The Prototype Following World War II, the Canadian National Railway embarked on an ambitious modernization program for it’s passenger services, purchasing a fleet of new lightweight coaches and sleeping cars for long distance routes. Although the new cars were successful, the program was never fully realized due to metal shortages following the war, and CN …
Continue reading “Exclusive Preview – The Kato CN Transcontinental Set”
As model railroaders, we put a lot of time, effort, and money into building something special. If you’re like us, you’ve probably spent years developing a collection of structures, scenery items, and of course, rolling stock to fit your railroads’ needs. While the goal is always to include as many of these items as possible …
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The Prototype The Pullman-Standard Car Manufacturing Company was the result of a merger between the original Pullman Car Company (a pioneer in passenger comfort and rail dining) and the Standard Steel Car Company in 1929. This came at a crucial transition period in passenger car development. Until this point, most passenger cars were being constructed …
Found throughout North America, short line railroads serve as the “last mile” haulers for many freight cars. Often operating on a shoestring budget compared to class one railroads, these operations can be hidden gems of vintage locomotives and old-time railroading practices. In this article, we’re going to look at some of the hallmarks of short …
The Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) is one of the “big four” class one freight railroads currently headquartered in the United States. While the Union Pacific and BNSF dominate the western half of the country, the Norfolk Southern Railway operates alongside CSX as one of the largest operators based east of the Mississippi. Maintaining 21,500 route …
Adding water to your layout is one of the best ways to achieve a dynamic, realistic looking scene. Even if you don’t plan to include a river or major water feature in your landscape, whether due to size or the geographical theme of your route, small scenes such as ponds are a great natural element …
The Santa Fe Railway – officially known as the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway or ATSF – is undoubtably one of the most well recognized railroads in American history. Somewhat surprisingly, the ATSF mainline didn’t actually serve the city of Santa Fe, which was only reachable via a branch line. However thanks to the …
The Prototype As mass production of automobiles increased during the 1950s and 60s, specially designed railcars became a crucial component in their construction and delivery. Early auto carriers were built with open sides, and looked similar in appearance to car-carrying road trailers. This presented several problems, the most prominent being exposure to weather, and more …
Continue reading “The New Atlas Gunderson “Multi Max” Autorack”
Graffiti is an emotive topic. S imply mention the word and you’ll elicit responses that range from “vandalism” to “artistic genius” and several degrees in-between. Regardless, it’s undeniable that graffiti is a noticeable part of modern life, and is particularly prevalent on our railroad system. When Did the Graffiti Movement Begin? While some point to …
While there are many pre-built trees available, few can match Scenic Express SuperTrees in either realism or value for money. Here are 5 easy steps for building trees in minutes!