Canadian National train M345 bucks a drift at Leverett, Ill., in near-blizzard conditions on Jan. 6, 2014, with a pair of CSX ES44ACs in charge. Photo by Erik Coleman […]
Poof
Zone & Region: Midwest
Crude by rail
BNSF Railway ES44DC No. 7339 heads up train U-TNDNSD through East Dubuque, Ill., on Jan. 19, 2014. The crude oil train will be interchanged to Norfolk Southern in Chicago for delivery to an East Coast refinery. Photo by Matt Krause […]
Fallen flag
It’s a cool, fall afternoon in Wixom, Mich., where the Michigan Air-Line Railway has completed its interchange with CSX and is retreating to its base in Walled Lake on Nov. 20, 2011. Six months after this photo was taken, these former Grand Trunk Western tracks were ripped up for a bike trail. Photo by […]
Waiting game
Southbound Marquette Rail train Z151 crosses this street on its way into Comstock Park, Mich., on Nov. 8, 2012. Photo by Jim Guest […]
New railroad in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula NEWSWIRE
The Mineral Range Railroad. Dave Schauer ISHPEMING, Mich. – For years, the railroad news out of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has been one of contraction and abandonment, as mines and paper mills closed. Now there is a positive story: the new Mineral Range Railroad. Owned by Mineral Range, Inc., a privately held corporation, the company purchased […]
Alco FAs in June and July 1975 Trains
Read J. David Ingles’ two-part Alco FA study, “Alco’s Big Bid to Be Best,” published in June and July 1975 Trains magazine. Download each article by clicking on the underlined PDFs below. […]
Train-watching in Bellevue, Ohio
Railroad enthusiasts from across the country flock to Bellevue, Ohio, for its train-watching opportunities. The city offers many safe locations to view the action, endless variety on Norfolk Southern and Wheeling & Lake Erie trains, and a small-town atmosphere that’s hard to beat. This video shows a sampling of train-watching in Bellevue, including NS and […]
Photo gallery: Amtrak’s Michigan Line track improvements
FULL SCREEN Ties await installation on the unused brick platform at Chelsea, Mich., east of Jackson. FULL SCREEN A Norfolk Southern tie gang finishes up for the day east of Chelsea. FULL SCREEN One mile further east, a tamper pushes gravel under and around newly installed ties at Chelsea, Mich. FULL SCREEN A laser beam […]
Colorful variety
It’s a warm Oct., 1, 2013, morning as CSX train K931-01 is coming off the Plymouth Subdivision in its namesake Michigan city with 52 empty stone hopper cars from Lansing behind BNSF No. 4992. In the distance, CSX No. 2741 waits for open track. Photo by Chris Paciocco […]
Great Photography in Bad Weather
FULL SCREEN Mark Llanuza The headlights of an eastbound Metra train slice through the rain and heavy fog setting in over Elgin, Ill., in November of 2012. FULL SCREEN Mark Llanuza An early morning mix of rain and sleet greets commuters as they board a Metra train at the Bartlett, Ill., station in 2012. FULL […]
Kansas City tonnage: 1971 and 2003
Chicago might have more trains, and St. Louis a big shiny arch, but Kansas City is the ton-mile king, with over 1 billion tons passing through the city (or above it, on flyovers) in 2003. That is 15 percent more tons than Chicago. What is remarkable about K.C. is its sheer growth, from 378 million […]
Book Review: Railroads for Michigan
Railroads for Michigan by Graydon M. Meints Michigan State University Press, Suite 25, Manly Miles Building, 1405 S. Harrison Road, East Lansing, MI 48823-5245; 640 pages, 180 black-and-white photos; hardcover, 8.5 x 11 in.; $49.95. Michigan’s railroad history is well served by “Railroads for Michigan,” a sprawling new survey by historian Graydon M. Meints. From […]
