‘American Orient Express’ observation car ‘New York’ at Denver in June 1996. Ten years later, the train would be rebranded as GrandLuxe Express. Chip Sherman Q What happened to the American Orient Express? It appeared on several railroad videos from the 1990s. – Frank Klos, San Diego, Calif. A The genesis of the American Orient […]
MGPX No. 201, part of the first batch of Magnetation iron ore cars built by FreightCar America, arrives in Superior, Wis., in June 2014. David C. Schauer Q I live along the BNSF Railway main line west of Chicago, and I have seen black gondola unit trains with MGPX reporting marks. Even from my second-story […]
A Cargill unit feed train rolls through Shawnee, Kan., in June 2009. The train consists of covered bathtub gondolas pulled from coal service. Zach Pumphery Q While traveling near Atchison, Kan., I noticed a BNSF Railway train with covered bathtub coal gondolas. What were the covers for, and could they be removed should they be […]
A Norfolk Southern SD70ACe pushes on an empty crude oil train in Toledo, Ohio, in March 2013. Michael D. Harding Q Watching passing freight trains, I’ve seen a locomotive located in the middle or at the end of the train. Are these pusher locomotives being run by remote control by the engineer in the lead […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Weathering effects can make a model appear as though it’s ridden the rails for a million miles or more. But what if you want to model a locomotive that’s relatively fresh from the shop? Let Cody show you quick and easy techniques that’ll […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Weathering effects can make a model appear as though it’s ridden the rails for a million miles or more. But what if you want to model a locomotive that’s relatively fresh from the shop? Let Cody show you quick and easy techniques that’ll […]
Name: Canadian Canyons Scale: N (1:160) Size: 5′-7″ x 8′-0″ Prototypes: Canadian National, Canadian Pacific Locale: British Columbia, Canada Era: 2015 to present day Style: multilevel, island Mainline run: 113 feet Minimum radius: 13″ Minimum turnout: Peco code 55 medium Maximum grade: 1.9 percent (in helix) Benchwork: free-standing sectional Height: 40″ Roadbed: Midwest cork strips […]
2018 Grand Prize: Todd Halamka Having lived and worked in Chicago for nearly my entire adult life, the city continues to nurture two passions — buildings and trains. The Chicago River and the Loop elevated rail are two key components that define the urban core. The newly opened Chicago Riverwalk invites residents and visitors to […]
FULL SCREEN Runner-up: Before I was of driving age, I railfanned Tacoma, Wash., using my father’s small boat: buzzing up and down the Tacoma Narrows and other waterways, gathering knowledge of photography and railroad operations. After getting my license, I continued to photograph trains from the water. From my boat, May 5, 2013, in Tacoma, beachgoers […]
We didn’t have room to publish all the photos from Eric Brooman’s spectacular HO scale Utah Belt, featured in the December 2018 Model Railroader. Check out these bonus trackside images. […]
Name: Utah Belt (2018) Layout owner: Eric Brooman Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 22′-8″ x 39′-6″ Prototype: freelanced Locale: northern New Mexico Era: the present Style: linear walkaround Mainline run: 173 feet Minimum radius: 39″ Minimum turnout: no. 6 Maximum grade: 1.5 percent Benchwork: L girder Height: 46″ to 58-1/2″ Roadbed: cork on 3/8″ plywood, with […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Cody continues adding realistic weathering effects to a modern N scale locomotive – all without using an airbrush! Follow along as he shares tips and techniques for working with powders (see the December 2017 issue of Model Railroader magazine) to weather the unit from […]
