Presenting the past at the Mount Washington Cog Railway

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Engineer J.F. Keating carries workers aboard a flatcar on the 3¼-mile Mount Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire on June 11, 1946. Today, the Cog runs mostly biodiesel engines. L.B. Herrin When I first visited the Mount Washington Cog Railway in 1980, exactly 30 years before my recent visit, it was an inadvertent museum, complete […]

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The railroads behind today’s U.S. rail trails

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Steve Glischinski Match the initials below to the Map of the Month in the May 2011 issue of Trains Magazine. The three-page foldout map will show you which recreational trails 10 miles or longer in the United States were fashioned from abandoned railroad lines. We mapped 415 trails in all (strung together, they would stretch […]

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New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Cog Railway Locomotive Roster

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Name No. Type Builder Year built Peppersass 1 Campbell, Whittier & Co. – 1866 Mt. Washington 1 0-2-2-0 Manchester Loco. Works 1883 Ammonoosuc 2 0-2-2-0 Manchester Loco. Works 1875 Agiocochook 3 0-2-2-0 Manchester Loco. Works 1883 Chocorua 4 0-2-2-0 Manchester Loco. Works 1883 Kancamagus 6 0-2-2-0 Manchester Loco. Works 1874 Moosilauke 8 0-2-2-0 Mt. Washington […]

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Manufacturers Railway applies to shut down NEWSWIRE

ST. LOUIS — The Manufacturers Railway has asked the federal government for permission to cease service over all its lines. The railroad, which was formed in 1887, handles shipments to and from its owner, Anheuser-Busch.  The company operates two lines: the one-mile “Brewery Line” to Anheuser-Busch, and the 2.6-mile First Street line, which historically served […]

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Through the looking-glass

Looking out the window of Canadian National SD70M-2 No. 8016, a Canadian Pacific transfer train on X-Track (left) waits for light power at Symington Yard in Winnipeg, Man., on Oct. 23, 2007. A. Ross Harrison photo […]

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Engineer convicted in fatal Swiss crash NEWSWIRE

ZURICH, Switzerland — The engineer that was operating the Glacier Express when it crashed last summer has been convicted of negligence and homicide, Swiss Info has reported. One Japanese tourist died in the crash and 40 were injured. Investigators say the crash occurred at a point where the line’s speed limit jumps from 22 mph […]

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TRAINS exclusive: Amtrak police chief bars Transportation Security Administration from some security operations NEWSWIRE

WASHINGTON — In late February, the Transportation Security Administration took over the Amtrak station in Savannah, Ga., and thoroughly searched every person who entered. None of the passengers got into trouble, but the TSA certainly did — big time. Amtrak Police Chief John O’Connor said he first thought a blog posting about the incident was […]

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Cab-forward cab interiors

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Q In a Southern Pacific cab-forward steam locomotive, is the engineer on the right side of the cab? If so, does he have to reach back to man the throttle, reverse gear, air brakes, etc.?— Ralph Podas, Columbus, Ohio A Builders of these locomotives redesigned the cabs entirely so that crews would face the correct […]

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Draft-gear slack

Q What is the purpose of having draft-gear slack in the era of diesel locomotives? We all know the steam engines needed slack to start the train, and slack is used to “cushion” coupling, but I’ve always wondered why the modern freight cars don’t “lock” the draft gear when the brakeline is charged up eliminating […]

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