In every issue News, p. 4 CSX fights operating issues; the FRA rescinds a Texas high-speed rail grant Bill Stephens, p. 12 Fight over freight delays could hit Amtrak’s wallet History with Hankey, p. 14 Train music or music in trains Brian Solomon, p. 48 Handy tools for a photographer seeking trains Preservation, p. 50 […]
Senior Editor David Lassen is now scheduled to serve as the Trains Magazine host on the Trains/Special Interest Tours “UK Celebration Steam Bicentennial Tour,” a 10-day, nine-night event set for Sept. 23-Oct. 2, 2025. Space remains available for the tour, which begins in London and ends in Manchester. It includes private-car excursions on the Ffestiniog […]
A career in rail preservation is always possible — it’s a matter of finding where to begin. For 23-year-old Logan Smith, it all started by volunteering at the Illinois Railway Museum on Sundays. Over time, he began working more often and with increasing responsibility, from fireman to head of the Railway Post Office events, and […]
UNION, Ill. — The Illinois Railway Museum has added two former Amtrak diesels — an F40PHR and SDP40F — to its collection. Dynamic Rail Preservation, or DynaRail, has donated F40PHR No. 231 and SDP40F No. 644. The latter unit went to BNSF where it was known as SDF40-2 No. 6975. No. 231 is one of […]
EAST TROY, Wis. — A new restoration with Milwaukee ties is underway at the East Troy Railroad Museum. Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee (North Shore Line) interurban car No. 162 was recently moved into the museum’s maintenance facility for the extensive project to begin. The car was built in 1915 by the J. G. Brill […]
What does it take to save historic rail equipment? It might seem like a lot, even for a simple flatcar. However, learning from the experiences of others — and getting some helpful tips — can help first-time preservationists and new organizations determine how they can get involved. Having a plan The modern rail preservation movement […]
This article was originally published on July 5, 2018, as a blog post from Trains Magazine’s “Train of Thought,” by former Editor Jim Wrinn. While we try to make sense out of the eviction of the Indiana Transportation Museum from its home of 50 years and the resulting scramble to save locomotives and rolling stock […]
LONDON — The private train of Britain’s royal family will be retired, King Charles has decided. The first royal train, with special cars commissioned by Queen Victoria, dates to 1869. The current version’s equipment dates to 1977 and was last upgraded in the 1980s; its stock would need to be replaced, and storage and maintenance […]
WASHINGTON – Surface Transportation Board Chairman Patrick Fuchs provided an update today on efforts to clear a backlog of cases that have languished for years. The cases include: Colorado Landowners — Adverse Abandonment — Great Western Railway of Colorado, LLC, in Weld County, Colo.: On Oct. 5, 2022, a group of landowners filed an application […]
WASHINGTON — BNSF Railway’s efforts to serve two shippers located on Union Pacific trackage were dealt a setback today when federal regulators said they were not persuaded that BNSF had the right to reach the customers as part of conditions granted during the UP-Southern Pacific merger. The separate decisions from the Surface Transportation Board, however, […]
WASHINGTON — Beginning Tuesday, July 1, Amtrak is revising rules on how passengers are permitted to utilize first-class Metropolitan Lounges at its major stations. The principal change is that passengers now entitled to access can no longer enter Metropolitan Lounges after arriving unless they are booked in Acela First Class or a sleeping car on […]
THOMASTON, Conn. — No injuries resulted when the Naugatuck Railroad’s restored New Haven FL9 locomotive, No. 2019, derailed during a Sunday, June 29, excursion — an incident captured on video and circulating on social media. The locomotive sustained “significant damage,” the Railroad Museum of New England said in a statement. Thirty-five passengers were on board […]
