Big Boy in Texas and Mid-South photo gallery, August 2021

Big Boy locomotive moving over a rural grade crossing.

  Trains contributors Steve Smedley and Sol Tucker present some of their choice images from chasing Union Pacific Big Boy in Texas and the Mid-South. Big Boy’s 2021 trip from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to New Orleans and back is the locomotive’s first excursion since 2019. For more information, see the Union Pacific steam schedule online. Also, […]

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State Line Route in N scale: Building legs for a layout, Episode 3

David and Jenny jump right into the assembly of the removeable, wood legs and braces used to elevate the L-girder benchwork off the ground. Along the way, David shares construction tips and tricks that apply to the construction of any layout – large or small! […]

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San Francisco Cable Car Free Ride

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (sfmta.com) iconic cable cars are up and running again. Even better, rides are free of charge in the month of August 2021! But if you want to skip the lines, watch this Trains.com slow-TV video of the ups, downs, and close calls on the notoriously steep downtown streets of San […]

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Motive power preparations on Dave Abeles’ Conrail Onondaga Cutoff

On Dave Abeles’ HO scale Conrail-inspired layout, locomotive fleet operations warrant the same careful attention as it does in 1:1 scale. Follow along to see how he and his crew ready the motive power for smooth and reliable performance at the head-end of his trains! […]

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