Monthly Archives: November 2014

The BR 80 Steam Locomotive

The BR 80 Steam Locomotive By Roger Heid   Here is a locomotive I have never seen in the real world, only in pictures. It is similar to the BR89. In 1927

What is a Doodlebug?

What is a Doodlebug? By Roger Heid   Have you ever heard of a ‘Doodlebug’? No, it is not some silly insect. Doodlebug is an American slang word for a self-propelled rail

The Last Steam

The Last Steam By Ulrich Albrecht   I was born in the Ruhr area in Germany in 1957.  Throughout the 1960’s, all our family’s travel was by train.  Although the main lines

The V90 Diesel Locomotive

The V90 Diesel Locomotive By Roger Heid Maerklin Model 37906 (V90) This particular type of Diesel locomotive I never had any close encounters with other than seeing a few, here and there,

Progress

Progress Commentary  By Ernest H. Robl  As a journalist who wrote about and photographed prototype railroads — and told people that’s what I did — I sometimes encountered people who thought that

Standing close to the only V140 Diesel Locomotive

Standing close to the only V140 Diesel Locomotive By Roger Heid   If I remember correctly, this was in 1950. My step dad, a US Army officer, normally stationed in the Stuttgart

Giesl ejectors and what they do

Giesl ejectors and what they do By Ernest H. Robl  Why do some Austrian steam locomotives (and those of a few other countries as well) look like that a giant squeezed their

Observing a V60 Diesel Locomotive

Observing a V60 Diesel Locomotive By Roger Heid   Sometime in spring of 1965, still going to Tech College once a week, I missed my train from Stuttgart to Aalen. Some dippy

Comparing U.S. and European Narrow Gauge

Comparing U.S. and European Narrow Gauge Repost with pictures  By Ernest H. Robl An oft repeated myth is that all railroads trace their gauge – the distance between the rails – back

US Army Reforger and Trains

US Army Reforger and Trains (USTC) By Roger Heid   While stationed in Germany, during the 70’s, I participated in a total of seven Reforger exercises. Reforger is an abbreviation of ‘Re-deployment