ST. PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold has led his team to a run at a playoff berth this season. On Monday, Dec. 9, Darnold and the team made another kind of run: they took a ride on the North Pole Express powered by Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 at St. Paul Union […]
Train Topic: Preservation
Business car group seeks to save former N&W sleeping car
CHESTERTON, Ind. — The group that has preserved a former Norfolk & Western business car is now seeking to save and restore former N&W sleeping car Hollins College. The N&W Business Car 300 Preservation Society says it is working with Norfolk Southern, the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, and the Morristown & Erie Railway to preserve […]
Young Guns in Preservation: Tyler Chipman
It’s not uncommon for a trainee to become a trainer in the world of rail preservation. Tyler Chipman has taken on this path himself, beginning as a volunteer student conductor and engineer at Chattanooga’s Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Today, the 25-year-old is both training and educating others in his part-time role at the museum. How […]
Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation to buy short line
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation, caretakers for Portland-owned steam locomotives Southern Pacific No. 4449 and Spokane, Portland & Seattle No. 700, will purchase Portland-area short line Oregon Pacific Railroad, the foundation has announced. Foundation President Rick Franklin said in a press release that the acquisition “honors Dick Samuels’ remarkable legacy while securing […]
New preservation group buys Amtrak AEM7 No. 927
A new preservation group, Northeast Rail Heritage, Inc., announced Tuesday (Dec. 3) that it has purchased former Amtrak AEM7 electric locomotive No. 927, built in 1981 for high-speed passenger service on the Northeast Corridor and Keystone Corridor. It was retired in 2016. Using technology from ASEA-built Statens Järnvägar (Swedish State Railways) Rc4 B-B locomotives, General […]
Completion of shop expansion brings more contract work for Durango & Silverton
DURANGO, Colo. — The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has completed expansion of its shop facilities to accommodate contract work, and is seeing enough demand as a result that the railroad is looking to add five welders and machinists. The Durango Herald reports the $3.25 million, 10,000-square-foot shop expansion was completed at the end […]
Landmark Green River, Wyo., station faces costly preservation effort
GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — The former Union Pacific depot in Green River could cost up to $20 million to restore for public use, with up to $3 million needed just for immediate stabilization and preservation efforts. Cowboy State Daily reports that the imposing structure, built in 1910 and donated by UP to the city in […]
Pere Marquette No. 1225 sidelined from North Pole Express excursions
OWOSSO, Mich. — The Steam Railroading Institute’s Pere Marquette 2-8-4 No. 1225 has been sidelined for the remainder of the organization’s North Pole Express excursion season, the organization has announced. The Lansing State Journal reports that the locomotive, built by the Lima Locomotive Works in 1941, is not being run on the holiday excursions as […]
Construction begins on Manly Junction Railroad Museum
MANLY, Iowa — Construction has begun on the new Manly Junction Railroad Museum just north of the community of Manly. The $7 million museum, the brainchild of Iowa Northern Railway Chairman Dan Sabin, is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2025. The museum is designed to look like a railroad station and also […]
Travel with Trains: New England Fall Colors by Rail
The Trains New England Fall Colors by Rail tour checks a lot of boxes. Memorable train rides, great food and lodging, colorful fall foliage, and time to explore picturesque towns. What’s it like to visit New England with Trains Magazine? Follow along with this day-by-day journal from Editor Carl Swanson. Friday, Oct. 4th, 2024 Volunteering […]
Trade will help preserve two Conrail cabooses
MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — The Conrail Historical Society has orchestrated a trade of two Conrail cabooses to ensure the preservation of both, the organization has announced. The society has traded former N-20 class wide-vision caboose No. 22130, which it previously owned, to the Garbely Publishing Co. for its former N-21 class bay window caboose No. 21292. […]
No mismanagement found at Virginia Museum of Transportation, law firm says
ROANOKE, Va. — A review of the Virginia Museum of Transportation operations found no signs of mismanagement, the museum has announced. WDBJ-TV reports the investigation by law firm Gentry Locke was conducted at the museum’s request after six board members resigned at a June meeting. The departing board members voiced about museum management, including how […]
