Walthers announces next HO scale name train

The General Train from Walthers

Wm. K. Walthers Inc. announced that Pennsylvania RR’s The General will be its next HO scale name train. The train, part of the WalthersProto line, will consist of 11 ready-to-run cars, including four available in plastic for the first time. The models will be offered in two versions: With factory-printed names or numbers as appropriate […]

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Walthers National Model Railroad Build-off Winners Announced

National Model Railroad Build Off logo

WAUKESHA, Wis. — After months of hard work from hundreds of modelers nationwide, the 2021 Walther’s National Model Railroad Build-Off has officially drawn to a close. The last day to submit a layout for consideration in the contest was May 31, with judging taking place over the past month by an anonymous panel of experienced […]

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LGB extends raffle until Aug. 31, 2021

Watercolor painting of Santa Fe's Super Chief train

LGB (Märklin), 1406 Creek Trail Dr, Jefferson City, MO 65109, is giving away an original James R. Mann watercolor of the Santa Fe Super Chief to celebrate the release of its Santa Fe A and B-units. The company is extending the raffle for the painting until Aug. 31, 2021. Mann’s painting will have the same […]

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Former Cotton Belt bridge for sale in north Texas

View down through truss bridge

DALLAS — Dallas Area Rapid Transit has regularly sold off end-of-life buses or excess parcels of land. But this time the agency has a piece of railroading history on the market: a bridge. Removal of the bridge is required to accommodate DART’s new Silver Line Regional Rail project. Currently, the bridge is a single-track truss […]

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Nickel Plate Road 765 to return to Ohio for Steam in the Valley

Steam locomotive crosses waterway on bridge

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 will return to the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad for Steam in the Valley on Sept. 3, 10-12 and 17-19. Each year, except for 2020, Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad works with the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society to bring the steam locomotive to Cuyahoga Valley National Park, […]

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Model railroad locomotive, freight car, structure, electronic, and club offering announcements for July 15, 2021

Rapido Trains General Electric U25B diesel locomotive in varying paint schemes.

Product news Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of July 15, 2021. HO scale locomotives  2-6-0 Mogul steam locomotive. Atchison, Topeka […]

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Meet the Modeler: Tony Koester

Midwestern scene on a model railroad

What was your first train set (or locomotive)? I got a Lionel O-27 train set powered by a 2-6-4 when I was all of three years old. Dad had just come home from the Army and times were tough, but little Tony really wanted a train for Christmas. Dad kept checking at the post office […]

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Biden executive order prods STB to examine rail access, competition

Surface Transportation Board logo

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden signed an executive order Friday afternoon that encourages the Surface Transportation Board to adopt rail regulatory reforms that shippers have long sought to promote competition. Among the potential changes sure to rile freight railroads: Rules that would permit reciprocal switching for captive shippers and removal of so-called bottleneck restrictions that […]

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Model railroad locomotive, freight car, passenger car, structure, detail, and electronics announcements for July 8, 2021

General Electric Lehigh Valley U23B diesel locomotive.

Product news Model railroad operators and builders can get the latest information about locomotives, freight cars, passenger cars, tools, track, and more by reading Model Railroader’s frequent product updates. Here are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of July 8, 2021. HO scale locomotives  General Electric U23B diesel locomotive. New […]

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Shipper groups, Amtrak, rail labor oppose CN-KCS merger plans

Canadian National and Kansas City Southern logos

WASHINGTON – Canadian National says it now has more than 1,700 letters of support for its proposed merger with Kansas City Southern. But in a flurry of regulatory filings submitted before a deadline on Monday, opposition grew to CN’s plan to put KCS in a voting trust while the merger is under review. Major shipping […]

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Minnesota lawmakers approve funding match required for second Chicago-Twin Cities round trip

Passenger train passing under overhead signal bridge on multi-track route

ST. PAUL, Minn. — It was only $10 million out of a $7 billion state omnibus transportation package, but the legislation signed into law on Monday by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz adds the last required match to a $31.8 million 2020 Federal Railroad Administration grant that paves the way for a second Amtrak round-trip between […]

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