Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum celebrates 60 years

Steam engine pulling passenger train

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.—One of the senior organizations in American railway preservation, the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, is celebrating its 60th anniversary the weekends of Oct. 16-17 and Oct. 23-24. Plans include rides featuring the museum’s two operational steam engines, as well as steam- and diesel-themed night photo sessions, as the non-profit looks ahead with […]

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Nevada Northern receives $10 million grant to extend route

Steam engine in desert landscape

ELY, Nev.—The Nevada Northern Railway Museum has been awarded a $10 million grant to rebuild 16 miles of railroad from Ely to McGill and install a turntable. The legendary preservation railroad is getting ready to expand train service in a big way. For years, the railroad has been eyeing a section of long-unused track to […]

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Eagle River Canyon

Smoking steam locomotive with train along river

Eagle River Canyon Winding through the Eagle River Canyon west of Redcliff, Colo., Rio Grande 2-8-8-2 3603 helps a 4-8-4 train 2, the Scenic Limited, in 1939. Eight years later, author Hamilton passed this way on a similar train. R. H. Kindig photo […]

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World’s smallest pacific locomotive celebrates 110 years

Small black steam locomotive on tracks overgrown with grass.

The world’s smallest pacific locomotive — among standard-gauge equipment — is Little River Railroad 4-6-2 No. 110. COLDWATER, Mich. — The world’s smallest standard gauge Pacific, No. 110, is alive and well at age 110. The Little River Railroad 4-6-2 is running in south Michigan, fresh from a 15-year inspection and a rebuild that included […]

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Welding work advances Reading No. 2100 project

Interior of locomotive firebox

CLEVELAND – Restoration of Reading T1 4-8-4 No. 2100 by the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association, a 501c3 non-profit, has reached another milestone with completion of welding work within the firebox grate area. The work included welding of 548 new side sheet flexible and rigid staybolts, the welding of the inner sheets to the mud […]

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N&W No. 611 to remain at Strasburg Rail Road

Streamlined steam locomotive at station next to tower

STRASBURG, Pa. — Norfolk & Western Class J locomotive No. 611 will remain at the Strasburg Rail Road this winter, undergoing an annual inspection and maintenance, following the conclusion of its operations on the Pennsylvania short line. The Virginia Museum of Transportation’s 4-8-4 had operated at Strasburg since May, wrapping up its schedule of excursions, […]

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Milwaukee Road 261 returns to action (with video)

People gather around steam locomotive and train

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Milwaukee Road locomotive No. 261 is back on the road after a two-year absence from mainline operation. The S-3 Class Northern 4-8-4, built in 1944 by the American Locomotive Co. at Schenectady, N.Y., was in action Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 2-3, on the Twin Cities & Western Railroad between Chanhassen and Bongards, […]

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Erie ‘Limited’

Rear of heavyweight passenger train on bridge

Erie Limited The westbound Limited crosses the New York-Pennsylvania state line as it bridges the Delaware River at Mill Rift, Pa. An ordinary Pullman, not a fancy observation car with a tail sign, brings up the rear of the Erie’s unpretentious but comfortable flagship. Wayne Brumbaugh photo […]

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East Broad Top continues steady progress

Red and green diesel pulling open-air cars for passengers

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — Almost two years into its revival, the East Broad Top’s return is moving forward at a rapid pace, with thousands of new crossties, work on the historic shop complex, and, progress on steam locomotive restoration. In February 2020, the famed narrow gauge railroad was sold to the newly formed EBT Foundation. […]

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Wood-burning steam locomotive special event

4-4-0 Eureka and 2-6-0 Glenbrook doublehead on a mixed train for fans. The location is Ferguson’s trestle. Jim Wrinn

Wood-burning steam locomotive event in 2021 Wood-burning steam locomotive trains were the highlight of a September 2021 celebration of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad that is automatically a step back in time to the 1920s. With the inclusion of the older locomotives, the clock turned back further, to about 1900. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed […]

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