2012 Cowcatcher Magazine

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EMBRACING RAIL FANS – January/February 2012: Railroads open arms to rail fans with programs aimed at keeping another set of eyes on the rails. PLUS, we reveal our 2011 Cowcatcher Magazine Gold Rail Award winners; the Tulsa-based Kansas City Terminal railroad has multiple personalities; growth at the Hondo Railway is exceeding expectations five years after its inception; and Athearn revisits production on the GP7/9 with new tooling.

UNDECS UNPOPULAR – March/April 2012: With highly detailed ready-to-run products now the norm, demand is down for undecorated models. PLUS, what a difference a year makes for the North Texas Council of Railroad Club shows; Southwest Missouri club keeps chugging with solid involvement; the economy takes its toll on a long-time East Texas model railroad shop; DCTA opens its new maintenance facility and rail traffic returns to Blackwell, OK.

TALL ORDER ON THE TALL PINE – May/June 2012: Noted Lone Star Region/NMRA modeler Chuck Lind looks ahead to the end of an era on his model railroad to a new beginning. PLUS, the Amarillo Railroad Museum transformed from a model railroad club to an organization that preserves rail history; Union Pacific’s vaunted No. 844 has a flat tire while touring Texas; actor Michael Gross is the Master of Fakery with highly detailed weathering; Watco Companies goes Down Under by providing grain movements for Western Australia road; and Woodland Scenics tidies track with new cleaning line.

JOINT EFFORT – July/August 2012: North Texas regional agencies work together in pursuit of creating a seamless rail system that adequately meets future demand. PLUS, our Railroad in Focus feature debuts with an inside look at the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad (SKOL); R.D. Moses’ layout returns to life with opening of museum in Jefferson, TX; BNSF layout is a hit at stockholder’s meeting; and a Missouri layout asks what might have been if the Frisco had kept trackage rights on the MOPAC.

TIME FLIES ON THE T&P – September/October 2012: Whether it’s 1947 or 1952, a Texas & Pacific layout is ready to please visitors on the Dallas/Fort Worth home and club layout tours. PLUS, the Blacklands Railroad in East Texas is our Railroad in Focus subject; the St. Louis Museum of Transportation is a paradise on rails; the Louisiana Steam Train Association has sights on a new home; preparing a layout for an open house requires housekeeping and hospitality; and Athearn and Intermountain announce Norfolk Southern Heritage runs.

SIGNATURE SCENERY- November/December 2012: The Vandalia Rail & Hobby layout is filled with distinctive elements of a line between western Illinois and central Missouri. PLUS, carloads of crude oil are increasing in the U.S.; the Louisiana Southern is a Tale of Two Lines; a North Texas G-scaler remembers his days helping his dad deliver the news by recreating an Alabama bridge along the route of his backyard layout; the Kansas City Society of Model Engineers is focused on the big picture; and cork roadbed supply levels begin to return of shortages left retailers scrambling to meet customer demand.

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.

2012 Cowcatcher Magazine

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Tuned In

Tariffs Cause Concern

Managing Freight Cars

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