Young Guns in Preservation: Jonathan Smith

Young individual working at an office.

It’s not uncommon to see individuals in railway preservation wear multiple hats, something 24-year-old Jonathan Smith has embraced during his young career. As Director of Sales and Marketing for the East Broad Top Railroad in Rockhill, Pa., Smith understands the importance of having a diverse resume within the industry. How did you get involved in […]

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Kettle Valley Steam Railway profile

Kettle Valley Steam Railway logo

The Kettle Valley Steam Railway operates over the only preserved portion of the famed Kettle Valley Railway, which was completed in 1915. Passengers can enjoy the rural landscapes of Summerland’s Prairie Valley, and take in the mountains and views of Okanagan Lake from the Trout Creek Bridge, a major feature of the original line. Choices […]

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Alberni Pacific Railway profile

Alberni Pacific Railway logo

The Alberni Pacific offers passengers a chance to visit the former McLean Paper Mill, 6 miles east of Port Alberni over the former Canadian Pacific Railway Port Alberni Subdivision. The mill is a National Historic Site that commemorates the history of logging and milling in British Columbia. Choices Trains to the mill are pulled by […]

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VIA Jasper-Prince Rupert Route profile

VIA Rail Canada logo

VIA Jasper-Prince Rupert Route between Jasper, Alberta, and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, is one of the scenic highlights of any trip to western Canada. The 2-day, 725-mile trip, which includes an overnight stop in Prince George, takes you from the Rocky Mountains in Jasper National Park to the Pacific coast. Choices On the VIA Jasper-Prince […]

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Heritage Park Historical Village profile

Heritage Park Historical Village logo

Discover what life was like in the Canadian West between 1864 and 1914 by visiting this re-created village framed by the Rockies. More than 150 exhibits, including many buildings transplanted from Calgary and other locations throughout Alberta, bring the past to the present. Choices The park includes a roundhouse and turntable with 30 locomotives and […]

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Hawaiian Railway Society profile

Diesel pulling passenger train next to the Pacific coast.

The Hawaiian Railway Society operates the only active train on the island of Oahu. It offers regularly scheduled 90-minute, fully narrated rides over 6.5 miles of track. Along the way, you’ll pass a variety of interesting and historical sites, including Fort Barrette. The train stops at Kahe Point, so you can take in the extraordinary […]

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Norfolk Southern and unions team up to focus on safety improvements

Norfolk Southern logo

ATLANTA – Norfolk Southern and the 12 unions that represent the railroad’s employees have agreed to work more closely together to improve safety. “Today, national labor leaders and Norfolk Southern management are committing to work together to enhance rail safety for our people and the communities we serve,” they announced in a letter to employees […]

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Railroad Archaeology 101: Digging up dirt on abandoned routes

black and white photo of abandoned line in Colorado

Abandoned routes It can be disheartening to study a railroad atlas and come across abandoned routes. Nobody wants to realize a line is gone, especially if we had previously witnessed it as an active transportation entity. Well, let’s take a pen and cross off that line. No! It’s rare that the remnants of an abandoned […]

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Work in progress to upgrade BNSF’s old Sandpoint bridge

Train on bridge, with work in progress on adjacent bridge

SANDPOINT, Idaho — With BNSF Railway  and Montana Rail Link trains now using the new 4,873-foot long Lake Pend Oreille bridge opened in late November 2022 outside Sandpoint, Idaho, the adjacent bridge opened by Northern Pacific in 1904 is undergoing reconstruction. BNSF says the work involves “replacing all 59 of the remaining original 1904 bridge […]

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