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Why are there so many derailments? Freight train derailments have been in the headlines since the disastrous Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern wreck in East Palestine, Ohio. Some have been spectacular, like the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train caught on video at a grade crossing in Springfield, Ohio.; the fiery derailment of a BNSF Railway […]
What was your first byline in Trains? Kevin Gilliam: My first byline was what became a Trains Trackside (previously Trains Presents) five-minute video that was concurrent with the Norfolk Southern 21st Century Steam Program visit to Asheville, N.C., in April 2013. More of those short videos followed, eventually culminating in the first feature-length 611 In Steam […]
Still in use more than 180 years after they were built, the Keystone Arch Bridges of western Massachusetts stand as enduring monuments to the skill of their creators. An economic crisis Boston had a problem in the late 1830s. The newly completed Erie Canal was drawing more and more trade to the ports of New […]
Mind-blowing Conrail facts Arguably, the Consolidated Rail Corp. story is one of the darkest and yet brightest chapters in American railroad history. Consolidated Rail Corp. or Conrail — originally spelled ConRail — was the government-led and financially backed bailout of six Northeastern railroads. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the demise of the Penn […]
What is your history with Trains? Carl Swanson: I hired on with Kalmbach twenty-five years ago after previous stints with another publisher where I was editor of Passenger Train Journal and RailNews magazines. In 1999, I became an associate editor with Trains Magazine. For a lifelong railfan, and long-time reader of Trains, this was a dream […]
Mind-blowing railroad words Depending on how you slice it, there are easily over one million words in the English language. Ours is a dynamic tongue, ever expanding and contracting to suit current societal needs. What influences our vocabulary is also dynamic. Prevailing social trends, events, and technology, to name a few, all influence what words […]
What was your first byline in Trains? Steve Glischinski: My first byline was an article on the Escanaba & Lake Superior in the July 1984 issue. It was the cover story. I was so excited I went out and bought a whole bunch of issues and gave them out to friends! For several years I had […]
Dirt the railroad cat Within a few hours of announcing Dirt’s death to the public in a Facebook post on January 11, 2023, Nevada Northern Railway Museum’s page flooded with thousands of people posting their condolences and sharing their fondest memories and pictures of Dirt. From a small stray kitten found in the enginehouse to […]
Five extreme snow railroading facts Five extreme snow railroading facts belie the fact that snow can be pretty. It’s the perfect medium for sledding, skiing, or making snowmen. But, when an infinite number of the little flakes gather in the wrong place or take a ride on a stiff wind, they go from pretty to […]
What was your first byline in Trains? David Lustig: It was a photograph in the September 1964 issue of a new Southern Pacific EMD DD35 diesel in Los Angeles. I was 16 and armed with an Argus C3 camera. I took the picture, drove home, and developed and printed it. I was so excited when […]
A Clinchfield primer EMD hood units await calls to work at Dante, Va., on Oct. 13, 1980. Originally known as Turkey Foot, the town was renamed Dante in 1906. Shortly after, it became a busy center for coalfield railroading. Ron Flanary The earliest noises of building a railroad to connect Ohio with the Atlantic Ocean […]
The cab ride As the Production Editor for Trains Magazine, I got to participate in my very first cab ride, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway steam locomotive No. 1309, located at the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad this past fall. If I had to describe the experience in only one word, I’d have to say — […]
