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Edition 6 Was Made Possible By... Executive Board:
Evan Cihlar: President and CEO Garrett Monnin: Vice President and COO Jonah Collins: Editor-in-Chief Max Harris: Assistant Editor, Advertising Manager Tim Lewis: Social Media Manager, Human Resources
Authors and Photographers: Walker Wood: Author Clayton Cook: Author Carlos Llamas: Author Adam Zappacosta: Author Matthew Malkiewicz: Author and Photographer
A Special Thank You To: Max Railroad for Sponsoring Edition 6 Adam Matthews for Providing Photos Riley Ginger for Providing Photos Larry Amaloo for Providing Photos Rail Archives for Providing Photos Lost Tracks of Time for Providing Cover Photo and Other Photos Dillon Goble for Providing Photos Tyler Nolan for Providing Photos and an Article Stockyard Express LLC for Providing Support and Selling Magazines Esther's Hobby Shop for Providing Support and Selling Magazines Our Readers for Providing Support, Dedication, and Helping us Grow as a Family
Le er from the President
Railroading in America Magazine would like to thank everyone who helped make this edition possible. Edition 6 has been filled with action-packed content and photos provided by these generous railroad enthusiasts: Adam Matthews, Riley Ginger, Rail Archives, Larry Amaloo, Lost Tracks of Time, Dillon Goble, and Tyler Nolan. Our crew has worked countless hours to make Edition 6 a success, and I will promise you this: you will not be disappointed with what articles are included in this edition. A special thank you goes out to Maxrailroad for sponsoring this edition of Railroading in America Magazine, your support means a lot to everyone on crew with us. Our design crew has been working extremely hard to re-design our website, www.railroadinginamerica.com, and our magazines. Last edition we experimented with articles being formatted in all one column, and per reader feedback we have reverted back to the classic two column design. Pictures that strech across the page in a panoramic-like manner will make you feel like you are one with the moment that was captured not only in the photo, but in the article as well. Railroading in America Magazine has welcomed a newcomer to our magazine, Matthew Malkiewicz. Matthew is an avid railroad enthusiast, photographer, and author. Many of you have seen his work on his Instagram profile, @losttrackso time, or from our Edition 5 cover. Matthew has submitted an article that fits under the "experience" category on page 9. You can visit Matthew Malkiewicz's full portfolio at www.losttrackso time.com. Thank you Matthew for your extended support and upli t of the magazine!
Le er from the Design Chief
Railroading isn’t a hobby to me, it’s a lifestyle. Without my trains, I probably wouldn’t have the motivation to get out of bed in the morning, so i try to incorporate trains into my everyday life. As a full time student, this can be challenging, but I make do. When I get bored in school I’ll o ten sketch a part of my layout on graph paper. For projects, I always find a way to make it about trains, like when used my knowledge of insulation board construction to build an Aquaduct for Latin class. These little things help get me through the days when i can’t be working on my layout. I need trains to get through the days, because they make me feel like nothing else can. Trains are much more than a hobby, it’s a stress reliever, it’s a happy place, and it’s my way of life. Railroading in America Magazine has given me an opportunity to make trains even more a part of my life. With RIAM, I know that I am going to go places in the railroad industry eventually.
