Union Pacific Big Boy type steam locomotive No. 4011 ross west at Granite, Wyoming, in 1956. Jim Ehernberger 4-8-8-4 •YEARS BUILT: 1941 to 1944 •MANUFACTURER: Alco •OPERATED ON: Union Pacific •NAME: Big Boy •QUANTITY: 25 •BOILER PRESSURE: 300 psi •KNOWN FOR: Among the heaviest and most powerful reciprocating-piston steam locomotives ever built •STATUS: Eight preserved: […]
Denver & Rio Grande Western’s Royal Gorge, powered by an A-B-B-A set of EMD FT’s, makes its customary 10-minute stop in its namesake canyon so its passengers can take in the place’s natural beauty. DRGW photo […]
The eagerly anticipated warm-weather exploration of the rails in, around, and even under the Gateway to the West is set to rekindle Trackside Adventures! Catch up with host Drew Halverson, along with Kent Johnson, Charlie Conway, and Sherpa Allan Dahncke, as they make their way to ideal hotspots for capturing Amtrak, BNSF, NS, TRRA, UP, […]
All this month — February 2020 — Classic Trains editors are celebrating the heritage, history, and images of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad. Please enjoy this photo gallery of images from the David P. Morgan Library archives at Kalmbach Media that include Nickel Plate diesel- and steam-powered freight trains through time. You […]
Classic Trains editors are celebrating the heritage, history, and lore of famed (and infamous) railroads. In February 2020, we celebrate the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad. Please enjoy a collection of locomotive images located in the David P. Morgan Library archives at Kalmbach Media that include the Nickel Plate Road’s iconic locomotives and […]
Rio Grande Scenic 2-6-0 No. 1744 at Laveta Pass, Colorado, in 2002. Jim Wrinn 2-6-0 •YEARS BUILT: 1852-1929 •MANUFACTURERS: Lima, Southern Pacific, Baldwin, Pennsylvania Railroad, others •OPERATED ON: Chicago & Western Indiana, Baltimore & Ohio, Green Bay & Western, Boston & Maine, Southern Pacific, Canadian National, short lines •NAMES: Mogul, Valley Mallet •QUANTITY: 8,000; Canadian […]
A train dispatcher supervises the movement of trains over a designated portion of a railroad and also supervises the other employees involved in that movement. The dispatcher’s first responsibility is safety, to see that each train gets over the road without trying to occupy the same piece of track at the same time as any […]
In February 2020, Classic Trains is celebrating the history, heritage, and splendor of the New York, Chicago & St. Louis Railroad. Enjoy this photo gallery, originally published online in September 2016, as the perfect salute to the Nickel Plate Road. Return each week for another salute to the railroad of the month! See what we […]
In February 1956, the Interstate Commerce Commission approved abandoning the East Broad Top Railroad. Here are a handful of images by acclaimed steam locomotive and steam railroad photographer, Philip R. Hastings. A full timeline of East Broad Top events is available from Classic Trains online. […]
Model Railroader magazine remains the leading source of information for our great hobby. You can get access to all of the more than 1,000 issues of Model Railroader from January 1934 to the present day by signing up for the exclusive online archive. Check out this classic story from the April 1988 issue. […]
East Broad Top Railroad Mikado No. 15 and its short train head out of Orbisonia, Pennsylvania, June 21, 2009, the 49th year the former coal hauler has been a tourist line. TRAINS: Jim Wrinn EDITOR’S NOTE: A version of this article first appeared in the October 2009 issue of Trains Magazine. Stanley G. Hall has […]
East Broad Top Railroad Mikado-type 2-8-2 locomotives Nos. 12 and 15 appear at the Orbisonia, Pennsylvania, station as part of a nighttime photo shoot in October 2011. Alex Mayes East Broad Top Railroad map The East Broad Top was the last narrow gauge common carrier in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River. It was […]
