Milwaukee Road’s A-class: ultimate 4-4-2 Atlantic-type

Streamlined 4-4-2 Atlantic-type steam locomotive below bridge

  By 1935, it would have been sensible to consider the 4-4-2 Atlantic-type steam locomotive all but obsolete, at least insofar as new construction was concerned. In the U.S., the design could be traced back to the 1880s, and ultimately about 1,900 of the type were built. Its heydays were the years surrounding World War […]

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FTA finalizes grant for Chicago’s Red Line Extension

Map illustrating new transit route.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Transit Administration has signed a grant agreement for $1.97 billion in funding for the 5.5-mile extension of the Chicago Transit Authority’s Red Line, the first line of the L system to reach the Far South Side. The extension is the largest single transit project in CTA history. The grant fulfills a […]

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Robert Wegner, Kalmbach illustrator, dies at 83

Man working at computer on illustrations

RICHFIELD, Wis. — For more than 40 years, readers of Trains magazine were the beneficiaries of one of railroad publishing’s most accomplished but unsung talents, a man who created hundreds of the railroad maps that helped seal the magazine’s reputation. But unless you read the tiny, 6-point type in the corner, you wouldn’t know the […]

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Six rail routes receive federal grants for service improvements

Passenger train crossing bridge with ocean in background

WASHINGTON — Four state-supported Amtrak routes, Connecticut’s CTRail, and Florida’s Brightline will receive a total of more than $146 million for service improvements from the Federal Railroad Administration, the agency announced today (Friday, Jan. 10). The funding comes from the Restoration and Enhancement Grant Program. It was announced at the same time as FRA funding […]

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EnterTRAINment Junction: Remembering a Legendary Layout

Colorful large-scale steam train passes by a depot

Original article published in Garden Railway’s Dec. 2019 issue by Bill Mefford; edited and updated for Trains.com by Lucas Iverson. For many model railroaders and garden railway enthusiasts, a trip to the Greater Cincinnati Tri-State area was on the bucket list. That’s because it was the home to EnterTRAINment Junction, which boasted the biggest indoor […]

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Grand Trunk Western history remembered

Streamlined diesel locomotives with train crossing street

  Strictly speaking, Grand Trunk Western is not a “fallen flag.” GTW still reports to regulators as a separate Class I railroad, but since Jan. 1, 1996, GTW has been submerged in the identity of its parent, Canadian National. These days, operation and management of GTW are integrated with the 2,650-mile former Illinois Central and […]

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