Steve Albee’s O gauge layout

Subway cars racing by on an O gauge layout.

Visit Steve Albee’s dual-level O gauge layout that fits in a spare room! This layout is one of many with plans that appears in the fall 2021 CTT special publication Toy train layouts for small spaces. Get your print or digital version here! There are freight trains and subways bringing light, action, and sound to […]

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Australian mining firm is first buyer for Wabtec battery-electric locomotive

Red and black locomotive with full-width carbody to accomodate batteries

PITTSBURGH — Australian mining company Roy Hill has become the first purchaser of Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive. Wabtec and Roy Hill announced the purchase on Monday. Roy Hill will receive the second-generation version of the FLXdrive locomotive, currently under development for delivery in 2023, which will have an energy capacity of 7 megawatt hours. The […]

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Will railroads emerge winners from efforts to fight climate change?

Formal portrait of man in suit and tie

CHICAGO –—Climate change provides an opportunity for railroads, even as more frequent extreme weather events take a toll on railroad operations and infrastructure and require investments in new locomotive technology, executives told a shipper conference last week. The increased emphasis on sustainability is a tremendous opportunity for rail carriers, BNSF CEO Katie Farmer told the […]

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News photo: Wabtec battery-electric locomotive on the move

Red and gray locomotive with red locomotive

  ERIE, Pa. — Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery-electric locomotive is on the road again. The demonstrator unit returned to the company’s Erie factory after concluding BNSF Railway testing in California in April [see “Wabtec, BNSF conclude initial tests …,” Trains News Wire, April 30, 2021], left the factory on Friday in the company of ET44C6 demonstrator […]

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How to keep rust off your trains

Hal Miller with a water-damaged locomotive box

Those little packets of silica gel that come in model train and other boxes are there for a reason – to keep moisture away from your valuable items. Classic Toy Trains Editor Hal Miller tells you how they work and where you can get more if you’ve thrown yours away. […]

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How to keep rust off your trains

Hal Miller with a water-damaged locomotive box

Those little packets of silica gel that come in model train and other boxes are there for a reason – to keep moisture away from your valuable items. Classic Toy Trains Editor Hal Miller tells you how they work and where you can get more if you’ve thrown yours away. […]

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How to lubricate your locomotives

Hand lubricating a toy train locomotive

In this Workbench Minute video, CTT editor Hal Miller shows the basics of locomotive lubrication with O gauge diesel. The techniques are also useful on steam engines and locomotives in S gauge, too. He shows what to use (and where to get it), where to use it, and reinforces the idea that less is more […]

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How to lubricate your locomotives

Hand lubricating a toy train locomotive

In this Workbench Minute video, CTT editor Hal Miller shows the basics of locomotive lubrication with O gauge diesel. The techniques are also useful on steam engines and locomotives in S gauge, too. He shows what to use (and where to get it), where to use it, and reinforces the idea that less is more […]

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Wabtec, GM sign deal to develop battery, hydrogen technology for locomotives

Wabtec logo

PITTSBURGH — Wabtec Corp. and General Motors have announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on power systems for Wabtec locomotives, developing GM’s Ultium battery technology and Hydrotec hydrogen fuel cell systems. Wabtec CEO Rafael Santana said in a press release that the company’s FLXdrive batter-electric locomotive, which recently completed testing on […]

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Locomotive expert urges rail industry to accelerate research on diesel replacements

Red and gray locomotive

  With the federal government partnering with truck manufacturers to improve the fuel efficiency of diesel rigs, and electric trucks beginning to hit the roads, the railroad industry needs to step up its efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate locomotive emissions. That’s the view of consultant Michael Iden, whose four-decade railroad career was devoted to […]

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