PRR T1 Trust to hold open house for its new-build 4-4-4-4 frame

ALTOONA, Pa. — A series of events, including a public open house, will be held next weekend to show the progress on building a 21st-century recreation of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s T1-class 4-4-4-4 streamlined steam locomotive. The nonprofit Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Steam Locomotive Trust will display its 64-foot-long, 35-ton fabricated frame at the Blair County Convention […]

Read More…

National Railroad Museum breaks ground on expansion project

Architect's drawing of a new railroad museum exhibit building.

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The National Railroad Museum on Thursday held groundbreaking for its planned $17 million Fox River Expansion, which will add more than 25,000 square feet to the facility. The addition will approximately double the size of the museum’s Lefenstey Center and includes almost 19,000 square feet of climate-controlled space for exhibits, community […]

Read More…

Friends of East Broad Top debuts ‘Young Easties’ program

Two men in shop building

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – The Friends of the East Broad Top Railroad today is kicking off registration for a new teenage-volunteer program in an outreach to recruit and engage “the next generation” of preservationists for the historic Central Pennsylvania narrow gauge short line. Closed in 1956 and revived twice since then, the former coal-hauling railroad […]

Read More…

Motorcar rides on California’s historic Placerville Branch

Surrounded by trees, two yellow motorcars rest on a single-track rail line

If history had played out differently, our motorcar ride this summer day in the wooded foothills of California’s Sierra Nevada would instead take place aboard Amtrak’s California Zephyr, instead of on Fairmont “track speeders.” The track would belong to Union Pacific, not a joint-powers authority. It’d be home to stack trains and AC engines. That’s […]

Read More…

CP 2816 begins Final Spike tour

Steam locomotive surrounded by people

CALGARY, Alberta — After its first public display on Wednesday, Canadian Pacific No. 2816 begins the CPKC “Final Spike Steam Tour” today, traveling from Calgary to Medicine Hat, Alta., on the first leg of a two-day trip to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where its next display event is scheduled. The first U.S. display date is April […]

Read More…

New display, event space opens at Railroaders Memorial Museum

ALTOONA, Pa. — Officials of the North American Railway Foundation dedicated an outdoor display and event venue — the Luther G. Smith Memorial Yard — here today (Thursday, April 18) at the Railroaders Memorial Museum. The public space is bracketed by the museum’s Master Mechanics Building and Norfolk Southern’s Pittsburgh Line. Costing $1.9 million, the […]

Read More…

Young Guns in Preservation: Abigail Martinez

Young preservationist in front of a displayed historic railcar.

Even though it’s no longer part of Denver & Rio Grande Western’s narrow gauge empire, the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad continues its scenic trek through the San Juan Mountains while serving the communities between Chama, N.M., and Antonito, Colo. This includes Chama resident Abigail Martinez, who grew up in the area with a vocation […]

Read More…