Techniques for improving the operation and customizing the appearance of your model trains.
This week's freight car is a specially equipped TTX flatcar designed to haul loads of rebar. A car like this would be a relatively simple kitbash from cars already available in most scales.
For a larger image of this and other freight cars, see the Freight Car Image Gallery pages.
Meet me at Conrail Days at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania this weekend. The event, organized with the Conrail Historical Society, features displays, operating model railroads and guest speakers all focused on "Big Blue."
The next release of the Athearn F89F flatcar reviewed last month has hit hobby shop shelves. These cars feature the paired hitch arrangement of the KTTX reporting marks. This second release features several detail variations among the 13 cars released. As an adendum to the original review, the new variations can be seen here. Additional variations are still coming and will be reviewed when available.
The HO market has been flooded with several very high quality models of 89' intermodal flatcars in recent years, but the Athearn Genesis cars really raise the bar for models across the board.
May 10 has been an important date in railroad history several times over. In 1893, the New York Central's Empire State Express made its first run at the unprecidented speed of 100 mph. In 1948, President Harry Truman seized control of all American railroads to avert a hostile labor strike.
But most famously of all, in 1869 the Union Pacific and Central Pacific joined rails with a final golden spike at Promentory Summit, Utah. Perhaps in recognition of the event I'll have to finish the track on the Rio Grande layout tonight... no 100 mph passenger runs however.
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