A brief look at the 'famous faces' that have polished NMRR iron over the years

Thomas the Tank Engine - The most widely recognized steam engine in the world makes occasional trips on the NMRR, particularly during the Albuquerque Children's Fair.

Our Thomas was built several years before his likeness became available commercially. Member Steve Stein brought a Graham-Farish 0-6-0 and two coaches home from a trip to Britain. The loco was painted, decaled, and the smoke box face from an ERTL-made "Shining Time Station" cast metal toy loco was glued to the front.

Visit Thomas' Official Web Site

AuRoRa

Crack passenger service between Anchorage and Fairbanks is provided by the Alaska Railroad's daily all coach service. Long the domain of EMD F-units, the ARR even tried out some second-hand E-9s in the 1980s. Blaine Bachman detailed and painted the A and Doug Gary added the B and the Kato passenger cars.

Visit the Alaska Railroad Pages

TGV
The TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) is the French high speed train. Of course, there is no such thing as the TGV; there are many significant differences among the 350-odd trainsets in service today.

Over the years, several TGV trainsets have visited NMRR's rails. Kato makes the model.

Visit the TGV Web
Visit the official SNCF TGV Pages

ICE
The Inter City Express train (originally called Inter City Experimental) is Germany's high speed train. This train was first introduced into service in 1980 and has a top commercial speed of 179mph

Shortly after Amtrak borrowed an ICE train for trials in the US, Fleischmann came out with the model.

Visit ADtranz's ICE Pages
Visit the ICE/ICT Pages

TEE German VT11.5/601 Diesel Trainset

Used on the Trans Europ Express, the VT11.5 embraced diesel power as the way to overcome the wildly diverse electric traction systems used in Europe. Originally consisting of two power units and 5 intermediate cars (including a bar-restaurant), the non-articulated VT11.5 could be expanded to greater length for more capacity.

Blaine Bachman's VT11.5 seems close to its home passing the Gothic cathedral on Phyllis Miller's 4-foot NTRAK module. 4

Visit the TEE Pages

TEE Swiss RAe II Multi-current EMU Trainset
Built in 1961, these sets are able to operate on four different current systems: 1500 and 3000 V DC, 15000 V 16 2/3 Hz AC and 25000 V 50 Hz AC. The motorcar has four pantographs, and the driver has a push button panel with a button for each region; a single push activates the appropriate pantograph and switches the electronics to the correct current.

3 Blaine's RAe II almost "at home" in a familiar alpine setting on Steve Stein's Mt. Rushmore inside corner NTRAK module.

Visit the Swiss Transport Museum

Talgo TEE
These trains are based on the Spanish TALGO principle with each car having only two wheels (with no connecting axle) on one end with the other end supported by the next car. Each Talgo set has two end cars. In order to allow steering through curves, the end wheels are connected with the buffers.

Blaine's Talgo pulled by a Swiss Re 4/4 easily negotiates the snaking curves of Randy Howard's forested module set. 4

Visit the Official Talgo Site

Glasernezug
Long a favorite with sightseers, the German Railway's "Glass Train" has been refurbished and refitted with a Swiss-profile pantograph for occasional operation in Switzerland.

3 Blaine's Glass Train pauses in front of the Albuquerque station on Tom Willers' Alvarado Hotel NTRAK module.

Visit the Official German Railways site

HST

Shinkansen Original Japanese "Bullet Train"

Visit the Shinkansen High Speed site

E2 MAX Modern Japanese "Bullet Train"

Eurostar the "Chunnel" train
This is the famous high speed train that connects England to the rest of continental Europe traveling through the Channel Tunnel. It has a top commercial speed in England of 100mph and a top speed in France of 186mph.

Visit the Unofficial Eurostar site