News photos: East Broad Top honors Kovalchick family

Plaque mounted on locomotive driving whel

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — The family responsible for saving the East Broad Top Railroad has been honored by the EBT Foundation for its role in preserving the narrow gauge line. In a Saturday ceremony, the EBT dedicated a monument to Fannie and Nick Kovalchick and their family. The Kovalchicks, who operate a scrap metal firm, […]

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The N Scale Architect interlocking tower

Color photo of N scale interlocking tower painted gray, green, and brown with track in foreground.

The N Scale Architect interlocking tower Scale: N (1:160) Price: $59.95 Manufacturer: The N Scale Architect, 4063 County Highway 2, DeLancey, NY 13752; thenarch.com The N Scale Architect interlocking tower features: Based on Kansas City Terminal Ry. Tower No. 2 in Kansas City, Mo. (Kit depicts tower before it was modified with two brick additions […]

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Rapido HO TurboTrain 2.0

We’re changing things up for our latest product review video. Trains.com Director David Popp took the Rapido HO TurboTrain 2.0 on the road to run on Gerry Leone’s Bona Vista RR. Learn more about the full-size United Aircraft TurboTrain and our review sample, decorated in early Amtrak colors. Then watch the five-car train pass through […]

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Rapido Trains HO FM H16-44 review

Color photo showing front of HO scale diesel painted orange and black on white background.

A Fairbanks-Morse H16-44 diesel locomotive, based on a Phase III prototype, is now available from Rapido Trains. The HO scale model features injection-molded plastic and die-cast metal construction, prototype-specific details, and body-mounted Macdonald-Cartier metal couplers. Prototype history Fairbanks-Morse, and its Canadian subsidiary Canadian Locomotive Co., produced the H16-44 from April 1950 until March 1963. During […]

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RMT 40’ woodchip car

Black, white and blue wood-chip car

The hauling of wood chips necessitated unique rail equipment, especially during the 1960s-70s. This included both specially built cars, such as the Greenville wood-chip hopper, and repurposed gondolas, hoppers, and boxcars that were modified with extensions. Ready Made Toys’ (RMT) newest O gauge wood-chip hopper in the Trainmaster Premium Line goes the route of repurposing […]

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Atlas N scale EMD SD35

Color photo showing cab and short hood of N scale diesel painted blue and black on white background.

Atlas N scale EMD SD35 Scale: N (1:160) Price: Direct-current model with factory-installed speaker, $134.95; with ESU sound decoder, $249.95 Manufacturer: Atlas Model Railroad Co., 378 Florence Ave., Hillside, NJ 07205; 908-687-0880; shop.atlasrr.com Atlas N scale EMD SD35 features: Blackened metal wheels Body-mounted Accumate couplers Clear window glazing Directional, golden white light-emitting diode lighting Factory-painted […]

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Memories of Don Shaw and The Train Station

group of people in a hobby store

I saw the obituary on Don Shaw’s passing in the Fall 2025 CTT. It brought back fond memories.  I first met Don in the summer of 1975. I had just married that July and lived in Morris Plains, N.J., only a few miles from The Train Station store in Mountain Lakes. At the time, the […]

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Butte to restore Northern Pacific No. 25

Black and silver steam locomotive inside fence. Butte restores NP No. 25

BUTTE, Mont. – Turn off Harrison Ave. into the parking lot of the Butte Civic Center and there between the asphalt and the Town Pump gas station next door sits Northern Pacific No. 25, one of 13 2-8-0s built in 1899 by the Schenectady Locomotive Works for the railroad. No. 25 lugged freight and passenger […]

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Congressman says SEPTA cuts could endanger Amtrak’s Keystone Service

blue and silver passenger train passes brick tower

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania Congressman says he has been told that Amtrak’s Keystone Service — the Harrisburg-Philadelphia-New York route offering 13 weekday round trips — could be in jeopardy if state legislators don’t address the funding crisis that has the Southeastern Regional Transportation Authority planning major service cuts. The online news site Pennsylvania Capital-Star […]

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Thoughts on the Lionel 2025 Volume 2 catalog

catalog page with diesel locomotives

Lionel Trains continued celebrating their 125th anniversary with the release of their Volume 2 catalog in mid July.    First, an interesting note: the second Lionel catalog has typically been called Volume 2. This one was called “July Release.” I wonder if there will be another catalog release before the end of the year? Stay […]

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