Reefers on the C&NW

20190129

A Chicago & North Western Baldwin switcher begins pulling cars from the “potato yard” in Chicago as an icing truck services a refrigerator car (middle) and buyers finish unloading cars (left) in 1957. Chicago & North Western photo […]

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Wabash locomotives remembered

Man leans out window on blue-and-gray Wabash locomotives with passenger train

Wabash locomotives were distinctive in both steam and diesel eras.     After depending on more than 150 2-8-2s for freights that succeeded typical smaller types, Wabash in 1930 received 50 handsome 4-8-2s and 4-8-4s (25 each) from Baldwin. Perhaps more remembered were seven 4-6-4 Hudsons, rebuilt at Decatur from unsuccessful three-cylinder Mikados in the […]

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Amtrak Midwest routes see three days of cancellations

Diesel with front caked with snow crosses diamond

CHICAGO — Amtrak Midwest state-supported services have taken another weather-related hit, with cancellations today through Monday for a trains on a number of routes. In an update posted at 9 a.m. today (Saturday, Jan. 20), Amtrak announced these trains have been cancelled in their entirety: Lincoln Service (Chicago-St. Louis) — Today, Sunday, and Monday: Trains […]

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Minnesota museum restoring rare Fairbanks-Morse switcher

Blue, silver, and orange diesel switch engine

DULUTH, Minn. – The Lake Superior Railroad Museum has begun work to cosmetically restore Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Railway Fairbanks Morse H-10-44 switcher No. 11. The museums plans to restore the cab, engine compartment, and locomotive exterior. It will be repainted into the MN&S 1960s-era paint scheme which featured large MNS billboard-style lettering. Earlier this […]

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NTSB to investigate rail worker death in Ohio

Logo of the Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road

JEWETT, Ohio — The National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation after a railroad worker was killed Monday in Jewett, the agency announced Monday. WOIO-TV reports the worker was an employee for the Columbus & Ohio River Rail Road, a Genesee & Wyoming property, and quoted a statement from the parent company said its […]

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Kenosha, Wis., council to consider resolution supporting commuter line to Milwaukee

Commuter train arrives at platform with another train stopped on adjacent track

KENOSHA, Wis. — The Kenosha City Council will consider a resolution on Wednesday in support of a long-discussed commuter rail line to Milwaukee, the Kenosha News reports. City councils in Racine, Milwaukee, and South Milwaukee have already approved resolutions supporting federal investment toward the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Regional Rail Corridor. The resolution to be considered by Kenosha […]

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Amtrak Midwest winter shutdown continues

Workers attending to locomotives in snow.

CHICAGO — Amtrak continues to assess efforts to operate in subzero Midwest temperatures and make cancellation decisions less than 24 hours before departures. In a remarkably candid email addressed this morning to “Supporter of Passenger Rail” and obtained by Trains News Wire, Amtrak’s veteran Chicago-based government affairs director, Derrick James, outlined the latest cancellations through […]

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Oil-fired 4-6-4

20190130

This Milwaukee Road 4-6-4 is an oil-burner — note the lack of an open coal bunker on the tender. The rear stenciling indicates a capacity of 18,000 gallons of water and 7,000 gallons of oil. The engine has been converted from coal-firing for service in Idaho and Washington. Milwaukee Road photo […]

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Ride aboard a private train

Private cars, also called “private varnish”, represent a mode of passenger railroading that’s intriguing and seemingly elusive to most viewing trackside. Who’s in that car? Where is it going? How are they able to do that? All questions that Trains.com staffer Bryson Sleppy has also pondered…and can now help us answer! Follow video highlights of […]

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Wabash Railway passenger trains remembered

A black and white photo of a train on the tracks

Wabash Railway passenger trains: All through January 2024, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the Wabash.     Please enjoy this photo gallery of Wabash Railway passenger trains, originally published online in May 2019. […]

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