WILSON, N.C. — Carolina Coastal Railway, which operates 179 miles of tracks in eastern North Carolina once belonging to Seaboard Coast Line and the original (pre-1982) Norfolk Southern Railway, is receiving two former Union Pacific/Missouri Pacific GP15-1s wearing a red scheme inspired by that carried by Norfolk Southern Baldwin road-switchers in the 1950s and 1960s. […]
BALTIMORE — The B&O Railroad Museum has announced plans to begin cosmetic restoration of Reading Co. 4-8-4 No. 2101 — maintained in the museum’s collection as American Freedom Train No. 1 for the role the locomotive played during the Freedom Train’s 1975-76 tour — and will begin that process by moving the locomotive from its […]
The GMDH1 diesel-hydraulic locomotives led a short life with one staying near their birthplace of London, Ontario. Diesel-hydraulic railroad locomotives are just what they say they are: diesel engines connected to a hydraulic transmission via the same principle as you would in your automobile. They can be found in various parts of the […]
Erie Railroad locomotives included both oddball steam and diesels right out of a builder’s catalog. The Erie was a big user of the 2-8-0 Consolidation and 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive types. Going a step larger, the Erie experimented with articulated locomotives beginning with three Camelback 0-8-8-0s for pusher service in 1907. This evolved […]
ALTOONA, Pa. — A trio of aging 100-foot-tall yard floodlights that once illuminated the railroad exhibit at the 1939-40 New York World’s Fair is finding a new home here at the Railroaders Memorial Museum. Fabricated with a three-legged cross-section, the towers were among at least four built for the 17-acre railroad grounds, which, in addition […]
NJ Transit has unveiled its latest heritage unit, painted for the Erie Railroad, one of its commuter-rail predecessors. The commuter operator released the photo of GP40PH-2B No. 4210 this weekend in Erie’s black-and-gold paint scheme, noting the railroad “held a large presence in the North Jersey commuter rail scene” and operated on what are now […]
BISMARCK, N.D. — Three organizations have received a total of more than $250,000 to fund historical exhibits about the Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge, KFYR-TV reports. BNSF Railway is providing funding through the State Historical Society for the exhibits under an agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard. The North Dakota State Railroad Museum in Mandan will […]
EMD F40C diesel locomotives were six-axle, 3,200-hp units built for Chicago-area commuter service in 1974. They were found on two Milwaukee Road-operated routes out of Union Station, one west to Elgin and one north to Fox Lake. The units had a cowl body like the Amtrak SDP40F of 1973, but used an alternator to […]
RAVENNA, Ky. — The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. has received a $1.9 million grant to aid in the restoration of Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2716, as well as continue development of the railroad-centered attraction “The Yard” that includes the shop where the steam locomotive is being restored. The funds are in the form of […]
Does the world need another book about the Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge? Someone might reasonably ask. Of all railroads with a literature disproportionate to its relative economic importance, the D&RGW is Exhibit A. To underscore the point, I stopped into the Kalmbach Media library to do some rudimentary research: when […]
HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — The effort to turn the former Saluda Grade into a hiking and biking trail has received an additional boost with $12 million in funding from the state of North Carolina, the Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald-Journal reports. The North Carolina state budget approved Sept. 22 includes that funding over a two-year period toward purchase […]
INDIANAPOLIS — The Iowa Traction Railway has received the inaugural “Outstanding Railroad Historic Preservation Award,” presented Monday at the opening day of Railway Interchange by the National Railway Historical Society in conjunction with the magazines Railway Age and Railway Track & Structures. The award honors a North American common-carrier railroad for a historically significant preservation […]
