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Trains visits Union Pacific’s steam shop in Cheyenne, Wyo., for an update on the restoration of Big Boy No. 4014. Join us on a tour of the shop and hear Ed Dickens, senior manager of heritage operations, describe the project’s status and the effort to have the engine back in steam in 2019! Be sure […]
With Charlie Conway behind the cameras, discover what makes the Copper Basin Railway shine brightly in the Arizona desert. In part 1 of 2, you’ll make a mine run with the crew in the cab of a Geep, take a hammer to hard iron rails, and then get to know president “Jake” Jacobson, right along […]
Southern Pacific cab-forward 4-8-8-2 No. 4219 leads an extra train at Dunsmuir, Calif., in August 1948. Guy L. Dunscomb, Martin E. Hansen collection Q On some early Union Pacific and Southern Pacific steam and diesel locomotives there is an “X” in front of the number. Why is this done? – Leon Bassik, Langhorne, Pa. A […]
Passengers avail themselves of the swivel seats in one of Great Northern’s 1947 Empire Builder short-haul coaches. These cars had 60 seats; long-haul cars had 44 leg-rest seats. GN photo […]
The Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami holds one of the nation’s most famous passenger cars, the Ferdinand Magellan. The official private car of Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower was a rolling White House for these leaders. Step inside this unique car to learn more about how it was used and how it was specially […]
New York Central S3 No. 9363 stands on the West Side line in Manhattan in 1967. Thirteen years earlier and 150 miles to the north, the road used another Alco switcher in a novel attempt to capture special-train business. Elliot Kahn, Louis A. Marre coll. In a lifetime of reading about railroading, I’ve seen the […]
Cummins QSK95 test locomotive No. 1919 uses Selective Catalytic Reduction aftertreatment of its exhaust. The system is located in the wing overhang; a urea and water solution tank is inside the forward portion of the fuel tank below the forward air reservoir. Chris Guss With Environmental Protection Agency Tier 4 emission regulations in effect for […]
Q I heard the term “nitrogen blanket” in reference to a tank car. Could you explain what this is and what types of tank cars have these nitrogen blankets? – Mike Riley, Manchester, Mo. A The term “nitrogen blanket” refers to a padding (or a layer) of nitrogen gas put into a tank car to: […]
Engine 304 of western New York state short line Dansville & Mount Morris, pictured in September 1955, was built in 1905 by Alco’s Brooks plant for the Nickel Plate Road. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Handsome Louisville & Nashville 4-8-2 No. 412 stands at the head of Birmingham–Cincinnati train 8 at Louisville Union Station. Charles B. Castner photo […]
Watch as Trains Associate Editor Steve Sweeney takes the engineer’s seat in a steam locomotive for the first time — ever — courtesy of Nevada Northern Railway. The historic Nevada railroad’s Be the Engineer program, is among the best known, but far from the only engineer or fireman program in the United States. Here’s an […]
Every steam locomotive needs special preparation before a day of service. Joins Trains Associate Editor Steve Sweeney for a behind-the-scenes look at how Nevada Northern Railway crews prepare 4-6-0 Baldwin-built No. 40 in East Ely, Nev., in May 2016. Only from Trains! […]
