Reading Company freight trains photo gallery

Black-and-white photo of steam locomotive with freight train

Reading Company freight trains are Classic Trains editors’ focus in this photo gallery.   All through October, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the gritty, coal-hauling, Pennsylvania-based Reading Company railroad. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Reading freight trains selected from the image archives of Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. Reading Company, as a railroad, […]

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Scale It Down: Ground covering for industrial outlots, Episode 7

Series host Steve Brown heads for the homestretch, as he works to complete the scenery on his down-sized (N scale) depiction of the Winston-Salem Southbound Railway. Follow the “Regular Guy” routine to learn simple ways for adding both fine and clump ground cover materials to the outlots of this industrial area.   […]

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Iowa Pacific Railroad equipment in late 2021

A maroon and yellow-stripped cab unit under clear, sunny skies.

ALAMOSA, Colorado — Iowa Pacific Railroad equipment rolled out of Alamosa in the San Luis Valley bound for days of fun, music, and beer in the Colorado mountains until just a few years ago. The Illinois Central colors of Iowa Pacific Holdings and the trains of the San Luis & Rio Grande added to the […]

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State Line Route in N scale: Wiring a layout for DC power, Episode 8

David Popp holding a meter

After a quick update with Jenny to see how her Walther’s bungalow kit is coming along, David gets to work on electrical projects. Follow along, and you’ll see how he installed feeder wires and added a power bus line under the State Line Route N scale layout. […]

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Professor Carp: Kusan produces boxcars in Mexico

Roger Carp with two Kusan boxcars

Classic Toy Trains’ Professor Carp looks at the history of Kusan boxcars. He shows some examples and details the company’s manufacturing in Tennessee and Mexico, where a number of interesting variations of the company’s “K” Series cars were produced. Those produced south of the border fetch a premium. […]

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Wood-burning steam locomotive special event

4-4-0 Eureka and 2-6-0 Glenbrook doublehead on a mixed train for fans. The location is Ferguson’s trestle. Jim Wrinn

Wood-burning steam locomotive event in 2021 Wood-burning steam locomotive trains were the highlight of a September 2021 celebration of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad that is automatically a step back in time to the 1920s. With the inclusion of the older locomotives, the clock turned back further, to about 1900. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed […]

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