All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm throughout the Southwest and Midwest

  • 0
  • 1

Cowcatcher Magazine

  • Home
  • News
    • Top News
    • Class 1 Railroads
    • Short Line Railroads
    • Light Rail / Commuter
    • Model Railroading
    • Railroad in Focus
    • Up Close
    • Heritage
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Info & Updates
    • Subscribe or Renew with Paypal
    • Subscribe or Renew with Credit Card
    • Back Issues
    • Retrospectives
  • Contact Us
  • Available At

Train Show Update: Safety emphasized for in-person Dallas show; Amherst opts for virtual format

Jan 13th, 2021

Two regional U.S. train shows in January are on schedule, although they’re taking different paths to reach rail enthusiasts.

The 36th annual Dallas Area Train Show is going on as planned Jan. 16-17, raising the curtain at the Plano Event Center. Nearly two thousand miles away in Palmer, MA, the Amherst Railway Society Railroad Hobby Show, one of the country’s largest, will host a virtual show a couple of weekends later after shelving its annual in-person event.  

Safety protocols will be highly emphasized at the Dallas Area Train Show, which is set for Jan. 16-17 in Plano, TX. Above, social distancing was in effect at the Temple Train Show last fall in Temple, TX. – Cowcatcher Magazine

In Plano, amid strict covid-19 protocols, vendors will be selling and clubs will be running trains. The show, sponsored by the North Texas Council of Railroad Clubs, has scaled down to accommodate the safety of guests, vendors and others.

Officials have worked closely with the event center to establish social distancing, masking, temperature screening and restricted entrances and exits, as well as contactless payment. Occupancy, monitored by an app, will be limited to 2,000 people at a time.

Read more →
  • News

Eighth-grade class steps up with big donation to save struggling Red River Railroad Museum

Dec 31st, 2020

By TIM BLACKWELL/Cowcatcher Magazine

Christmas came early for the Red River Railroad Museum in Denison, TX.

Located in an office in the former Katy Depot downtown, it is a treasure trove of history, including accounts of how the railroad made its way through Indian Territory from Kansas to the bawdy little town of Red River City. Outside reside fairly well preserved relics of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad – an F unit and a couple of cabooses.

The Katy’s arrival in 1872 put Denison on the map. The railroad’s car shops, headquarters, hospital and Ray Yard sprawled across the town, providing a vital connection from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico.

Read more →
  • News

Amtrak asks for boost in funding to offset low ridership, revenue resulting from pandemic

Nov 27th, 2020

Additional infrastructure investments identified

While making its annual pitch for federal funding, Amtrak formalized a request this fall for up to $4.857 billion this fiscal year to bolster the national passenger railroad network, which has been hit hard by the pandemic. Another $5 billion is needed to build necessary infrastructure and help stimulate an economic rebound.

In a letter to Congress, Amtrak President and CEO Bill Flynn justified updating the railroad’s forecast for FY 2020 because of a slow return of riders after a huge drop at the start of covid-19. At the beginning, Amtrak shut down routes as ridership plummeted because of lockdowns. Revenues dropped 83 percent from March to July compared to 2019.

To offset, Amtrak cut expenses, including reducing the size of consists on long-distance trains. Now ridership has slowly returned and some routes have reopened, but Amtrak still anticipates FY 2021 ridership and revenue improving to only 40 percent of levels before the pandemic. More cuts are planned.

Read more →
  • News

Latest book released by MoPac society highlights the Missouri-Illinois Railroad in the ‘Lead Belt’

Oct 20th, 2020

The Missouri Pacific Historical Society pays tribute to a unique short line with the September release of Missouri-Illinois Railroad: Missouri Pacific’s Route through the Lead Belt and Little Egypt, a 376-page hardback that traces the railroad’s colorful past.

The Missouri-Illinois operated 146 miles of track, connected by the Mississippi River, in Missouri and Illinois. It ran through the “Lead Belt” in Southeast Missouri, which contained the largest concentration of lead deposits in the world. The land between the Mississippi and Ohio rivers in Illinois was thought to resemble Egypt’s Nile Delta and became known as Little Egypt in the early 1800s. A city in the region was named Cairo.

The M-I was unique because one of its predecessor roads was built as a three-foot narrow-gauge line, which was unusual in the Midwest. Also, the M-I operated a car ferry across the Missouri River for five decades, and it had the only switchback between the Allegheny and Rocky mountains.
Like many short lines, the M-I depended on second-hand locomotives and rolling stock.

The railroad’s roots trace to the narrow-gauge St. Joseph and Deslodge Railway, which operated on 13 miles of main line from Bonne Terre to Summit, MO. Over the years, several other railroads, including the Mississippi River & Bonne Terre Railway, would lay tracks that eventually became part of the M-I network.

Read more →
  • News

Amtrak awarded $5.6 million for Southwest Chief route upgrades through Colorado, New Mexico

Sep 24th, 2020

Amtrak Train No. 3, the westbound Southwest Chief, departs Fullerton, CA, on March 15, 2019. – Craig Walker

Funds will be used to convert portion of line to welded rail

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amtrak announced it will receive a $5.6 million Federal Railroad Administration Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grant to stabilize and rehabilitate the Southwest Chief route in Colorado and New Mexico.

