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EMD DDA40X: In 1968, Union Pacific purchased 50 20-cylinder, 3,600 hp EMD SD45s for high-speed service. However, the units did not meet management’s expectations in that role. So, UP commissioned EMD to design and build a locomotive that would develop more horsepower than the DD35, U50, or C855 models. The result was the largest double-diesel […]
CHICAGO — Metra on Wednesday unveiled a special paint scheme to honor the city of Chicago on F40PH-3 No. 104, with the commuter agency saying the locomotive will make its debut May 14-15 to move cars to be displayed at Pullman Railroad Days [see “More features added to Pullman Railroad Days,” Trains News Wire, May […]
I thought it would be fun to make a citrus train for the garden railroad. I like to reuse broken hobby items from my junk box, and I had several pieces to build my train inexpensively. Certain livestock trains had a car — usually a converted long caboose — called a drover’s caboose for the drovers (cowboys) to […]
WAPELLA, Ill. — Short line Illinois Terminal Belt Railroad has added to its fleet of former Illinois Central Gulf Paducah rebuilds with the addition of Midwest Locomotive Leasing (MWLX) No. 602, a former GATX Rail Locomotive Group diesel built as Illinois Central Railroad No. 9130 in January 1956. The 65-year-old locomotive was rebuilt as ICG […]
Celebrating Amtrak’s 50th +1! No force of nature or pandemic fears could keep Trains.com Producer Kent Johnson from pressing ahead with his Amtrak victory lap across America in the summer of 2021. There’s no better way to reveal the highlights and highjinks of present-day rail travel, than to document the ride along routes of notable […]
Celebrating Amtrak’s 50th +1! No force of nature or pandemic fears could keep Trains.com Executive Producer Kent Johnson from pressing ahead with his Amtrak victory lap across America in the summer of 2021. There’s no better way to reveal the highlights and highjinks of present-day rail travel, than to document the ride along routes of […]
The St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad was a survivor and an innovator. It weathered some very rough times, including at least five bankruptcies. It started running unit coal trains from Fort Smith, Ark., the city across the Arkansas River from my hometown of Van Buren, in the 1930s. It helped move Texas and Oklahoma oil east […]
MONTICELLO, Ill. — The Monticello Railway Museum kicked off its opening weekend of 2022 operations using former Chicago & Illinois Midland Railroad RS1325 No. 31 as power for its passenger train. The museum acquired the RS1325, one of only two of the model built by Electro-Motive Division, in late 2020. New this year was the […]
Conrail locomotives: Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history, heritage, and style of Conrail all through April 2022. Enjoy this photo gallery of Conrail locomotives selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Conrail was formed in 1976 with the consolidation of several bankrupt Northeastern railroads: Penn Central, Central of New Jersey, […]
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court split 4-4 on a case involving an injury suffered by a Union Pacific employee in a decision announced Thursday, meaning a lower court ruling stands that absolves the railroad in the case. The case involved UP engineer Bradley LeDure, who was injured when slipping on oil on the walkway […]
Diesel locomotive single order units: In the modern era, locomotive orders are typically measured in the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of units. But orders early in the dieselization of North American railroad would often come in much smaller quantities, down to a single unit. It was commonplace decades ago when customers were more plentiful […]
OMAHA, Neb. and MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Union Pacific Railroad and the non-profit Railroading Heritage of Midwest America today announced an agreement that will see Challenger No. 3985, 2-10-2 No. 5511, DDA40X No. 6936, and other equipment from UP’s Heritage Fleet donated to RRHMA, which plans to restore both steam locomotives to operating condition. Also being […]
