HILLSIDE, NJ — Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc. announced today that it has purchased the HO-scale vehicle tooling along with designs for certain previously unannounced products from River Point Station Fine Scale Models. The deal follows Atlas’ purchase of RPS’s N-scale line two years ago.

HO vehicle molds acquired include the Ford Expedition EL and F-250 and F-350 pickups, plus others, Atlas said in a statement. In all, tooling was acquired for 23 models.

“Previously, in December of 2020, River Point Station announced that they would be streamlining their product line and would cease producing N-scale vehicles and we did not want to see a void left in the market, so we acquired the N-scale tooling,” Atlas CEO Paul Graf said. “After a successful launch of N-scale models utilizing this tooling, we are happy to announce that we have acquired RPS’ HO-scale vehicle tooling as well and look forward to continued success with the line.”

RPS, located in Warwick, RI, was founded in 2006 by Ron Elsdoerfer to supply HO accessory kits. In the 14 years that followed, the company grew its offerings to include HO- and N-scale vehicles.

Amtrak entered a new era of passenger rail in October after ridership increased in FY2022 following two years of significantly lower boardings resulting from the pandemic.

Ridership grew 89 percent in the fiscal year ending in September, while the nation’s passenger railroad restored and expanded service plus launched major infrastructure projects across its network.

During the year, Amtrak hired a record number of employees and put the building blocks in place to modernize infrastructure, major stations and trains.

“We worked hard to restore service and grow ridership in the face of lingering impacts from the pandemic, all while modernizing our assets to make train travel a better experience for customers,” Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said.

By TIM BLACKWELL/Cowcatcher Magazine

America is returning to the rails in earnest. U.S. passenger rail ridership is making a significant recovery from covid-19, which put the brakes on public transit and Amtrak in spring 2020.

Boardings on national, regional and local networks from coast to coast are closing in on pre-pandemic levels, despite gaps in service and equipment, according to the latest available data.

Public rail ridership through September had returned to 60 percent of pre-covid boardings, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), and Amtrak trips were up 52 percent through 10 months of its fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30.

Rapido Trains hosted a dealer open house earlier this month and announced several new products, including models of Amtrak’s NPCU “Cabbage” diesels in HO. In the mid-1990s, Amtrak began a rebuild program to convert retired F40PH locomotives into non-powered control units (NPCUs) by removing the prime movers. The NPCUs allow “push-pull” service, and engineers control the train from the cab similar to the way commuter trains operate. Many are still in service today. See more on Rapido’s models, as well as other new products in the marketplace. Visit Product News.

Denver-based OmniTRAX said this week that it has entered into a contract to purchase the assets of the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad (SLRG) out of bankruptcy. Terms of the deal, which is expected to close later this year, were not disclosed.

SLRG has operated its 155-mile short line serving the San Luis Valley the past three years in bankruptcy while trying to find a buyer. U.S. Bankruptcy Court and Surface Transportation Board must approve the sale.

According to published reports, SLRG was seeking a minimum bid of $5.75 million and has about $4 million in debt. OmniTRAX, a transportation affiliate of The Broe Group, reportedly began negotiating with SLRG in September.

“As a Colorado company, we know how important the SLRG has been to the San Luis Valley and Colorado’s economy,” said OmniTRAX CEO Dean Piacente. “The Broe Group companies have grown with Colorado for 50 years and we are proud to help revitalize this railroad to bring more business and jobs to the region and our state.”