For 146 years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Train criss-crossed the nation as America’s longest passenger train. With a mile-long train of passenger cars and container flats and housing about 300 performers and crew, the circus train was a regular sight on American railroads. The Ringling Bros. shut down operations in 2017 […]
Welcome back to the Olympia & Sand Creek series with host David Popp. While David has been sidetracked with efforts to build the cart before the horse, now’s the time to put that tandem into its place! In this installment, you’ll see how to shape up a removable tipple scene that sits atop a plateau. […]
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has faced numerous challenges in the last few years, the results of which have attributed to the end of using coal to fire their steam locomotive fleet. Following a major fire near the railroad, the D&S fast-tracked a program to convert their steam engines to burn oil. A […]
Our host Gerry Leone heads for the hills in this episode of Spaces to Places! More specifically, he works a bit on the topography of the underpass area and how the highway routes through it all. Wisely, Gerry elects to make a template of his initial design, and then uses it to guide his efforts shaping up […]
Trains LIVE — Mikados — 3-29-2024 — As rail traffic expanded in the early 1900s, the 2-8-0 steam locomotive class had reached its apex. The railroads, however, needed more power, which meant expanding steam-generating capacity. More steam meant having a larger fire and firebox to hold it. Fireboxes became wider, moving behind the last driving […]
Travel with Trains.com to the Hartford Line, a busy stretch of commuter railroad operating passenger service between New Haven, Conn. and Springfield, Mass. Opened in 2018 and featuring up to 35 passenger trains a day, this state-supported passenger rail corridor features both CT rail service and Amtrak Regionals. In addition, we’ll view Amtrak Vermonter, which […]
In celebration of Green Mountain Railroad’s 60th Anniversary, Trains.com visited the snow-covered mountains of Vermont to view wintertime operations. Now part of the Vermont Rail System, the Green Mountain is a vital cog moving freight across the entire state. Operating over a former Rutland Railroad mainline, we’ll follow train 263 running between Rutland and Bellows […]
Trains LIVE — Restoring Montana Western No. 31 — 3-15-2024 — At the root of the diesel-electric locomotive family tree is the Electro-Motive Corp. motorcar or doodlebug, as they were sometimes called. The EMC motorcar employed traction technology that today is common — an internal combustion engine turning an electric generator feeding power to axle-mounted […]
Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, stretching between Washington, D.C. and Boston, Mass., is one of the heaviest trafficked passenger railroads in the United States. Owned by Amtrak, and operated under electric catenary, the Northeast Corridor is America’s high-speed rail mainline. Travel along with Trains.com as we go trackside in Connecticut and Rhode Island to view a parade […]
In this episode, David turns to a new construction technique as he forms the body of a wagon using resin impregnated paper. In his initial attempt with this material, David finds that it cuts, shapes, and assembles in manner similar to styrene. Follow along as he walks through the working limits and shares his valuable […]
Light rail commuter service has arrived in the state of North Carolina. The Charlotte Area Transit System, or CATS, was formed in 1999, and initiated rail service with the Lynx Blue Line in 2007. This line now stretches 19 miles between the UNC Charlotte campus on the north side of town, and a station near Pineville […]
In this episode of Spaces to Places, we find host Gerry Leone in the thick of two projects! The main objective of his efforts was to build out the highway underpass and scenery along a layout peninsula. But Gerry also scrambles to complete trackwork reconfiguration that will improved the operation of his HO scale Bona […]
