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COWCATCHER MAGAZINE

Race is on to determine the best of the best in 6th Annual 2014 Cowcatcher Gold Rail Awards

November 17, 2014 / Updated December 4, 2014

News

The nominees are in, and the race is on to determine the best of the best in the 6th Annual Cowcatcher Magazine Gold Rail Awards.

Gold Rail Survey TeaserAmong the new nominees are the Colorado Railroad Museum for “Best Railroad Museum”, the Rocky Mountain, TECO Train Show and Great Midwest Train Show for “Best Train Show” and the Colorado Model Railroad Museum, Denver Garden Railway Society, Elmhurst Model Railroad Club HO (Elmhurst, IL), Garfield-Clarendon Model Railroad Club (Chicago) and Wichita Toy Train Club (Wichita, KS) for “Best Club Layout, Permanent”.

Two modular railroads are new to “Best Club Layout, Modular”, including Chicago’s North Shore & Western and the Colorado & Great Western from Lakewood, CO.

The Nebraska Central Railway and Austin Western join the field of short lines and regional railroads vying for a Gold Rail Award.

Also, the “Best New Model Railroad Product” category is packed with some of the hottest products to hit the market in 2014. They are: Intermountain SD40-2 N scale Iowa, Chicago & Eastern locomotive; Walthers HO San Francisco Chief Passenger Set, Athearn HO Tank Train, Kato N Amtrak Superliner Transition Sleeper Car, Rapido HO Meat Reefers, Soundtraxx Sound Car System, Atlas HO 42-ft National Steel Coil Car and Broadway Limited’s Address Changer system.

The Austin Western Railroad is among the nominees for "Best Short Line/Regional Railroad" in the 6th Annual Cowcatcher Gold Rail Awards. - Courtesy J.R. Leal

The Austin Western Railroad is among the nominees for “Best Short Line/Regional Railroad” in the 6th Annual Cowcatcher Gold Rail Awards. – Courtesy J.R. Leal

The “Best Passenger Rail” category this year includes the Amtrak Southwest Chief and California Zephyr as nominees for “Passenger Regional” and Denver RTD and Chicago Metra for “Commuter/Light Rail”.

The Durango & Silverton was also nominated to the field of “Best Excursion Railroad”.

A number of returning nominations fill out the ballot, including the Fort Worth & Western Railroad (“Best Short Line/Regional Railroad”), Oklahoma City Train Show (“Best Train Show”), Oklahoma N-Rail (“Best Club Layout, Modular”), Arkansas & Missouri Railroad (“Best Excursion Railroad” and “Best Theme Train”), Kansas City’s Union Station (“Best Railfanning Spot”), Amtrak’s Texas Eagle (“Best Passenger Rail – Passenger Regional”) and Trinity Railway Express (“Best Passenger Rail – Light Rail/Commuter”).

Readers may vote for these and other choices, or write in selections, through Dec. 10. Subscribers who have provided the Cowcatcher an email address will receive an invitation to vote electronically. Other readers and subscribers who have not provided an email address can download a printable ballot at www.cowcatchermagazine.com . Ballots may be mailed in or scanned/emailed to [email protected] .

Winners will be announced in January/February issue of the Cowcatcher Magazine.

To view the full list of nominees and vote, download the ballot below or take the survey now!

Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world’s leading questionnaire tool.

2014 Gold Rail Award Ballot

Current Issue: Jan/Feb 2025

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Throttling Up

Ever wonder why railroads chose certain locomotives to pull freight trains? Railroads have practiced multiple-unit train control since the 1890s when Frank J. Sprague developed a system to combine motive power in electric train operation. When assigning power and consisting locomotives today, railroads generally match the horsepower per ton and tractive effort ratings to specific locomotives designed to meet specific network needs. But other factors are involved, and it's not uncommon for railroads to mix makes and models of locomotives when consisting for trains.

State of Model Railroading

Response to the Cowcatcher’s 2025 State of Model Railroading survey was positive and many say the hobby is rolling along fine, maybe a bit complicated for some. The 31-question survey sent to readers across the U.S. in November earned a 42 percent response rate. Questions ranged from personal preferences and skill levels and layouts to how modelers buy and spend.

Joint Agency

Whether shuttling power, moving cars through interline carrier agreements or running on joint lines, North America’s largest rail providers interact. One of the more obscure examples is the Milwaukee Road’s Joint Agency Yard in Kansas City, MO, where the Milwaukee Road and Kansas City Southern coexisted for 40 years. On the N-scale Whitehurst & Pine Ridge Railroad, joint yard agreements in Kansas City and Dallas make sense, allowing KCS traffic to move in and out of both ends of the layout to service grain customers without the need for another yard.

Plus

BNSF posts record agricultural volumes on the heels of a good harvest. A Milwaukee Road stock car with a storied past is now on display at the Galveston Railroad Museum. And a United Kingdom retailer and manufacturer introduces its camera car, the Eye-Choo, to the U.S. And more!