Bigger is not necessarily better: the Alco C855 locomotives

Alco C855 locomotives in a freight yard with man in cab window

The Alco C855 locomotives is a locomotive that Union Pacific should have never considered purchasing.     The railroad’s operating department had always favored big motive power to move its mainline trains; just look at its 4-12-2 Union Pacifics, 4-6-6-4 Challengers, and 4-8-8-4 Big Boys in steam days. That philosophy carried over to a fleet […]

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Monon Railroad diesel locomotives remembered

Four black-and-gold Monon Railroad diesel locomotives with freight train on curve

Monon Railroad diesel locomotives showed a variety of models from four builders.     The Monon began dieselizing after World War II in 1946. It opted for EMD F3 units for mainline freight and passenger service and with EMD BL2s and Alco RS2s for locals. An A-B-A set of F3s started as EMD demonstrators. The […]

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Minnesota museum to repaint Great Northern diesel

Green and white diesel

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Transportation Museum will repaint its former Great Northern Railway SDP40 No. 325 into GN’s simplified orange and green color scheme, the museum announced to members. A museum member has agreed to fund the over $60,000 cost to have the engine repainted. MTM also has a large collection of GN […]

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An overview of garden railroading

a model steam locomotive approaches a switch

An overview of garden railroading: Garden railroading is the art of combining a model railroad and a beautiful garden to create a railway-like atmosphere. The difference between a traditional indoor layout and a garden railway is the difference between realism and reality. Indoors, the goal is to create the illusion of reality through the use […]

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EBT No. 16 limbers up for Winter Spectacular

Steam locomotive at edge of turntable with red shop buildings in background. East Broad Top expanded tours

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – East Broad Top’s 1916 Baldwin 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive, under restoration for nearly three years, stretched its legs Thursday (Feb. 9) in preparation for the narrow gauge railroad’s annual Winter Spectacular railfan weekend. Expanded to a two-day event this year, it is scheduled for Feb. 18-19. The 81-ton engine has created […]

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Noted Western photographer Ronald C. Hill dies at 85

Man with camera around neck in western landscape

Ronald C. “Ron” Hill, a prolific photographer of Western railroad subjects but also other forms of transportation, died Jan. 23, 2023, at age 85. His work constitutes “an incredible body of both color and black-and-white photography,” said Scott Lothes, executive director of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art, which had a close relationship with […]

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A brief encounter with Argent Lumber

Steam locomotive under log flume

If you’re driving on Main Street through Hardeeville, S.C., it’s easy to miss the little steam locomotive tucked away in a small open shelter alongside the city’s library. As engines go, it doesn’t get much smaller than Argent Lumber Co. narrow-gauge 2-8-0 No. 7.   I found the engine, though, during a brief stop last […]

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