Ringling’s Blue Unit circus train exits Huntsman Canyon at Moapa, Nev., June 15, 2010, oln its way to Las Vegas. This rare view shows the entire 61-car, 5,409-foot, 4,490-ton consist. Kenneth Kuehne The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus rail car fleet is an amazing collection of equipment from many railroads and many configurations. […]
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CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — CSX has removed the last semaphore signals from service on its Monon Subdivision in northwestern Indiana. The line was one of the final bastions for the signals anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. The final “blade” to fall, located at milepost 147.1 at North Crawfordsville, came down Tuesday. CSX is replacing the […]
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PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Double-stack trains will begin rolling next week on the Commonwealth Railway. The railroad, owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming, had operated a line through urban neighborhoods in Portsmouth and Chesapeake, Va., which has 14 grade crossings. To replace the crossing-riddled line, a new route has been constructed that will enable double-stack […]
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The Philadelphia-bound Liberty Limited passes Bowie, Md., with 19 cars enroute to the Army-Navy game. Alex Mayes WASHINGTON — Wounded veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars rode a classic passenger train to the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia Saturday. The “Liberty Limited” operated this year following a year off owing to a death in […]
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IRVING, Texas — The Trinity Railway Express fleet of F59PHs has begun returning to the Dallas-area commuter agency following upgrades at shops in Iowa and Pennsylvania. The units, jointly owned by Dallas Area Rapid Transit and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority, are being overhauled to meet Environmental Protection Agency Tier 2 standards. The entire seven-unit […]
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Missouri Pacific observation car No. 750. Museum of Transportation ST. LOUIS — The Museum of Transportation has unveiled its cosmetically restored Missouri Pacific observation car No. 750. Built in 1940 by American Car & Foundry, it was mainly used on MP’s Missouri River Eagle. The car boasted air conditioning, a public address system, private dining […]
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A North Star commuter train waits at the end of the line, Big Lake, Minn, before its return trip to Minneapolis on April 10, 2010. Photo by Rick Johnson […]
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Q I’ve read that when some railroads sent their steam locomotives in for a complete overhaul, they changed the main drivers to a disc type. Why would they do this?— Alex Jamieson, Chatham, Ont. A Changing to disc-type drivers was done on a case-by-case basis. The older style spoke drivers had a tendency to break […]
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A southbound Norfolk & Western freight train approaches the Southern Railway junction at Front Royal, Va., in this undated photo. The junction here will become a key connection when N&W and Southern merge to form the Norfolk Southern Railway in 1982. Photo by Michael S. Murray […]
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With its restoration complete but its boiler jacket incomplete, Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 tests on Sept. 20, 1979. Wayne York, Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society With its restoration complete but its boiler jacket incomplete, Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 tests on Sept. 20, 1979. Wayne York, Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society With […]
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