The Lionel Legacy ES44AC is back

Lionel Legacy ES44AC on layout

The Lionel Legacy ES44AC has returned quickly the train-maker’s catalog with new road names. It seems that when tooling sells well, we’ll certainly see it again sooner rather than later. Judging by the model’s re-issue for 2022 after being last offered 2019, it can be assumed that they are popular with collectors of modern motive […]

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Electro-Motive Division GP7 from Athearn Genesis

A gray and orange locomotive against a white background.

Electro-Motive Division GP7 from Athearn Genesis Scale: HO (1:87.1) Price: Direct-current model with 21-pin NEM connector, $219.99; with dual-mode SoundTraxx Tsunami2 sound decoder, $319.99. Add $10 for Primed for Grime models. Era: 1949+ (varies on paint scheme) Manufacturer: Athearn Trains, 2904 Research Rd., Champaign, IL 61822; 800-338-4639; athearn.com Electro-Motive Division GP7 features: Body-mounted McHenry knuckle couplers […]

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American Z Line Pacer Stacktrain Maxi-IV

3 blue freight cars each carrying 2 blue shipping containers against a white background

American Z Line Pacer Stacktrain Maxi-IV Scale: Z (1:220) Price: Contact manufacturer Era: Modern Manufacturer: American Z Line, 6142 Northcliff Blvd., Dublin, OH 43016; 614-764-1703; americanzline.com Maxi-IV features: Each set includes six containers. 53′ containers are the first time AZL has offered corrugated type containers in this length. 40′ containers are a rerelease with new tooling. […]

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Rare New York Central electric locomotives still threatened

Drone view of two electric locomotives and one diesel sitting vandalized in woods

GLENMONT, N.Y. — Red tape, a gas pipeline utility, and a lawsuit have combined to delay and further threaten the rescue of two historic New York Central electric locomotives stranded for three decades along the Hudson River south of Albany. The Danbury Railway Museum of Danbury, Conn., has been working for nearly a year to […]

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BNSF opens new bridge at Sandpoint, Idaho

Front view of train crossing bridge with second bridge under construction at left

SANDPOINT, Idaho — BNSF has opened its second bridge over Lake Pend Oreille in Sandpoint, Idaho, providing a second track at a previously one-track bottleneck nearly a year ahead of schedule. The nearly mile-long bridge, next to a structure built by Northern Pacific in 1904, opened on Sunday, Nov. 20. “We are excited about the […]

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Fort Wayne historical society adds CP dome-lounge-observation

Stainless steel dome-lounge-observation

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society has acquired a Canadian Pacific Park-series dome-lounge-observation car built in 1954 for use in excursion service. While plans are for the car to undergo an extensive restoration, it will initially enter service as part of the society’s Indiana Rail Experience program on the Indiana Northeastern […]

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Advocacy group makes case for electrification of MBTA’s Lowell commuter line

Schematic diagram of proposal for expansion of MBTA Lowell Line

BOSTON — A transit advocacy group is calling for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s commuter rail Lowell Line to be electrified, extended to Manchester, N.H., and otherwise modernized, offering regional rail service with frequent, all-day service. The “Modernizing the Lowell Line” report from the group TransitMatters argues that electrified service, with upgraded track and high-level […]

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Georgia museum to preserve original MARTA railcar

Rapid transit car on truck trailer passes sign for museum

DULUTH, Ga. — One of the original railcars from the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority fleet will be preserved at the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth following the car’s donation by MARTA. The car was moved from MARTA’s Avondale yard to the museum on Nov. 16. Built by Société Franco-Belge, the car entered service in […]

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Now arriving, Wally Abbey’s magnum opus

Book cover with blue-and-yellow diesel locomotive under blue sky

Some books seem to have a will of their own. Nothing, not the passing of decades, not even the passing of the author, will keep them down. If the story is compelling enough — and if it is blessed with passionate believers — the story will win out. That’s how I feel about “The Diesel […]

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Norfolk Southern to buy CNO&TP line from city of Cincinnati for $1.6 billion

Map of rail line from Cincinnati, Ohio, to Chattanooga, Tenn.

CINCINNATI — Norfolk Southern has agreed to purchase the assets of the Cincinnati Southern Railway, the municipally owned railroad that forms the 336-mile Chattanooga-Cincinnati backbone of NS’s key corridor linking Chicago with Atlanta and the Southeast. Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, the municipal railway board, and NS today announced the proposed sale of the Cincinnati Southern […]

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