It’s strange but true: Diesel-electric locomotives have streetcar roots. With diesel locomotives rapidly replacing steam locomotives in the years after World War II, it’s easy to imagine diesels as a natural evolution of the steam locomotive. The fact is, there was almost no transfer of technology. The melodious steam whistle was replaced by a blaring […]
WAYCROSS, Ga. — CSX has released its latest heritage diesel, this time honoring predecessor Louisville & Nashville. The ES44AH locomotive will wear number 1850, which the railroad explains signifies the year the L&N was chartered by the state of Kentucky. The railroad later became part of the Seaboard Coast Line, then part of Chessie System […]
Five students have received Railway & Locomotive Historical Society scholarships for 2023, the organization has announced. The awards to graduate and undergraduate students are each worth $3,000. This year’s recipients are: — Harun Celik of Ames, Iowa (Edward Myers Scholarship), an international student pursuing a Ph.D.in history at Iowa State University. He is writing a […]
Asked who my main influence has been as a writer, my reflexive answer is always “David P. Morgan.” The great editor’s inspiring use of language is what, in my opinion, made Trains magazine so important to generations of readers. And although I’d never be foolish enough to compare anything I write to that of D.P.M., […]
LENOX, Mass. — The three remaining cars of the Roger Williams, the all-RDC passenger train built for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad in 1957, are among five Budd Rail Diesel Cars the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum is leasing from the Budd RDC Foundation. Also included in the agreement announced Friday is an […]
I suspect most writers like me live and die with Google. I’ve come to depend on its online search capabilities more than I should, but I have to say its reach — even for arcane railroad information — often seems like a miracle. Until it isn’t. Case in point: Last week my editor, […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — John Helmstetter, the third-generation owner of the farm from which Helmstetter’s Curve on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad takes its name, has died at age 81. Helmstetter died Aug. 15. His family’s farm at Corriganville, Md., about 5 miles west of Cumberland, was a popular photo site almost from the time the […]
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The New York Transit Museum’s vintage subway equipment will be featured in the 2023 “Parade of Trains” operation Sept. 9-10 on the New York City Transit B/Q lines — the former BMT Brighton line. Trains will operate from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., operating between the Brighton Beach B/Q platform and the […]
PHILADELPHIA — One of the oldest surviving steam locomotives in North America – also distinguished as the oldest former Reading Railroad engine – is getting a new home, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pa. Imported from England in 1838 for the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, the 8-1/2-ton, 25-horsepower Rocket recently left its home […]
SCRANTON, Pa. — The Steamtown National Historic Site has received what it terms as “a generous donation” from the estate of rail enthusiast Eric J. Yankovich to help fund the restoration of SW1 locomotive No. 1901, an Atlantic Coast Line diesel switcher build by Electro-Motive Corp. in 1939. Steamtown is one of six railroad museums […]
CROTON-ON-HARMON, N.Y. — The Metro-North Railroad has released the second in its series of heritage locomotives celebrating the railroad’s 40th anniversary and honoring its predecessors, this time with a scheme worn by Conrail FL9 units between 1976 and 1982. Conrail granted Metro-North permission to apply its name, logo, and colors to the unit in March. […]
THOMASTON, Conn. — Former 20th Century Limited observation car Hickory Creek and New York Central tavern-lounge car No. 43 will return to Connecticut’s Naugatuck Railroad for a series of upcoming holiday excursions including this year’s Northern Lights Limited and Santa Express trips. Tickets for those trips are now on sale; information is available at the […]
