Click on the image or link to download a PDF of this drawing of the Union Pacific Big Boy In 1941 the Union Pacific RR took delivery of its first 4-8-8-4 single-expansion articulated steam locomotives. Aptly named “Big Boy,” these 7,000 hp, 386-ton locomotives were the heaviest and among the most powerful simple articulateds ever […]
Passenger car end details were pretty standard and most followed the pattern used on sleeping cars built by the Pullman Co. The car in the photo is Crystal Point, a Pullman 3-compartment, 2-drawing-room, observation lounge assigned to the Milwaukee Road’s Olympian Hiawatha in 1947. A number of details are visible that appear on most cars […]
Railroad equipment sustains a great deal of wear and tear as the freight cars travel about the country. For this reason, all cars receive careful attention from car inspectors anytime they move through a yard or terminal. Car inspectors are trained to look for anything that’s wrong with a freight car, from damaged safety appliances […]
Long stretches of elevated main line gave the New York Central RR’s 30th Street Branch its High Line nickname. New York Central RR’s 30th Street Branch was known as the High Line because of its long stretch of elevated mainline track. Learn all about this interesting prototype railroad in the article below originally published in […]
In the December 2014 Model Railroader, Seth Neumann and Chris Drone wrote an article about using radio-frequency identification (RFID) and a computer to track rolling stock and new possibilities for operation. Prototype railroads have been using scanning technology since the late 1960s. Automatic Car Identification (ACI) used an optical reader and a color-coded plate to […]
For many years small towns were a major source of traffic for railroads all across the country. Long before anyone ever heard of freeways, the railroads moved all sorts of carload and less-than-carload lot (LCL) freight that kept the local businesses and nearby agricultural economy going. A local station agent-operator was the railroad’s representative who […]
Helper operations were carefully coordinated using locomotive whistle signals as specified in the railroad’s operating rules: (an “o” denotes a short sound, while a dash – indicates a longer whistle blast). The lead engineer handled the train’s air brake while each helper engineer had an independent brake for just his engine. Two long blasts on […]
Head-end traffic helped cover some of the costs of America’s passenger trains for many years. Contracts with the United States Postal Service covered the transportation of mail, while the Railway Express Agency (REA) provided a nation- wide package delivery service. Small-to-medium-sized railroads forwarded most of the mail in Railway Post Office (RPO) cars and packages […]
1950: Dieselization – Ten Class 1 railroads had already dieselized before this year, including the Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay; Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville (Monon); Columbus & Greenville; Detroit & Mackinac; Elgin, Joliet & Eastern; Gulf, Mobile & Ohio; Lehigh & New England; New York, Ontario & Western; New York, Susquehanna & Western; and Texas-Mexican. […]
USRA locomotives were born under unique circumstances. A confluence of circumstances led to the nationalization of many of America’s railroads under President Woodrow Wilson in 1917. The outbreak of World War I, which necessitated a ramp-up of American industrial production capacity, and the financial circumstances of the early 1910s led to a liquidity crisis for […]
Many of our model railroads have freight stations, but we don’t always make the most of their operational possibilities. Especially for cities from medium to larger size, freight stations can be among the busiest industries on our layouts. Freight stations provide rail service to businesses that don’t have their own rail sidings. You can think […]
In any hobby, or indeed in any field, there is terminology used as shorthand by those with experience in the hobby or field, to refer to things specific to that hobby. That terminology, though, can be a barrier to entry for the uninitiated. This article is intended to serve as a brief introduction to model […]
