R. R. Wallin was trackside in Wyoming with his 8mm movie camera to capture Big Boys in their final two summers of service. […]
Big Boys on Sherman Hill, 1958–59
Type of Train: Steam Locomotive
Big Boys on Sherman Hill, 1958–59
R. R. Wallin was trackside in Wyoming with his 8mm movie camera to capture Big Boys in their final two summers of service. […]
Trains Magazine launches ‘Steam the Stripe’ campaign
WAUKESHA, Wis. — For only the second time in the 81-year history of Trains Magazine, the publication, website, and special events brand will sponsor a year-long fund-raising partnership with a non-profit to advance a landmark project in American railway preservation. The 2021-2022 Trains Magazine Preservation Partner is the Nashville Steam Preservation Society, home of the […]
Steam down south
Steam down south Gainesville Midland 2-8-0 No. 301 switches at its namesake Georgia town. The two-story building in the distance is the road’s headquarters. Photo by Philip R. Hastings […]
Colorado Railroad Museum to have three locomotives under steam May 15-16
GOLDEN, Colo. — For the first time in its 62-year history, the Colorado Railroad Museum will have three coal-fired narrow-gauge locomotives under steam and operating for two days in May. This first-ever-of-its-kind event will offer fans of Colorado history an exciting opportunity to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of a time when steam locomotives […]
Forgotten ‘Four Aces’
Forgotten ‘Four Aces’ Northern Pacific 4-8-4 No. 2626, originally the Timken “Four Aces” roller-bearing demonstrator, leads a Seattle-Cle Elum, Wash., fan trip through Kanaskat, Wash., in August 1957. Despite efforts to preserve the locomotive, it was scrapped a year later. Photo by Albert Farrow […]
The story behind developing smoke for toy-train locomotives
The evolution of miniature locomotives has been long and steady for more than a century. The beginning, of course, involved using electricity to enable them to move without being touched. Next came the introduction of functioning lights to models of steam and electric engines as well as to trolley and motorized units. Everything that had […]
Digest: Builder’s plate reunited with Hoosier Valley museum’s C&O 2-8-4
Hoosier Valley obtains builder’s plate for 2-8-4, seeks National Register status for locomotive The Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson, Ind., has acquired the builder’s plate for Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2789, reuniting the plate with the locomotive decades after the two were separated. The acquisition comes as the museum launches an effort […]
Pacific Locomotive Association, Niles Canyon Railway set photo charter to benefit restoration of SP No. 1744
SUNOL, Calif. — The Pacific Locomotive Association and the Niles Canyon Railway will host a railfan photographers’ special on Saturday, May 1, featuring Columbia River Belt Line No. 7, the 2-4-4-2 known as the Skookum. The event, to benefit the restoration of recently acquired Southern Pacific M-6 locomotive No. 1744, will feature the Skookum pulling […]
Super Power premier
Super Power premier The era of modern steam power dates to Lima’s development of Super Power and the Boston & Albany Berkshire (2-8-4), which hauled freight through its namesake mountains. But the B&A locomotive’s small (63-inch-diameter) drivers failed to take advantage of its boiler to generate steam fast enough for high-speed service. Number 1421 is […]
Improve short locomotive wiring in 7 steps
Some of today’s short-wheelbase locomotives have issues with the prototypical switches and narrow-angle crossings that make an O gauge railroad look realistic. Here’s a quick fix that will allow any locomotive - even this economical Bethlehem Steel saddle tanker from Lionel – to perform reliably over the troublesome trackwork. THIS IS A PHOTO FEATURE. CLICK […]
Colebrookdale Railroad acquires a second steam locomotive
BOYERTOWN, Pa. — In cooperation with the Maguire Family Foundation, tourist line Colebrookdale Railroad announced on March 27 that it has acquired former Rio Grande Scenic Railroad 2-8-0 No. 18. The engine was built for the Lake Superior & Ishpeming in Upper Michigan by Alco (Pittsburgh) in 1910. The acquisition comes after the railroad said […]
