Searchlight sentinels

  This hot eastbound BNSF Railway “Z train” is seen near Bucklin, Mo., on July 28, 2013. The searchlight signals are a hallmark of the former Santa Fe route. Photo by Russell J. Lyon […]

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Green beans and trains

Erie 2707

Erie Pacific 2707, a sister to the engine that enthralled author Noble during Ohio summers, is seen at Dunkirk, N.Y., 200 miles and two seasons away, but coincidently also alongside an NYC line. Al Rung My dad, after changing jobs following World War II, from Crosley Corp., in Cincinnati to one at Wright-Patterson Air Force […]

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Night moves

  Canadian Pacific train No. 493 meets opposing traffic at Reeseville, Wis., on June 14, 2014, as the last light disappears from the sky. Photo by Matt Krause […]

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A Day With The Des Moines “Tramp”

Oblique rear view of a black model diesel locomotive on a bridge.

Follow Iowa Interstate Train NTSW-29, affectionately known as the Des Moines “Tramp”, as it delivers a carload to Beisser Lumber on the IAIS Grimes Line. Read about this modern-era model railroad and get a track plan in Model Railroad Planning 2014. Video shot by James McNab […]

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A Day With The Des Moines “Tramp”

Oblique rear view of a black model diesel locomotive on a bridge.

Follow Iowa Interstate Train NTSW-29, affectionately known as the Des Moines “Tramp”, as it delivers a carload to Beisser Lumber on the IAIS Grimes Line. Read about this modern-era model railroad and get a track plan in Model Railroad Planning 2014. Video shot by James McNab […]

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Omaha Road local departing Minneapolis

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Bound for Ashland, Wis., on Lake Superior, the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha’s local train No. 508 departs Minneapolis on August 4, 1950. Drawn by 4-6-2 No. 500, the train’s consist suggests that its mission involved considerably more express and mail than passenger traffic. The “Omaha Road” was a Chicago & North Western subsidiary. […]

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Rochelle, Ill.

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Rochelle, Ill., is known as the Hub City for good reason. Main lines of both BNSF Railway and Union Pacific cross on the west side of town. Because of this, and the heavy rail traffic they bring, the city of Rochelle started the Rochelle Railroad Park in 1998. As many as 120 trains a day […]

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