New York Central’s 20th Century Limited was dubbed “The Greatest Train Ever Made.” In the first half of the 20th century, New York and Chicago were the two largest, most dynamic cities in the U.S. and titans of commerce. Big business demanded in-person company meetings, thus the need for fast travel between New York and […]
The biggest 4-6-2 Pacific came from a surprisingly small railroad. Any history of the American steam locomotive must save some superlatives for the 4-6-2 Pacific. The wheel arrangement allowed a wide variety of design and performance, such that approximately 6,000 were manufactured in the first half of the 20th century, all in the […]
Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee equipment set it apart from other electric interurban lines. Please enjoy this photo gallery selected from files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. Each month since October 2019, Classic Trains editors have selected one Fallen Flag to honor. A Fallen Flag is a railroad whose name and heritage have succumbed […]
Ann Arbor Railroad freight TF-1, led by Alco FA diesels in the blue-white-gray of AA parent Wabash, crosses one of the Grand Trunk Western diamonds at Durand, Mich., in the late 1940s or early ’50s. Rail Photo Service photo […]
Amtrak has updated its list of weather-related train cancellations for service to western New York, as well as the long-distance Empire Builder. As of 3:35 p.m. CST, these are the planned cancellations and other service change for Thursday, Dec. 29: — In New York, the Maple Leaf is canceled in both directions between Rochester and […]
Neenah Neenah, Wis., is one of those towns you have probably never heard of. There is, however, a good chance that something from Neenah impacts your life every day. Take a good look at the next manhole cover you cross. If it’s cast with the words “Neenah Foundry Co., Neenah, WI,” you now know the […]
Union Pacific and CSX Transportation have notified customers to expect shipment delays as a result of the recent storms that swept across much of the country, with CSX indicating those delays could last through the New Year’s weekend. In a Tuesday, Dec. 27, customer advisory on its website, Union Pacific says parts of northern Iowa […]
At the beginning of 2022, no one would have considered Silvis, Ill. a center of the railroad preservation community. The massive former Rock Island shop facility had just been downgraded by owner National Railway Equipment. It was closed in March 2021 as part of a plan to consolidate NRE rail operations to its shops in […]
CHICAGO — While sub-zero cold and blizzard conditions had begun to moderate somewhat across much of the Midwest toward the end of the holiday weekend, Amtrak has continued to cancel trains on less than 24 hours’ notice for “mechanical” and “manpower” issues, as well as the weather. A running list of trains not operating continues […]
DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa representative of the SMART-TD union says the union will try again next year to advance a bill that would limit freight train lengths in the state. House File 2339, introduced last February, was sponsored by outgoing Rep. David Maxwell (R-District 76). It would not allow any train “that exceeds […]
ATLANTA, Ill. — Severe weather and equipment shortages sometimes lead to atypical events on the nation’s rail passenger operator. A case in point was Monday’s northbound Amtrak Texas Eagle, train No. 22, shown in Atlanta, Ill., about 20 miles southwest of Bloomington, with P32-7BWH No. 518 leading heritage-painted P42DC No. 161. The 518 was part […]
CHICAGO — Metra would receive $1.5 million for its planned test of battery-electric locomotives on the Rock Island District under the Omnibus Appropriations bill passed by the U.S. Senate, the state’s two senators said in a press release. The bill now goes to the House of Representatives for action. The Metra funding are part of […]
