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All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm

COWCATCHER MAGAZINE

2008 Cowcatcher Round Up

All Issues Priced at $2.95 unless otherwise noted

ANTHRACITE BLENDS CNJ, LV – Jan/Feb 2008: The Tulsa, OK-based Anthracite Lines offers a unique perspective of freelance and prototypical industrial options on Tom Fausser’s HO-scale layout. PLUS, the “Moccasin”, the Texas & Pacific 2-8-2 Mikado, gets a new home in Marshall, TX; Waco’s Warden Shops kept freight and passenger trains moving across the Katy and the Southwest; and Houston METRO celebrates a milestone with the 40 millionth rider boards.



HAVE YOU MADE YOUR RESERVATION? – Mar/Apr 2008 – Publisher’s Choice Special $2.75 ea.: The model railroad industry plays a numbers game to juggle supply and demand through requiring dealers and consumers to make reservations before runs begin. PLUS, the Rock Island’s Twin Star Rocket had one of the longest passenger runs in North America at 1,363 miles; a father-son duo in Oklahoma load up their G-scale layout and hit the show circuit; and robbers leave their mark on a Dallas train store.



ARKANSAS HILLS ALIVE WITH TRAINS – May/June 2008: Modelers migrate to a Northwest Arkansas community to set up some big-time model railroad operations with Hog Rails. PLUS, model maker Athearn and the Trinity Railway Express sign a licensing agreement and production will resume on the popular commuter rail models; a long-time piece of the model railroad landscape in Oklahoma City shutters its doors; and today’s high-energy refrigerator cars ensure dependable delivery of perishables.



PRESERVATION ON THE MOVE  – July/Aug 2008: A pair of East Texas steam locomotives are relocated, sending preservation on the move. PLUS, a vintage railroad car will be home to an O-scale group’s permanent layout; Atlas adds the its GP30 locomotive line with its latest Phase I release; the Texas & Pacific Westerner rolled through the night to destinations west; and the green light is given to Houston METRO’s Phase II plan.


OPERATIONS ON THE KCS IN HO – Sept/Oct 2008: Plenty of detail and operations awaits on Jim Norwood’s Kansas City Southern HO-scale layout in North Richland Hills, TX. PLUS, a North Texas modular club builds its image and membership; columnist Steve Willis continues his series on building the Rocky Mountain; ridership on Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer climbs; and the Rock Island’s Choctaw traveled 762 miles from Memphis to Amarillo.


 

MOTORING ON DOWN THE LINE – Nov/Dec 2008: A group of North Texas motor car enthusiasts take to the rails and show off how railroad crews moved down the line in the day. PLUS, Hurricane Ike slammed into the Texas coast and takes out the Galveston Railroad Museum; Atlas delivers gold with a finely detailed HO-scale model of a GP40-2 locomotive; and Athearn’s Blue Box bay window caboose is transformed into a Missouri Pacific transfer caboose.



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Coal Stragglers

North American railroads have hauled coal in quantity ever since the anthracite roads were built on the East Coast. Decades later and despite many changes that have diminished production, coal remains a top (but declining) commodity. While it has weathered shifts in power generation and other factors leading to its decline, coal still accounts for 28 percent of total rail tonnage and 12 percent of revenue. Watch a coal trains roll by and you’ll notice that most cars are painted a stripe or block of color on one end. The color doesn’t matter, but the painted end has a rotary coupler, the non-painted end a solid drawbar. Learn how this combination of couplers enable railroads to move coal efficiently.

Record Turnout

Manufacturers roll out the red carpet at January's Amherst Railway Society's Railroad Hobby Show in Springfield, MA. The show set an attendance record of 27,535 at what has become the big daddy of train shows. Several manufacturers came out in full dress to tout their latest products and announce new runs. At times it appeared to be a battle of the booths, something show chairman John Sacerdote anticipated leading up to the show. Lionel and Walthers did not disappoint.

Spirit of St. Louis

After almost 20 years of top-line service, the Pennsylvania Railroad's St. Louisan and New Yorker were rechristened Spirit of St. Louis after the custom-built Ryan monoplane in which Charles Lindbergh made the first transatlantic flight. PRR’s advertising and publicity forces wasted no time capitalizing on transatlantic frenzy. The Spirit’s christening was celebrated June 15, 1927, less than a month after Lindbergh’s May 21 landing in Paris. Take a ride on the train in the Cowcatcher's ongoing series, "The Golden Age of Passenger Travel."

Plus

CN rolls out a medium horsepower hybrid locomotive that will be deployed this year across several of the railroads's yards and branch lines. Watching trains circle a layout adds a warm touch to modeling and relieves stress, say modelers. And more!