2011 Cowcatcher Magazine

All issues priced at $6.95 each unless otherwise noted. Includes shipping in the U.S. Call for international shipping rates.

Featured Issue

SANTA FE ALL THE WAY – May/June 2011 Santa Fe All the Way $7.95

Houston area layout owner Gordon Bliss goes the distance with his N-scale adaptation of the Santa Fe’s Chicago-to-Los Angeles run. If at all possible, the layout would be an exact representation of the storied 2,227-mile run. One who detests spaghetti-bowl layouts, the 47-year-old insurance adjuster gets his kicks watching trains make long, winding runs. Because the layout room is limited to 20’ x 30’, Santa Fe – All the Way can only offer a feel for the vast run that iconic trains like the Super Chief, El Capitan and the Chicagoan made in the 1950s and 1960s. The compromise is that the distance between the towns allows a 25-car train’s engine and caboose stay within the city limits.

PLUS, Denton County Transportation Authority’s A-train will join large urban passenger rail agencies with launch of 21-mile network; Athearn announces a run of HO-scale Union Pacific DDA40X diesel locomotives; and a retrospective of how the Kansas City Southern’s Southern Belle linked Kansas City and New Orleans.

An A-B-B-A string of F units haul refrigerated goods through scenic Kingman Canyon on Gordon Bliss’ Santa Fe All the Way N-scale layout in this remastered photo from the original black & white published in the May-June 2011 Cowcatcher. Bliss took the photo.

Other Issues in the Collection

RICH IN OPERATIONS – January/February 2011: Layout owners create social network with operating weekends across the region. PLUS, we publish the winners for the 2010 Cowcatcher Gold Rail Awards reader’s choice survey; Oklahoma City Train Show attendance lags but dealers report activity; Louisiana artist George Rodrigue releases “Riding to New Orleans”; and BNSF is focused on closing private and public crossings.

STAYING ON TOP (McKinney Avenue Transit Authority) – March/April 2011: Dallas’ trolley system seeks volunteers to remain one step ahead in transit game. PLUS, the San Antonio Model Railroad Association (SAMRA) steps up efforts to become a “classy” train show; the Wichita Train Show & Swap Meet is becoming a permanent part of the South Central Kansas trainscape; Amtrak rolls out locomotive in heritage paint scheme; and the Intermountain ES44AC is reviewed.

50 AND STILL CHUGGING (Six Flags Over Texas Railroad) – July/August 2011: Six Flags Over Texas’ railroad withstands time to keep moving park’s guests. PLUS, dirt flies at the Museum of the American Railroad finally breaks ground in Frisco, TX; the Galveston Railroad Museum has a quiet re-opening after nearly three years of rebuilding after Hurricane Ike; General Electric announces plans to open Texas locomotive plant; and Walthers’ HO-scale EMD SW9/1200 switchers are reviewed.

NO LONGER OBSOLETE (Sue Line) – September/October 2011: The north Louisiana Sue Line HO-scale layout gets a technological reboot to improve operations. PLUS, the Alamo Model Railroad Engineers isn’t cutting corners as work continues on the layout; the Stanton Radio Cab wireless track system draws a crowd at the Turkey Creek Division/NMRA train show in Lenexa, KS; business is brisk in the Bakken Shale as Class Is, region short lines experience uptick in crude and oil-related materials traffic; and the Arkansas & Missouri’s iconic Alco locomotives are getting a new home.

GETTING IT DONE (Arkansas & Oklahoma Railroad) – November/December 2011: An Oklahoma family works together to stimulate the Arkansas & Oklahoma Railroad’s growth along a former Rock Island route. PLUS, the Missouri, Texas & Western is alive and well and prospering in the space occupied by the Mexico Train Works model railroad club in Mexico, MO; the focus on Operation Lifesaver is changing to prevent trespassing incidents; and the iconic Texas & Pacific Railway layout owned by the late R.D. Moses is hitching a ride to Jefferson, TX.

Spring is when large-scale model railroaders with their green thumbs plant and prune colorful foliage grown nearly to scale. In some areas, maintaining outdoor layouts is quite challenging because of changing weather. Nancy Norris, an author who builds garden railroads professionally, says some plant varieties have become more difficult to grow in certain Hardiness Zones. In some cases it means garden railroaders having to put more emphasis on growing native plants rather than relying on varieties more susceptible to extreme conditions. She recommends new gardeners consult with their local nurseries for the best choices for an outdoor layout. Norris also has a few recommendations of her own.

Sweeping tariffs imposed on goods imported into the United States are stirring model railroad manufacturers. As a result, model railroading and other hobbies will cost more. In February the U.S. applied a 10 percent tariff on goods imported from China, and the tax has since escalated. Suppliers – including Athearn, InterMountain Railway Co., Broadway Limited, Rapido Trains and ScaleTrains – have been putting dealers and customers on notice that prices will increase tariffs are implemented.

The first rule of railroading is “expect movement on any track at any time in any direction.” This may seem like an overabundance of caution, but railroading is a dangerous sport. Always expect a train when you’re around the tracks. The second rule of railroading is that there is an exception to every rule. The North American freight car fleet in 2023 consisted of 2.03 million rail cars, according to Railinc’s Umler Equipment Index. Rail car fleet management — how empty cars get dispatched to move to their next loading point — is an ever-moving process and often requires fleet car managers to be nimble.

2011 Cowcatcher Magazine

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Tuned In

Tariffs Cause Concern

Managing Freight Cars

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