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Related Links & Sources

Websites

Follow La Rosa's Trains on:

 

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Support La Rosa's Trains on:

My Patreon Page - Pledge today to receive all the fun benefits.

 

Most of my O gauge trains are from:

 

Lionel - A great tradition to the hobby since 1900.

 

MTH Electric Trains - Founded in 1980, Mike's Train House offers a delightful variety of both O-31 gauge and O scale trains along with other sizes such as G gauge, S gauge, HO scale, and prewar tinplate (Standard gauge and O gauge).

Check out other useful links such as:

A Brief History of the Texas Railroads - Whether you live in Texas or anywhere else, this is a well-written source about railroads of the Lone Star State.

AltoonaWorks.info - A clever website that basically preserves the history of the famous railroad shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It also explains data on locomotives that were built, completed, and rebuilt in the same location.


American-Rails.com - A very well-written site about North American railroads by Adam Burns, who did a fabulous job on his research. Most of my locomotive blog postings feature this site as a reliable source.

Classic Trains - A fantastic magazine that represents stories and photos of vintage railroading since 2000. Subscribed in early April 2020.

CSX Photo Archives - A TrainWeb member site that shows lots of photos by different diesel models as well as different paint schemes in both CSX and its predecessor railroads.

Engine House Hobbies - A good train store in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Owned by Ken Ferlic. That's where I buy mostly MTH trains.

 

Eric's Trains - An O gauge modeler, Eric Siegel, inspired me to do lots of product reviews and everything else. I find it useful.

Kalmbach Hobby Store - A useful online shop for books, videos, and other railroad merchandise from Kalmbach, the parent company of Trains Magazine and Classic Trains.

Lionel Collectors Club of America - Established in 1970, the LCCA is an excellent club for Lionel enthusiasts, whether they are train collectors or operators. Also has an elaborate digital library of Lionel catalogs beginning from 1900! I joined the club on New Year's Eve 2019.

NSDash9.com - This website comprehensively explains the Norfolk Southern locomotive roster, both current and historical. Although it is not associated with the NS Corporation, I find this site very useful.

NS Locos - While similar to CSX Photo Archives, this Norfolk Southern diesel photo collection is divided into road number classes. This site includes active and retired locomotives as well as some identical units before and after renumbering in the NS roster.

RailfanDepot - An absolutely wide variety of railroad videos and has an excellent rewards program for great discounts!
 

SiF - The Sodor Island Fansite is a "Really Useful" website that shows pretty much everything about Thomas & Friends: history, behind the scenes, characters, and much more. 

TM Books & Video - That's where I order most TM DVDs from. They produce the best train videos, in my opinion.

Train Video Depot - A very large dealer that offers an enormous variety of videos on trains!

 

Trains Magazine - Very excellent news magazine for train enthusiasts since 1940. I subscribed to Trains in early November 2019.

Trains.com - A new and more elaborate Kalmbach website combining Trains Magazine, Classic Trains, Model Railroader, Classic Toy Trains, and Garden Railways. Launched in 2021, it includes the fabulous magazine archives from all the five railroad publications. Available for Unlimited Members. I joined the membership in March 2021.

Books

Here are some railroad books that I recommend for further reading:

Allen, Jacqueline C. A Toy Train Story: The Remarkable History of M.T.H. Electric Trains. M.T.H. Electric Trains, 2000.

Borkowski Jr., Richard C. Norfolk Southern Railway. Voyageur Press, 2008.

Byron, Carl R. and Heimburger, Don. Guide to North American Cabooses. Kalmbach Media, 2021.

Drury, George H. Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, Revised EditionKalmbach Media, 2015.

Erk, Karl. Diesel DemonstratorsWeekend Chief Publishing, 2007. 

Fostik, John A. Amtrak Across America: An Illustrated History. Enthusiast Books, 2012.

McComas, Tom and Tuohy, James. Great Toy Train Layouts of America. TM Books, 1987.

Oroszi, Dave and Reynolds, Kirk. Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Voyageur Press, 2008.

Osterhoff, Robert J. Inside the Lionel Trains Fun Factory. Project Roar Publishing, 2008.

Simpson, Walter. Turbine Power. Kalmbach Media, 2020.

Solomon, Brian. CSX. MBI Publishing Company, 2005.

Solomon, Brian. Field Guide to Trains: Locomotives and Rolling Stock. Voyageur Press, 2016.

Solomon, Brian. GE and EMD Locomotives: The Illustrated History. Voyageur Press, 2014.

Wilson, Jeff. Guide to North American Diesel Locomotives. Kalmbach Media, 2017.

Wilson, Jeff. Modern Freight Cars: Rolling Stock from the 60's Through Today. Kalmbach Media, 2017.

Wilson, Jeff. Piggyback & Container Traffic. Kalmbach Media, 2017.

Wilson, Jeff. Railroading & the Automobile Industry. Kalmbach Media, 2019.

DVDs
While train books are fun to read, railroad enthusiasm can be boring without seeing a train running by or hearing its sounds such as the locomotive's whistle/horn and the clickety-clack of its wheels. Videos are a delightful way to not only see and hear the trains, but to also capture the memories of some trains that could not be seen again in the present day. Here is a list of recommended video sources for further watching (click on the producer names, such as Pentrex, to visit their websites):

Blue Ridge Productions:
Metropolitan Sub: Weverton, MD to Washington, DC
Sand Patch Part 1: East Slope - Cumberland, MD to Sand Patch
Sand Patch Part 2: West Slope - Sand Patch to Connellsville
Sand Patch Part 3: West Keystone - Connellsville, PA to Pittsburg, PA

Charles Smiley Presents:
CSX Scrapbook
Donner Pass Thunder
Northeast Rails Remembered
Union Pacific Scrapbook

C. Vision Productions:
GE Standard Cabs & Cowls Volumes 1-2
Norfolk Southern's Heritage Fleet Volumes 1-2

Green Frog Productions:
General Motors Locomotives (Canrail Video Productions)
New Jersey Transit Push-Pull (Neff Video Productions)
Quick Shots-2 (American AltaVista)
The RoadRailers


Greg Scholl Video Productions and Railway Productions:
America By Rail - The Heartland
America By Rail - The West Coast
America By Rail - ​Winter Wonderland
America By Rail - Route Of The Southwest Chief

Kalmbach Publishing Co.:
Big Boy: On the Road to Restoration 
Big Boy - Back in Steam 
CSX at 40 
EMD at 100


PBS Home Video:
Hear That Train a Comin'

Pentrex:
Along the Pocahontas District 
Amtrak's Auto Train
Battle Up Sherman Hill 
(Video Rails)
BC Rail Cab Ride From Sea to Sky
BC Rail Collection

Conrail SD80MACs on the Boston Line(Broken Knuckle Video Productions)
​CSX Mountain Sub
Doublestacks Over Donner
The Rathole Combo DVD

Those Incredible Alcos Volumes 1-3
Tour of the M-10000

U-Boat Survivors 
Union Pacific 6900s - The Centennials 
(Video Rails)

Railway Productions:
Chicago's Metra
Metra Milwaukee District Cab Car Ride
Santa Fe Mainline Memories
The Trains of Galesburg
The Trains of Lafayette

TM Books & Video:
Click here for my list of TM DVDs on a separate webpage.

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