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All about the community of model railroading and rail enthusiasm

COWCATCHER MAGAZINE

Available At

Limited complimentary copies of the Cowcatcher Magazine are available at many locations in our coverage area. These copies are available on a first-come basis and are not replenished when they are gone. Below are some of our current locations where copies are available. To ensure your copy, please subscribe

Texas | Oklahoma | Louisiana | Arkansas | Kansas | Missouri | Iowa | Illinois | Nebraska | Colorado | Delaware | New Mexico | Wisconsin | Minnesota | Michigan | California | North Carolina | Pennsylvania | New York | Kentucky | Florida | Utah

TEXAS

NORTH

Discount Model Trains, Addison

Angelo Hobbies, North Richland Hills

Model Train Crossing, Hurst

Museum of the American Railroad, Frisco

Grapevine Vintage Railroad, Grapevine

Red River Railroad Museum, Denison

Interurban Railway Museum, Plano

AJC Kids, Wichita Falls

CENTRAL

Texas Transportation Museum, San Antonio

Dibble’s Hobbies, San Antonio

New Braunfels Railroad Museum, New Braunfels

Harris Hobbies, Athens

Ennis Railroad Museum, Ennis

EAST

R.D. Moses T&P Model Railroad Museum, Jefferson

Cotton Belt Museum, Tyler

SOUTH

Galveston Railroad Museum, Galveston

G&G Hobby Shop, Houston

Papa Ben’s Train Place, Houston

Rosenberg Railroad Museum, Rosenberg

NORTH

Amarillo Railroad Museum, Amarillo

COLORADO

CENTRAL

Colorado Model Railroad Museum, Greeley

Rocky Mountain Train Supply, Denver

WEST

Durango & Silverton Railroad Road, Durango

DELAWARE

F&N Hobbies, Clayton

OKLAHOMA

CENTRAL

Johnny’s Train Shop, Covington

Oklahoma Railroad Museum, Oklahoma City

Whistlestop Trains, Oklahoma City

LOUISIANA

NORTH

Shreveport Railroad Museum, Shreveport

SOUTH

Hub Hobby, New Orleans

ARKANSAS

NORTHWEST

Arkansas Travelers Hobbies, Bald Knob

Rail & Sprue Hobbies, Jacksonville

NORTHEAST

Arkansas Railroad Museum, Pine Bluff, AR

KANSAS

Fred’s Train Shop, Overland Park, KS (Kansas City area)

MISSOURI

NORTHWEST

Show Me Model Railroad Co., Grandview (Kansas City area)

SOUTHWEST

Branson Hobby Center, Branson

Roark Valley MRC, Branson

CENTRAL

APRHFstore/Silver Rails, LaPlata

ILLINOIS

NORTHEAST

Des Plaines Hobbies, Des Plaines

Midwest Rail Junction, Rockford

Lombard Hobbies, Lombard

WEST

Neal’s N-Gauging Trains, Staunton

IOWA

NORTHEAST

Caboose Stop Hobbies, Cedar Falls

Audubon Hobbies/Yankee Dabbler West, Audubon

NEBRASKA

SOUTHEAST

Spring Creek Model Trains, Deshler

Randy’s Roundhouse, Lincoln

House of Trains, Omaha

NEW MEXICO

Tucumcari Railroad Museum, Tucumcari (seasonal)

WISCONSIN

Engine House Services, Green Bay

Sommerfield’s Trains, Butler

Model Train Classics, Eau Claire

Madison Hobby Stop, Madison

Jetco’s Hiawatha Hobbies, Waukesha

MINNESOTA

Twin Cities Model Railroad Museum, St. Paul

NEW YORK

Trainland, Lynnbrook

PENNSYLVANIA

White Rose Hobbies, York

MICHIGAN

Trains & Things Hobbies, Traverse City

FLORIDA

Dana’s Railroad Supply, Spring Hill

KENTUCKY

Hobby Station, Elizabeth Town

NORTH CAROLINA

Mike’s Trains, Thomasville

CALIFORNIA

Original Whistle Stop, Pasadena

Reed’s Hobby Shop, San Diego

San Diego Model Railroad Museum, San Diego

UTAH

Hobby Stop, Orem

CHECK BACK FOR MORE NEW LOCATIONS! ALSO, LOOK FOR THE COWCATCHER AT MODEL TRAIN SHOWS, CONVENTIONS AND SWAP MEETS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

Current Issue: Mar/Apr 2025

$6.95 (U.S. Orders Only)

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!

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