WASHINGTON — The city of Cheyenne, Wyo., has received a federal grant for more than $600,000 to support renovation of historic rail equipment. The $618,400 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Agency, is intended to support local tourism. It will be matched by $154,600 in local funds. Cheyenne says the project will […]
Train Topic: Preservation
QJ makes last trips before rebuilding

SILVIS, Ill. — Chinese-built No. 6988, a QJ 2-10-2, traveled the Iowa Interstate Railroad on Saturday, June 11, and Sunday, June 12, 2022, for a final time before its FRA 15-year inspection and rebuilding. Although the locomotive’s certification has expired the FRA granted a one-time extension for the two trips. The QJs — Nos. 6988 […]
Center for Rail Photography & Art acquires Steinheimer works

MADISON, Wis. — The Center for Railroad Photography & Art has acquired the majority of the photography collection of the legendary Richard Steinheimer, whose work often graced the pages of Trains Magazine and who blazed a creative trail across California and the West for six decades. The collection includes nearly all of Steinheimer’s color photography, […]
Nevada Northern acquires Baldwin prime mover for restoration project

ELY, Nev. — The Nevada Northern Railway has acquired a Baldwin VO diesel prime mover to be used in restoration of the railroad’s VO1000 locomotive built in 1942. In a series of posts on the Nevada Northern Facebook page, the railroad says it found the engine, built in 1945, at a New Jersey firm that […]
Bicentennial Santa Fe locomotive to be displayed in Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Santa Fe No. 5704, the SD45-2 locomotive cosmetically restored to its bicentennial paint scheme, will be displayed at Union Station Kansas City June 14-19 to coincide with the convention of the Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society on those dates in Overland Park, Kan. The locomotive, which has been donated […]
Museum of Industrial History, Reading & Northern plan July RDC excursion

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The National Museum of Industrial History and Reading & Northern Railroad are partnering for a July excursion by Budd Rail Diesel Car, featuring the first visit by an excursion train to Tremont, Pa., in more than two decades. The July 29 trip, departing from Outer Station in Reading, Pa., at 9 a.m., […]
East Broad Top begins restoring main line south

SALTILLO, Pa. – The long-awaited restoration of the narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad’s main line south – dormant for nearly seven decades – is under way. A three-pronged approach involves EBT Foundation, Inc., full-time staff; a volunteer track gang led by Gene Tucker of the Friends of the East Broad Top; and a crew […]
Rail exhibit with items from Barriger Collection now on display in New York City

NEW YORK — The St. Louis Mercantile Library’s Barriger Railroad Collection is the source of an exhibition, “Travelers, Tracks and Tycoons: The Railroad in American Legend and Life,” now on view at the Grolier Club in New York City. The exhibit, which includes more than 150 items , celebrates the 200th anniversary of railroading’s first […]
Fire danger pushes back Cumbres & Toltec’s opening day

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad has pushed back the start of its excursion season by nearly three weeks due to extreme wildfire danger. The 64-mile steam-powered narrow gauge railroad, owned by the states of New Mexico and Colorado, now aims to begin its season on July 1 rather than the previously scheduled June 11 […]
C&O Historical Society members complete restoration of phone box

CLIFTON FORGE, Va. — Volunteers from the Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society have completed restoration of one of the railroad’s phone boxes at the C&O Railway Heritage Center in Clifton Forge. The box, saved in the 1970s by historical society member David Powell as it was being disposed of near Charlottesville, Va., was donated for […]
Visiting Rapido – Bus and Train Tour

Visiting Rapido – Bus and Train Tour | When David Popp and Ben Lake recently traveled north of the Canadian Border to explore all that’s new with Jason Shron, President of Rapido Trains Inc., they were treated to a special sidetrack trip. On their way to see what new N and HO scale models Rapido […]
On Norfolk Southern’s 40th anniversary, a salute to more history: Analysis

June 1 marks 40 years since Southern and Norfolk & Western tied the knot and became Norfolk Southern. As this milestone passes, it’s important to recognize history that goes back even further – a lot further – and Norfolk Southern’s role in preserving it. Last fall, NS donated the Southern Railway archives to the Atlanta […]