When two trains running in opposite directions on a single-track main have to pass each other, the dispatcher will schedule them to meet at a passing siding. But what happens when one or both of those trains is too long to fit into the siding? Engineers coped with this situation with a maneuver called a […]
Common name: Begonia Latin name: Begonia sp. Plant type: Annual USDA Hardiness Zones: 10-11; grown as an annual in lower zones Cultural needs: moist, well drained, neutral or slightly acidic soil; part shade Plant size: 18″ x 18″ Most begonias are true perennials, living on for years as houseplants or in tropical gardens. Usually we […]
Preparing for layout operations | The crew might be at the end of work on the State Line Route N scale model railroad, but the fun of operating a layout has only just begun. In this episode, David Popp teams up with Trains.com host Gerry Leone and Model Railroadermagazine Editor Eric White to ready the […]
I wanted to scratchbuild a rural large scale depot to replace one that was past its prime on my garden railroad. While I was working as an art director for a commercial printing company, one of my sales reps came across a 1916 combination freight/passenger-depot blueprint. He asked his client, a buyer for the Union […]
The Frank Sinatra Lionel collection and his O gauge layout have fascinated Trains.com and Classic Toy Trains readers for years. Let’s use the photograph snapped long ago by Rebecca Saliture to explore what the “Chairman of the Board” owned and ran. The Frank Sinatra Lionel collection After World War II, Sinatra visited the Lionel showroom […]
“The Lionel Acela exposed” was originally published in the May 2013 Classic Toy Trains. Noted Kalmbach illustrator Rick Johnson produced numerous cutaway illustrations for various brands during his career, but few were this detailed. Along with text by toy train mechanical expert Matt Troester and based on photography by Bill Zuback, this is a […]
Fourteen states on Amtrak I’ve been riding on trains since I was 2 years old. Although those trips were short and on scenic railroads, my love for trains increased as I got older. From watching high-speed Acela and Northeast Regional trainsets fly by while visiting the Northeast Corridor to watching videos of the stunning views […]
The Model Train Association Lionel 6464 boxcars are the subject of many collectors’ searches. Interest in the near-scale postwar series never flags. Newcomers to the hobby continue to discover the 29 cataloged entries and start tracking down examples. Longtime hobbyists hunt hard-to-find variations. Among the sought after are the Train Collectors Association models sold as […]
Facts & features Name: Green River, Wyoming Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 25′-6″ x 38′-0″ Theme: Union Pacific division point yard Locale: Green River, Wyo. Era: 1950s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 1,200 feet Minimum radius: 48″ Minimum turnout: Peco medium radius Maximum grade: 1.42 percent Benchwork: open grid on L-girder Height: approximately 36″ Roadbed: cork Track: […]
Facts & features Name: Lehigh Valley Scale: N (1:160) Size: 16′-0″ x 22′-6″ Prototype: Lehigh Valley Locale: eastern Pennsylvania Era: 1968 to 1976 Style: walk-in Mainline run: 90 feet Minimum radius: 13 3/4″ (industrial track), 19″ (main) Minimum turnout: no. 5 (yards), no. 7 (main) Maximum grade: 2 percent Benchwork: open grid Height: 49″ to […]
Small O and S gauge layouts are how the hobby began. To demonstrate the wonders of layouts designed to fit into small spaces, let’s travel back to when most current enthusiasts were youngsters. This most likely means we’re talking about the 25 years immediately following World War II. These men and women can trace their […]
Meeting the Electro-Motive Division SW1 The time-tested Electro-Motive Division SW1 has long been one of my favorite diesel locomotives. My fascination with the 600hp end-cab switcher didn’t start when the locomotives were earning their keep on the big railroads. Instead, my introduction came at the Crookston (Minn.) Farmers Co-op Elevator, less than a block from […]