Railroading in America Magazine Edition 6:
Table of Contents Page 1................................................................................ Oddball Diesels Page 3................ Steam Locomotives with Short-Lived Service Careers Page 5....................................... Amtrak's New Private Car Abolishment Page 9...................................... TVRM Lerro Productions Photo Charter Page 10............................................ The Steam to Diesel Era Transition Page 13..............................................................Rebirth of the Wiscassett, Waterville, and Farmington Railway Page 15............................................ How I Met Norfolk and Western 611 Page 19....... Restoration Projects on the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad Page 21.................................. Adventures on the Christiansburg Distric Page 25............................ The Future of Steam Locomotive Excursions Page 27.... Product Spotlight: MTH's Reading & Northern PaciďŹ c #425 Page 29............. Southern PaciďŹ c Daylight #4449's History and Future Page 33..................................................... Our Sponsors and Advertisers
Railroading in America Magazine Edition 6:
About Us Railroading in America Magazine was founded by two high school students, Evan Cihlar (President) and Garrett Monnin (Vice President) in January, 2017. Since the formation of the magazine, Railroading in America has had numerous guest authors such as Carlos Llamas, an engineer and avid railroad enthusiast from the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad. Carlos has been a locomotive engineer and fireman on the Cumbres and Toltec for 28 years, and has worked with other steam locomotives around the Western United States for many years before the Cumbres and Toltec. All of Railroading in America Magazine’s articles are written by railroad enthusiasts. The majority of the group are high school students. The first edition of Railroading in America Magazine was published to Evan Cihlar’s model railroad website for a free PDF download, and got over 10,000 downloads within the first month of publication. For the second edition, downloads spiked with 20,000 downloads within the first 24 hours, and 35,000 downloads in a month’s time. The third edition got 40,000 downloads within the first month. Edition four was the magazine’s first attempt at professional design, and downloads soured through the roof at 45,000 downloads.
UP X-18 Is Pictured at it's Final Resting Place
Adventures on the Christiansburg District
The Future of Steam Excursions
Restoration Projects on the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad
Railroading in America Magazine Edition 6:
Oddball Diesels
Walker Wood
Since the late 1950s and early 1960s, the diesel locomotive has been the main power on freight and passenger trains for all railroads. There have been several models, such as EMD’s SD40-2 or GE’s ES44AC, which have been extremely popular and good performers since their inception. Other models, such as EMD’s SD24, GP20 or GE’s U30B, may have only been moderately successful and were not widely used on railroads. Let’s take a look at some of these so-called “oddballs” of a given railroad’s leet. For the purposes of this article, we will only focus on engines that had low sales, were not reliable, and/or were generally not common power on any railroad.
EMD's GP39 and SD39
Both the GP and SD variants of this model were not too popular on railroads. Built between 1968 and 1970, the SD39 and GP39 saw a combined 77 engines built total. They were both 2,300 horsepower, but were largely in the shadows compared to sales of engines like the GP38, SD40, and GP40, all of which saw more than 500 of each kind built, with the later two having over 1,200 built in a similar timeframe. Later sales of the GP39-2 were moderately successful, however there were no new SD39-2s built at EMD’s locomotive shop in LaGrange, Illinois. Some GP39s can still be found in revenue service, but they are few and far between.
Union Pacific's Gas Turbines
The Union Pacific Railroad operated a leet of gas turbine-electric locomotives (GTELs) for roughly 25-30 years. At one time, they had as many as 56 operating on their system. These engines were more powerful than any diesel at the time, but it came at the expense of high fuel consumption, and higher maintenance than a conventional diesel engine. The fuel they burned, Bunker C fuel oil, had a consistency similar to molasses at room temperature, which meant that the fuel had to be heated up before it was used in the locomotive. Turbines 51-75 were all built and delivered between 1953 and 1954. The first nine are considered to be “first-generation” GTELs and the final fourteen are considered to be “second-generation.” However, both first and second generation models produced 4,800 horsepower, of which 4,500 was available for traction. Eight of the second generation units were equipped to run with other locomotives, while the others could only run alone. These engines were primarily assigned to trains between