DURANGO, Colo. — In a break from its 140-year history, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad appears to be on the way to running an entire season without using a coal-burning locomotive. The Durango Telegraph reports the railroad is set to handle the season with two steam locomotives converted from coal to oil firing, […]
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Despite uncertainty when the Canada-U.S. border will open, Rocky Mountaineer has confirmed it is moving ahead with limited operations on two of its three routes out of Vancouver in July and returning to a full schedule in August. Meanwhile, although Alaskan tour train operator White Pass & Yukon Route will begin […]
Steamtown offering increased hours and features for summer Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pa., will begin increasing visitor services this week, with additional features to open on July 7. As of this Saturday, June 26, the park’s summer hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. go into effect, and the theater will open, allowing […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – The East Broad Top Railroad has hired an archivist to begin organizing and cataloging hundreds of cubic feet of the historic narrow gauge line’s company records. Julie K. Rockwell of nearby Huntingdon, Pa., is leading efforts to sift through a vast collection of material documenting the operations of the 33-mile central […]
TREGO, Wis. — After surviving 62 years in storage and seven previous owners unable to fulfill their plans for the historic Budd-built streamliner, Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad’s restoration of the Mark Twain Zephyr has turned a corner, with three of the five cars nearing interior completion. “I am thankful every day for the individuals and […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – The East Broad Top Railroad reached a couple of restoration mileposts over the past week. On Friday, June 11, it reopened for scheduled public passenger service for the first time in 10 years. The owner, the nonprofit EBT Foundation Inc., has run trains for several special events. But this was the […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad board of directors has appointed Wesley Heinz as interim executive director and granted current director John Garner a 60-day sabbatical to address health and family concerns. Heinz is the current executive director of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum in Portland, Maine. He brings experience […]
The year 2020 was not a good one for tourist railroads. The COVID-19 pandemic closed some lines and forced others to run at greatly reduced capacities. Amazingly, there have been few casualties among the well-established ranks of U.S. tourist railroads. Let’s look at how one immensely popular scenic railroad made it through. John Smith, president […]
FILLMORE, Calif. — Southern California short line and excursion railroad Fillmore & Western Railway will officially cease operations June 30, 2021. The current operators, Dave and Tresa Wilkinson, are retiring from the tourist railroad business after more than 30 years. They have successfully operated excursion trains, Mystery Dinner trains, and Santa Claus, specials among others. […]
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — U.S. Sugar Corp. is interested in buying and restoring to operation an Atlantic Coast Line steam locomotive currently on display in Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Daily Record reports. Locomotive No. 1504, a class P-5-A 4-6-2 built by Alco in 1919, would be declared surplus by the city council, which would also rescind its […]
Mississippi station museum director vows to rebuild following fire The executive director of the McComb (Miss.) Railroad Depot Museum says he is “encouraged” by what he has seen after viewing the interior of the station and museum, which was badly damaged by an arson fire on Sunday. WVUE-TV reports that executive director Ralph Price said […]
TREGO, Wis. — The Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad is planning an outreach tour along the original route of the Mark Twain Zephyr in July, visiting communities in western Illinois, eastern Iowa, and Missouri to seek out people who rode or worked on the train, and to provide updates on the progress in restoring the historic […]
