A diminutive Porter 0-4-0T works in the great north woods of Minnesota. Although not powerful, small Porters like this one enabled small logging operations to get in business quickly and cheaply. Library of Congress photo […]
Porter 0-4-0T
Zone & Region: Midwest
Chicago-area pedestrian crossing disappears in Western Springs
Chicago-area pedestrian crossing disappears I have no idea how long pedestrians have been crossing the railroad right-of-way at the gated crossing on BNSF Railway’s triple-track main line at Central Avenue in Western Springs, Ill., but it’s safe to assume it’s been quite a while. But the way that crossing quickly disappeared is another reminder of […]
Eight Burlington Northern freight car one-offs
I recently wrote “Burlington Northern locomotive one-offs” featuring five Electro-Motive Division diesels, including unique paint schemes, rebuilds, and test subjects. This time, I dug through my negative collection and found eight Burlington Northern freight car one-offs. Most of the photos are from family travels throughout northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota between the early 1980s […]
Metra will continue $100 monthly passes, other discount fares for 2023
CHICAGO — Metra’s board of directors has voted to maintain its current special post-pandemic fare discounts — a $100 flat-rate “Super Saver” monthly pass and $10 and $6 day passes — through the end of 2023 as part of the operating budget for the coming year approved on Friday. The current fare structure was one […]
News photo: CSX derailment near Toledo, Ohio
OREGON, Ohio — Ten railcars of corn from a CSX Transportation train derailed early Friday (Nov. 11) near the Port of Toledo, the Toledo Blade reports. The accident occurred at Ironville Junction, near Oregon’s border with Toledo, about 1:15 a.m. The derailment blocked CSX trackage on the Toledo Terminal Subdivision, the primary gateway to Michigan, […]
Rochelle, Ill., holds groundbreaking for intermodal facility at transload center
ROCHELLE, Ill. — The city of Rochelle has broken ground on its new Intermodal Transload Center, which will offer both intermodal service and transloading for a variety of commodities. Intermodal service could begin as early as spring 2023, the city says. “The Union Pacific Global III Intermodal facility abruptly idled in 2019, leaving local industries […]
Challenger, preparing for move to Silvis, takes a ride on Cheyenne turntable (video)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 took one final ride on UP’s turntable at Cheyenne on Tuesday, as the locomotive prepares for its move to Silvis, Ill., in a trip beginning later this week. The locomotive is paired with the original tender for Big Boy No. 4014, since No. 4014 has been using […]
Missabe 2-10-4 on Proctor Hill
In September 1954, Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 2-10-4 No. 713 tramps upgrade from the docks at Duluth with empty ore cars bound for Proctor Yard at the top of the hill and then the iron range for another load. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Mineral Range railroad of Michigan
The Mineral Range railroad of Michigan is a family-owned and -operated railroad in the state’s Upper Peninsula. It’s actually the second railroad of the same name. The “original” began as a north-south, 14-mile narrow gauge mineral hauler, connecting the Osceola Mining Co.’s Osceola copper ore mine near Calumet, Mich., and the company’s stamp mill at […]
Glenview, Ill., group objects to condition sought by Metra in CP-KCS merger
WASHINGTON — A group of Glenview, Ill., residents who helped block efforts to expand Amtrak Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee has told the Surface Transportation Board it opposes Metra’s request for a new connecting track in the community to offset possible negative impacts of the Canadian Pacific-Kansas City Southern merger. In a letter filed […]
Norfolk Southern trash train derails along Ohio River
COSTONIA, Ohio — Fifteen cars of a Norfolk Southern train carrying trash derailed Sunday morning, Nov. 6, in Jefferson County, Ohio, WTOV-TV reports, sending some containers of refuse into the Ohio River. The derailment was reported to authorities about 7 a.m., Rob Herrington, deputy director of the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency, told WKBN-TV that […]
Model an enginehouse scene
Model an enginehouse scene. Last year, I wrote about an old 40-foot insulated boxcar being used as a storage shed on the Sisseton Milbank RR (SMRR) in Milbank, S.D. I thought it would be fun to take another look at the 38-mile line, a subsidiary of the Twin Cities & Western RR, this time focusing […]
