Christmas Garden

The planning and preparation commenced immediately after Thanksgiving and construction began as soon as the family Christmas tree was in place and fully decorated. The early displays featured country village, a church and a crèche, which were placed under the spreading boughs of pine. Later, lakes, hills, bridges and miniature model railroads were added to …

 

Thunder of the Railroad and Magic of Bright Lights

The very real voice of the railroad is the commanding thunder of a powerful locomotive. To be sure, the giant steam locomotives that once powered our Nation had an emotional and pictorial edge over electric locomotives or diesel-electrics. But each unique class of motive power has a distinctive and captivating sound that resonates in memory, …

 

Too Many Wheels

The recent development and deployment of high horsepower, high adhesion diesel-electric locomotives represent the culmination of efforts to build a more powerful, efficient and reliable form of motive power. Midway in that technological journey 100 years ago, railroads built larger steam locomotives that featured too many wheels and not enough steaming capacity to make the …

 

Fun With Trains

The battle rages on between those model railroaders that are perfectionists when creating every aspect of their model railroad and its climate-controlled environment and those satisfied with something less perfect but fully satisfying. The battle started early in the scale movement and was not confined to actual craftsmanship and size of a model railroad empire …

 

Powering Amtrak’s Future

Amtrak’s fleet of new Charger and Sprinter locomotives materially changed the operation and visual image of US passenger service. Adapted from the successful. EuroSprinter designs, both classes of locomotives are delivering reliable performance and maintain creditable safety records. The electric locomotives are designed to be capable of accelerating 18 Amfleet cars to maximum speeds as high as …