Demolition equipment is in place to cut up No. 503 in Port Arthur, Texas, unless preservationists prevail. Jason Sobczynski PORT ARTHUR, Texas — Railway preservationists are launching a last-minute grass roots campaign to try and save a unique Ten-Wheeler that is only days away from scrapping in this coastal city that was devastated by Hurricane […]
Durango & Silverton 2-8-2 No. 476 steams again on Feb. 14, prior to a test run to Rockwood, Colo. D&SNGRR DURANGO, Colo. — One of the Silverton train’s classic K28s has returned to steam after 19 years of inactivity and an extensive multi-year rebuild. Rio Grande Mikado No. 476 made a test run to Rockwood, […]
This C&O 2-6-6-6 strains mightily to get her 70 loads of eastbound coal moving at Thurmond, W. Va., in 1956. The Balky 1624 had slipped down, then cut off and run ahead to put down sand, and is now trying again. A full third of her tremendous engine weight rests on her lead and trailing […]
With clouds overhead mimicking steam, Big Boy No. 4004 sleeps in October 2013 at Cheyenne’s Holliday Park, just a few blocks from UP rails. Jim Wrinn No. 4004 • Holliday Park, Cheyenne, Wyo. BUILDER’S DATE: September 1941 SERIAL NUMBER: 69575 HISTORY: The fifth Big Boy constructed seems to have had an uneventful career. LIFETIME MILEAGE: […]
Amtrak CEO Richard Anderson Amtrak WASHINGTON — If railroads that host Amtrak passenger trains fail to meet Congress’ statutory requirement to have positive train control installed Dec. 31, 2018, Amtrak’s president says the company will drop service on lines that don’t comply. The move would significantly disrupt passenger service on virtually every Amtrak route in […]
On Aug. 6, 2012, a single Illinois Central manned helper locomotive brings up the rear of a southbound Canadian National intermodal train working up Byron Hill on the Waukesha Subdivision near Byron, Wis. Tom Danneman Q How do locomotive engineers know they are doing equal work on trains equipped with manned helpers? – Robert A. […]
Siemens-made SEPTA ACS-64 No. 901 moves through Roslyn, Pa., on Feb. 10. Gary Pancavage PHILADELPHIA — Watch for sleek new power on lines in and around the City of Brotherly Love as the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority begins testing their first copy of Siemens’ ACS-64 electric locomotive. Railfans spotted SEPTA No. 901 at the intersection […]
Interstate office car No. 101 has been saved yet again in Big Stone Gap, Va. Ron Flanary BIG STONE GAP, Va. — For wooden Interstate Railroad office car No. 101, life is starting anew at age 148. The car, located in Big Stone Gap, Va., and now under restoration for the second time in the […]
Come along for a look at the historic town of Harper Ferry, W.Va.! You’ll see CSX Transportation freights along with Amtrak and MARC commuter action in this scenic city on the Potomac River. […]
50 Years-North American Railroads: Vol. 1-The Far West By Don Jocelyn Four Ways West, La Mirada, Calif.; 154 pages, hardcover, $69.95. fourwayswest.com Four Ways West has released the first volume in a new pictorial book series featuring a photographic retrospective of North American railroads during the past 50 years. Volume one looks at the railroads […]
Guide to North American Diesel Locomotives By Jeff Wilson Kalmbach Books; 350 pages, 400+ photos, softcover, 8.25 x 10.75 inches; $27.99. www.kalmbachhobbystore.com Back in the late 1950s/early 1960s, many “old guard” railfans held the opinion that the hobby of train watching would gradually die out concurrently with the demise of steam. In 1963, Lucius Beebe, […]
WHITEFISH, Mont. — BNSF Railway is spending $135 million on its Montana rail network in 2018, part of which will go toward upgrading the ventilation system at Flathead Tunnel, the second longest railroad portal in the United States. About 50 trains a day use the 7-mile long tunnel located 28 miles west of Whitefish, including […]
