtedly shared by many thousands of other youngsters in the fall of 1948. With Christmas just two months away, my treasured Lionel catalog was […]
