Grand Canyon Railway No. 4960 launches 2024 steam season

A black steam locomotive pulls passenger cars down a single-track line under a blue sky

WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Winter hibernation for Grand Canyon Railway No. 4960 concluded on March 2 as the 2-8-2 headed the first excursion of the railway’s 2024 steam season, between Williams and the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. Off-season work since the end of the 2023 schedule included, as previously reported [See “Grand Canyon […]

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Michigan Central Station to reopen June 6

MichiganCentralStation1940

DETROIT — The landmark Michigan Central Station, purchased by Ford Motor Co. in 2018 after decades of decay for revival as an innovation center, will have its public reopening on June 6, the Detroit Free Press reports. First teased with the projection of the June 6 date on the side of the building, the opening […]

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New Hampshire reviewing bids for purchase of Flying Yankee

Three-car stainless steel streamlined passenger train

CONCORD, N.H. — The state of New Hampshire is now reviewing bids for purchase of the Flying Yankee, the 1935 Budd Co. articulated streamliner built for the Boston & Maine Railroad — including a bid from the non-profit group that has long tried to support restoration of the train that is a virtual duplicate of […]

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Shay locomotive arrives at Oregon Rail Heritage Center

Shay locomotive on flatcar

PORTLAND, Ore. — Mount Emily Lumber No. 1, a three-truck Shay locomotive, has arrived at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland, completing its move from its former home at the City of Prineville Railway. The locomotive, built by Lima in 1923, was donated by the lumber company to the Oregon Museum of Science and […]

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Mikados in the snow

For Snow Week 2024, let’s head west to view operations at two tourist railroads running 2-8-2 Mikado-type steam locomotives during the winter. We’ll begin at the Sumpter Valley Railroad in McEwen, Oregon, before jumping to Nevada to chase the Virginia and Truckee Railroad. Want to see and learn more about this class of steam locomotive? […]

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