50 years ago in Trains: Tribute to Santa Fe’s 2-10-4s

The front of a steam locomotive in a railroad yard, the word Trains appears in red on a white box

In introducing the issue-length article on Santa Fe’s 2-10-4s dominating the August 1975 issue of Trains Magazine, Editor David P. Morgan wrote: “We broke our word. We promised you after our single-subject issues in 1972 on L&Ns “Big Emma” 2-8-4 and Electro-Motive’s 50th anniversary that Trains would not publish any more all-steam or all-diesel editions. […]

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Pullman porters and the fight for equality

A Pullman Porter serves a glass of water to a woman in a sleeping car berth

A century can seem like a long time, especially given the accelerating rate of change that oppresses all of us. At the same time, 100 years is one long lifetime. Almost 100,000 now-living Americans were on this Earth in 1925, the year a group of Black Pullman employees organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters […]

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Soo Line No. 1003 to operate in August for Wisconsin Chapter NRHS

An image of the broadside of a black-painted steam locomotive trailing smoke and steam

HARTFORD, Wis. — Soo Line No. 1003 will make its 2025 debut while also marking the 75th anniversary of the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society. A partnership between the chapter and the Steam Locomotive Heritage Association — the non-profit organization that maintains and operates the locomotive — calls for the 1913-built Mikado […]

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Western Maryland Scenic announces plans for RailFest 2025

Big plume above black steam engine coming around a bend

CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has announced plans for the 2025 edition of RailFest, its event celebrating heritage railroading, community, and mountain adventure. RailFest 2025: A Return to the Rails, is set for Sept. 12-14. Planned events include: — A “Sunset on the Mountains” train departing Friday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. […]

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High-nose U25B demonstrator

High-nose U25B demonstrator

General Electric 2504 was one of four red-and-white U25B demonstrator diesels that toured the nation in 1962. One, No. 2501, was the first U25B with a low nose; the others had the high nose that was just then falling from favor. Nos. 2501–2504 went to Union Pacific after their tour. Photo by J. David Ingles […]

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Railroad research tips

Screenshot of internet website

Railroads of the past can be full of mystery, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are numerous paths, some fruitful and others not, to find answers to your own mysteries. Follow these simple railroad research tips for better results. Printed resources, both historic and modern, are numerous. Perhaps the most comprehensive is […]

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