A Union Pacific local train passes through suburban areas near Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., in October 2017. TRAINS: Steve Sweeney Question: How do trains crews earn their money? — Lee Martens, Rifle, Colo. Answer: In short, it is complicated. There are differences between how most Class I railroaders are paid and their short line colleagues — […]
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Siemens Charger SC-44 No. 4632 leads Amtrak train 391, the southbound Saluki from Chicago to Carbondale, Ill., on the Canadian National Centrailia Subdivision, after passing the coaling towers that were built for the then Illinois Central Railroad in 1949. 18302-27 Jim Pearson Question: What effect, if any, will the implementation of Precision Scheduled Railroading by […]
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“Long-term deterioration” is believed to be the cause of this bridge collapse onto Norfolk Southern tracks last week in Toledo, Ohio. Michael D. Harding TOLEDO, Ohio — Officials believe long-term deterioration was the cause of last week’s bridge collapse that blocked Norfolk Southern’s main line through Toledo for more than six hours. The Toledo Blade […]
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Broadway Limited Imports HO scale Union Pacific late 4-6-6-4 Challenger steam locomotive HO scale locomotives Union Pacific late 4-6-6-4 Challenger steam locomotive. Clinchfield (painted black and graphite with coal tender in two road numbers) and Union Pacific (black and graphite with coal tender in two numbers, black and graphite with oil tender and smoke lifters […]
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If you want to speak strictly from the heart, then any year in the postwar era was a great one to receive your first Lionel set. But if you prefer to let your brain do the talking, then 1954 surely was the year to pick. From the peak of the company’s grand 50th anniversary celebration […]
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MIAMI — Sir Richard Branson became the media darling of South Florida this week as Virgin Trains USA rebranded MiamiCentral, the massive terminal complex revitalizing a downtrodden area bordering the city’s business district. It was the initial move in the long-expected rebranding of Brightline passenger service. The flamboyant Branson, dressed in white and attracting a […]
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The Transcontinental Railroad’s replacement 1,000-mile tree in Utah. Jim Wrinn Of all of the locations that Union Pacific marked either formally or informally in the 1860s as it worked westward toward Promontory, one of the most interesting is the 1,000-mile tree. Nestled next to the tracks in Weber Canyon between Evanston, Wyo., and Ogden, Utah, […]
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A view of the Union Pacific main line from Piedmont Road near the Altamont and Alpine tunnels along the Transcontinental Railroad route. The location is where, legend has it, that Union Pacific workers delayed Thomas Durant’s train on his way to the Golden Spike ceremony at Promontory Summit, Utah. Jim Wrinn A tried and true […]
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The Ames Brothers monument along the former Union Pacific and Transcontinental Railroad right-of-way in Wyoming. The monument is on the Sherman Hill grade. Richard Koenig OLD SHERMAN, Wyo. — One of my favorite places on the first Transcontinental Railroad is Sherman Hill. It was the first big obstacle in Union Pacific’s way when the railroad […]
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Name: Ray Turner Railroad Name: Mystic Mountain RR Location: San Jose, CA Scale: G Theme: Steam era Description: Two Bachmann Ten-Wheelers double-head a long train around this layout. […]
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Jerry A. Pinkepank 1 “Mountain Type” F3A. Briefly in 1947, EMD referred to its steam-generator-equipped, passenger-geared F3s as “The Mountain Type.” These units were intended for use on passenger trains that traversed grades for which E7s were not suitable. In September 1947 Union Pacific got eight F3 A-B-B sets, plus three extra A units, all […]
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A Triple Crown trailer train heads westbound out of Huntington, Ind., in September 2015. 15273-21 Randy Olson Question: I occasionally see Triple Crown semi-trailer trains on a route that runs near Decatur, Ill. Since these trailers are attached directly to one another and are not on flatcars, how are the frames of these trailers reinforced […]
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