I just received my brand new Rapido Trains n scale Dash 8-40cm with ESU loksound. I have been trying to run it on JMRI with my dcc++ base station. I have been able to do some basic programming and have added it to my roster but, unfortunately, when I select it and enter the throttle I cannot get it to respond at all. I have also tried the Engine Driver app but still have no control. This is my first time using JMRI and I have no idea what the issue could be.

The EMC FT locomotive is well-known for being the locomotive that killed steam. A four-unit demonstrator set toured the country, starting in November of 1939. It ran for 11 months, through 35 states, and racked up 84,000 miles. This was really the first diesel-electric locomotive that demonstrated to railroads that diesels could haul freight more effectively than steam locomotives (in general cases).

During the late 70's and early 80's, granger shortlines came and went with shifts in grain prices, closing of local elevators, and evaporating state subsidies. So it was with the Erie Western and it's successor Chicago & Indiana. Blink and you missed them.

Happily, modeling gives us an opportunity to go back and enjoy those times again. Witness Erie Western 1602 and, just a few months later, Chicago & Indiana's ex CR RS11 7647. ERES' paint scheme was splashy and bold. CINR's was frugal, but creative in its own way.