Ogden, Utah and Laramie, Wyoming. The third-generation of GTELs was ordered in 1955. These became the world’s most powerful locomotives, producing a whopping 8,500 horsepower! These turbines were set up with three parts: the A-Unit, which had the cab, auxiliary generators, and a fuel tank; the B-Unit, which housed the main turbine and generators; and the fuel tender, which could hold an impressive 24,000 gallons of fuel. Instead of using steam generators to heat the Bunker C fuel, the tenders came insulated. Thirty of these beasts roamed the Union Pacific between 1958 and 1969. They only ran while their fuel was inexpensive, but as Bunker C became more expensive, UP started phasing out the turbines. Today, only two GTELs were saved from scrap. Turbine 18 is on static display at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois, and number 26 is on display at the Utah State Railroad Museum in Ogden, Utah. 1
Railroading in America Magazine Edition 6: History
EMD's SD50
In the 1980s, EMD was still seeing massive success from the SD40-2. In an attempt to make a high-horsepower engine available, they created the SD50, a 3,500 horsepower unit. It used the same 16-645 prime mover that the SD40-2 did, but this proved to be a big mistake by EMD, as the SD50 became a mechanically troubled engine. This would hurt EMD’s sales and reputation as a builder. Today, SD50s can be found on both CSX (as SD50-2 or SD50-3 rebuilds) and Norfolk Southern (as SD40Es). They are the only two Class 1 railroads to still own any variant of SD50. Some short lines, like the Utah Railway, and leasing companies, such as National Railway Equipment own the rest. However, CSX owns the most by far, since theirs were inherited from the now-defunct Seaboard System and Chessie System (the two railroads that merged to form CSX), as well as 25 from Conrail.
Railroading in America Magazine Edition 6:
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Product Spotlight: MTH Reading and Northern Pacific #425 MTH Trains’ new Reading and Northern 425 Heavy Pacific pushes the boundaries on the status quo for O Scale Steam. The detail and sounds on this engine sets the bar higher than ever before for any O Scale engine. Heavy Pacifics are locomotives that took the stage during World War One. These locomotives were known for their power and speed, which was well ahead of the time. MTH o fered these locomotives in several paint variants in their 2017 Volume 2 catalog, and then o fered the locomotive we see here as an uncataloged version. This paint scheme is the more modern one, while the cataloged RBMN 425 is an older scheme. No matter which paint you buy, the engines are all the same, except for some sounds. These engines come standard with a fan driven smoke unit, MTH’s Protosound 3.0, LED lights, and die cast construction. The minimum curve needed to run one is 0-42. Before we get into the specifics here, it is important to note that the real RBMN 425 is a light pacific, so there are a few areas of this model that are not 100% correct, like the width of the boiler. Regardless, this locomotive is very well built and does perfectly capture the sound, look, and feel of the real 425. The detail on this engine is o f the charts. The front features several separately applied handrails, a coupler cut bar, and a dummy scale coupler. The boiler features LED marker lights and a LED headlight, along with rivet details surrounding. The bell is also located on the smokebox, and has a pull cord going back to the cab. On the sides of the engine, there is safety tread on the walkways and lots of handrail details, and even builders plates. The drive gear is 27
Max Harris
beautiful, and even better when the engine is in motion, especially with the white-walled wheels! Inside the cab, there are two hand painted crew figures, and a lighted firebox, and hand painted valves. The tender features a real coal load, operating LED backup and marker lights, and lots of rivets! As you can see in the pictures, the paint is crisp and clean, and will grab the eyes of anyone who sees the engine. When it comes to sounds, MTH knocked this engine out of the park. The locomotive thunders down the rails, and the whistle is a perfect representation of a Reading 6 Chime, and it quills! The bell is firm and consistent, and gives a sound no one can ignore. The star of the sounds however, is the crew talk. MTH went above and beyond by having Russ Scianna Jr. do the crew talk. Scianna works on the Reading and Northern, and o fered to do the crew talk for this engine. You can also find his voice in the Norfolk Southern AC44C6M’s and the Reading Bee-Line heritage unit from the same catalog! MTH went ahead of their game here to make a realistic model of a modern day legend. This locomotive runs at a retail price of $1,099.99, and will always bring a smile to your face, guaranteed!
Railroading in America Magazine Edition 6: Product Spotlight
Railroading in America Magazine Edition 6: Product Spotlight
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Railroading in America Magazine Edition 6: Important Information