ScaleTrains HO Rivet Counter EMD GP30

Color photo of HO scale engine painted blue and black on scenic base.

An Electro-Motive Division GP30, one of the most recognizable diesels of the second generation, is now available in HO scale from ScaleTrains. The Rivet Counter line model has railroad-specific details, semi-scale Type E couplers, and all-wheel drive and electrical pickup. Prototype history Electro-Motive Division produced the GP30 between July 1961 and November 1963. During the […]

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Classic Trains Film Archive | Tehachapi Loop, California, J. David Ingles Reel 4005

Classic Trains Film Archive | Tehachapi Loop, California, J. David Ingles Reel 4005 – From the vintage film collection of J. David Ingles, you’ll see trains of Southern Pacific Railroad and Santa Fe Railway climb, conquer, and descend south-central California’s venerable Tehachapi Loop. Dave rises for the opportunity to trek trackside in the Tehachapi Mountains…all […]

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Don Sims covers Nevada Northern Railway

Diesel locomotive with freight train by wooden water tank

The Nevada Northern Railway might be the most remote railroad attraction in the Lower 48, and it’s also one of the most valuable. Just ask any of the thousands of people who make the trek each year out to windswept Ely, the east-central Nevada town that hosts one of our finest steam operations. Headlined by […]

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Climbing over La Mesa Model Railroad Club’s Tehachapi Subdivision

Climbing over La Mesa Model Railroad Club’s Tehachapi Subdivision | In this Trains.com Video Exclusive Layout Extra, our staff captures trackside views of both freight and passenger train forging the enormous 42 x 80-foot HO (1:87) scale public display depicting the route over Southern California’s famed Tehachapi Loop. Sit back and enjoy this extended reel […]

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Lionel postwar military switch engines

black and white catalog page

Kids of the 1950s loved Lionel’s little switch engines. The stubby proportions and whirling drive rods of these classics give them an industrious appearance as they scoot around a layout. Lionel produced them in a number of colorful and collectible variations. Did the prototypes really exist? Yes, at least in their initial releases. Lionel was […]

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Why did railroads use train orders?

Scan of train order with information written in pen.

If you’ve read Model Railroader or many of our books and special issues, you’ve probably seen references to timetable-and-train-order operation, or TTTO for short. Employee timetables (ETT) that governed TTTO operation listed station names, mileposts, train numbers and classes, departure and arrival times, and operating instructions, among other items, to govern train movements. So why […]

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Best-selling second-generation Electro-Motive diesel locomotives

SD40 model of second-generation Electro-Motive diesel locomotives

Although a latecomer to the hood unit market, EMD became the dominant builder of road switchers with the GP7. Dynamic brakes are indicated by a protruding housing (“blister”) with grids atop the middle of the long hood, with rooftop cooling fans above it. The radiators are at the end of the hood, with an intake […]

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ScaleTrains HO EMD GP30

Title screen of video showing HO scale diesel locomotive painted blue and black with white graphics.

The ScaleTrains HO scale EMD GP30 is the subject of our latest product review video. Join Editor Eric White as he discusses the history of the Electro-Motive Division four-axle road switcher and Conrail No. 2229; highlights the various separate, factory-applied details on the Rivet Counter line model; and demonstrates the sound and light functions. Then […]

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ScaleTrains HO EMD GP30

Title screen of video showing HO scale diesel locomotive painted blue and black with white graphics.

The ScaleTrains HO scale EMD GP30 is the subject of our latest product review video. Join Editor Eric White as he discusses the history of the Electro-Motive Division four-axle road switcher and Conrail No. 2229; highlights the various separate, factory-applied details on the Rivet Counter line model; and demonstrates the sound and light functions. Then […]

Read More…