Combined with $4.9 million in Amtrak federal funds set aside for this service and $1 million from the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT), a total of $11.5 million will be invested from Trinidad, CO, south of Lamy, NM.

This federal grant is the fifth for the route segment in Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas. The grant addresses only a portion of the line that Amtrak is planning to restore.

Between 2016 and 2020, Amtrak has committed $15.8 million in direct funding for the Southwest Chief route, and an additional $12.8 million in matching funds to previously awarded federal grants. Amtrak has also invested between $4-$8 million annually in this segment, outside of any grant programs, including selective installation of ties, replacing bolted rail in curves, and bridge or culvert repair.

Read more →
  • News

Pandemic idles 2020 KCS Holiday Express but Kansas City Southern to continue holiday giving tradition

Sep 9th, 2020

KANSAS CITY, MO – Kansas City Southern says that its KCS Holiday Express train won’t run this holiday season because of the pandemic. But that isn’t stopping the Class I railroad from continuing its annual giving tradition.

Each year since 2001, the Holiday Express has stopped at various towns along KCS’s network and donated more than $2.1 million to the Salvation Army. The donations help provide warm clothing and other necessities for children.

While the train led by KCS’s Southern Belle business train is idled, KCS will still celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary with a fundraiser to benefit the Salvation Army in 20 communities across its U.S. rail network.

“KCS is pleased to celebrate 20 years of its Holiday Express program benefiting The Salvation Army in communities throughout our U.S. rail network,” said KCS president and CEO Patrick J. Ottensmeyer. “While it is not safe to gather for free visits with Santa Claus and tours of the Holiday Express train this year, the need for the charitable component of this program is greater than ever.”

Read more →
  • News
  • Next →
  • January/February 2021

  • Order Today!

    PURCHASE THE CURRENT ISSUE TODAY!

    JUST $5.95, includes shipping (U.S. only)!

     

    Allow 3-5 business days for delivery upon placement of order.

     

    ** Email us for international shipping rates**

     

  • Vintage Essential

    The signature McKinney Avenue Trolley in Dallas is racking up some impressive ridership numbers amid the pandemic, though still operating at half capacity. In recent years, the trolley has transformed from a nostalgic ride through Uptown Dallas, one of the city’s most tres chic neighborhoods and business districts north of downtown, to a viable way to get around.

     

  • State of Model Railroading Survey

    Model railroading has weathered lockdowns and social distancing, and emerged, by some accounts, stronger than before the pandemic began. In the Cowcatcher’s 2021 State of Model Railroading survey, readers say the hobby continues to be a good value for the price and quality, but growing model railroading is still a challenge

     

     

     

  • PLUS…

    The Cowcatcher’s Northwest Tarrant & Pacific is among the fraternity of short lines dependent on hand-me-downs. A LifeLike Proto 2000 Santa Fe GP38-2 recently got a down-and-dirty technology upgrade and a few creature comfort details…

     

                              – Cowcatcher Magazine                                        

     

    The Crossville Model Railroad Club in Crossville, TN, runs trains for the public and tells the region’s railroad history along the way…

     

    The Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific bridge has weathered time to provide a key link across the Red River…

     

    Encouraging signs that a vaccine could be widely distributed in the U.S. by mid-2021 is instilling hope that shows, events, conventions and attractions will get back on track. Despite a new wave of cancellations and closures in November and December, some organizations began planning events for as early as May and at least one other in January is still on tap.

     

     

    THESE STORIES AND MORE, PLUS A FULL CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS!

     

  • HMA Promotional Video

    https://cowcatchermagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/HMA-1.mp4
  • Product News & Review

    MAC Rail HO EOT Devices

     

     

    MAC Rail, LLC, arrives on the HO rolling stock accessories scene with affordable, efficient EOTs to designate end of trains for operations.

     

    More product reviews!

     

    See product news!

     

  • Don’t Miss an Issue

    Click here to subscribe to Cowcatcher Magazine, the model railroad magazine and rail enthusiast magazine all about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm, today!
  • Back Issues

    Be sure to check out our Back Issues page for any issues you may have missed. We have expanded descriptions for issues published beginning in 2007. Click here to order.

     

     

    The HO Grand Pacific Northwestern Railroad is spectacular, but that doesn’t begin to describe Bob Bandy’s labor of love that has spanned at least two decades. Order the November/December 2020 issue today!

  • Article & Photo Submissions

    We encourage readers to submit articles and photos. For details, visit our guide here .

  • Railroad in Focus

    Cowcatcher Magazine routinely features short lines and regional railroads that roam the Midwest and Southwest. Features include color photographs and maps, but an overview of operations and latest business trends.

     



    Like us on Facebook!  

© 2020 Cowcatcher Magazine | No content from this site may be copied or re-used without permission | 2021 Cowcatcher Magazine. Site powered by Childress Media