Little known outside the region, two Cleveland commuter trains closed out passenger rail service to the giant Cleveland Union Terminal. Shortly after 5 p.m. on a January day in 1977, passengers descended the only stairwell still open to track level at CUT (see Spring 2005). A single lightbulb revealed peeling paint. Wearing white shirts, navy […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – Pressing its drive to restore a narrow gauge main line that has lain dormant for 68 years, the East Broad Top Railroad this week reopened two long-paved-over grade crossings south of here. Following up on earlier work to install track panels by the joint EBT Foundation and Friends of the East […]
MOUNT UNION, Pa. — East Broad Top Railroad’s last remaining standard-gauge 0-6-0 switcher, a 1923 Baldwin Locomotive Works engine, on Wednesday left the only place it has called home for 101 years aboard a specialized heavy-haul low-boy trailer. The 68-ton locomotive is destined for display at a park in Red Bay, Ala., more than 800 […]
The current era of transition for Amtrak’s roster harkens back to motive power that shaped the passenger rail carrier — for better or for worse. Excluding EMD F40PHs, as they’re in a league of their own, here are five memorable Amtrak locomotives. SDP40F Initially rolled out in 1973, the SDP40Fs became the […]
Classic Trains Film Archive | Tehachapi Loop, California, J. David Ingles Reel 4005 – From the vintage film collection of J. David Ingles, you’ll see trains of Southern Pacific Railroad and Santa Fe Railway climb, conquer, and descend south-central California’s venerable Tehachapi Loop. Dave rises for the opportunity to trek trackside in the Tehachapi Mountains…all […]
The Nevada Northern Railway might be the most remote railroad attraction in the Lower 48, and it’s also one of the most valuable. Just ask any of the thousands of people who make the trek each year out to windswept Ely, the east-central Nevada town that hosts one of our finest steam operations. Headlined by […]
Amtrak National Limited service began operation on May 1, 1971, linking New York City and Washington, D.C., with Kansas City. It carried Nos. 30-31. The route roughly paralleled that of Interstate 70, which links Baltimore and Kansas City. The name was a nod to a Baltimore & Ohio train serving Washington and St. Louis, but […]
Although a latecomer to the hood unit market, EMD became the dominant builder of road switchers with the GP7. Dynamic brakes are indicated by a protruding housing (“blister”) with grids atop the middle of the long hood, with rooftop cooling fans above it. The radiators are at the end of the hood, with an intake […]
Of all the mainline steam locomotives running these days — and there is an uncanny amount of them — I can’t think of one with as many distinct transitions as Reading 4-8-4 No. 2102. By my count, she’s a cat with at least five lives, with four more to go, if you believe that sort […]
LENOX, Mass. — The Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum will celebrate its 40th anniversary with a celebration on July 27 and and a concert on July 28, the museum has announced. It also is launching a new capital campaign to support its continued operation. “We’re holding these events to celeb rate the work we’ve done and […]
Joe Algozzini, perhaps the preeminent expert on Lionel trains and accessories manufactured during the post-World War II era (1945-69) has been contributing deeply researched and thoughtfully written articles to Classic Toy Trains since its second issue hit newsstands in the spring of 1988. To be honest, Joe was laying the groundwork for what became the […]
NC&StL locomotives were distinctive but disappeared all too soon. The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway had its share of unique items and was a pioneer. Historian Dain L. Schult says the “NC,” as it was known, was the only southern road to try a Camelback and a duplex; neither type worked out. It […]
