Magma Arizona railfanning

Square diesel locomotive with freight train with looming mountains

  There is always the story of the locomotive that got away. For years back in the late 1960s, whenever I was in southern Oregon (due to my Air Force status), I stopped by the McCloud Railway and, with camera in hand, one by one knocked off their diesel fleet and cars. Except Baldwin Locomotive […]

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Mike Eagleson was all about steam

Steam steam locomotives with passenger train on curve

The trend toward professional archival preservation of the work of major railroad photographers continues, lately with the news that the huge collection of negatives, slides, and films of the late Mike Eagleson has gone to the Industrial Archives & Library based in Bethlehem, Pa. This is a big “get” for the IAL, buttressing its mission […]

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Diesel arrives at East Broad Top from Durango & Silverton

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — West met East here Thursday morning (Feb. 13, 2025) as the East Broad Top Railroad took ownership of former Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad diesel unit No. 1203, an H.K. Porter six-axle locomotive built in Pittsburgh in 1946. After a week-long trip by heavy-haul truck from its last home in […]

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Geared steam locomotives

Five geared steam locomotives in operation

  Compared to their traditional reciprocating rod-driven counterparts, geared steam locomotives can be seen as “oddballs” to the casual eye. They certainly fit that bill with their unique styles of running gear consisting of cylinders positioned at different angles and connected to the drive shaft through a series of gears to ultimately power every wheel […]

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British and European rail enthusiasts travel abroad

steam train with mountains in background

Let’s travel abroad During a Trains Magazine photo charter at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in fall 2024, a group of British and European photographers decided to travel abroad to the U.S. to join Trains staff at the D&SNG and, in the days following, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic with Pete Lerro of […]

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By caboose to Silverton and back

Black & white photo of conductor and brakeman by desk in caboose.

It does not matter how many times you have traveled the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad between its namesake cities. Every time you ride is a new adventure. The scenery evolves over time and is dependent on the season at hand. The people you ride with change. The purpose of the ride is different. […]

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OmniTRAX to serve P&G plant in Ohio

Logo of short line company OmniTrax

LIMA, Ohio — Rail and logistics firm OmniTRAX has been selected to provide switching for Procter & Gamble’s laundry-products factory in Lima, the third P&G manufacturing served by the OmniTRAX network. The new agreement became effective Nov. 1. OmniTRAX affiliate OmniTRAX Lima Industrial will switch daily inbound cars to the plans and return empty cars […]

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