A ghost from the past is staging to return! In the spring of 2023, the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad announced that No. 722 would be going into the shops for a return to operational service. Let’s take a look back to see how this historic Southern Railway 2-8-0 steam locomotive arrived at this point. […]
Watch trains steaming through the builder’s depiction of coal operations in Virginia and West Virginia in the 1950s. On this layout, mirrors and a cathedral ceiling make the mid-sized HO scale (1:87.1) layout feel much larger! To learn even more about the builder and layout details, be sure to read the July 2023 issue of […]
Southern Pacific 2-8-0 3406 works mixed train No. 1 on the Nacozari Railroad between Douglas, Ariz., and Nacozari, Mexico, in spring 1958. Steam lasted on the SP subsidiary until January 1959, two years after diesels took over the rest of the SP system. Donald Duke photo […]
Santa Fe 5000, built by Baldwin in 1930, was the road’s first 2-10-4 designed as such. (One member of the road’s 3800 class of 2-10-2s was built in 1919 with a four-wheel trailing truck.) Nicknamed “Madam Queen” after a comic strip character, No. 5000 laid the groundwork for the greatly enhanced 5001 class of 1938. […]
Steam trains have been running at Durbin, W.Va., for the past 20 years. But if you look closely, this video captures double-headed Shay steam locomotives working up from Cass, W.Va., for the first time since 1985! Hop aboard for the sights and sounds on this special, restored route along the Greenbrier River. Want to see […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — Norfolk & Western steam locomotive No. 611 debuted for its 2023 operating season last weekend with a series of events and excursions on the Strasburg Rail Road. The J-class 4-8-4 returned to the tourist railroad earlier this month after spending the beginning of the year as an exhibit at the next-door Railroad […]
News & Products for the week of May 22nd 2023 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. The following are the products Model Railroader editors have news on for the week of May 22nd 2023. […]
A small track gang replaces ties on one of the tracks served by the coal wharf at New York Central’s engine terminal at Rensselaer, N.Y., across the Hudson River from Albany, sometime in the 1930s. NYC photo […]
Southern No. 722 BRYSON CITY, N.C. — The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad has announced plans to restore operation Southern Railway No. 722, a 2-8-0 built by Baldwin in 1904. Plans are to convert the locomotive from coal to oil firing in a process estimated to be completed in 2026, the railroad said in a press […]
Big Boy trip 2023 OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 will travel to Omaha, Neb., for 11 days of display during the NCAA College World Series baseball championship tournament, the railroad announced today. The locomotive and its train of heritage passenger cars will depart Cheyenne, Wyo., on the “Home Run Express Tour,” […]
This view from the fireman’s seat on a Norfolk & Western 2-6-6-4 shows the station and yard tracks at Blue Ridge, Va., near the crest of the grade for eastbound trains out of Roanoke, 11 miles behind the train. W. A. Akin Jr. photo […]
Unlike modern machines, the steam locomotive — which underwent few fundamental changes in 125 years of development — openly displays many of its parts. This mechanical honesty has long captivated onlookers and invited study, but many still wonder just how steam locomotives work. In fact, entire books have been devoted to the subject. There are […]
