CHARLESTON, W.Va. — People are vacationing again, and travel spending is close to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. This means as more Americans travel in 2022, tourist and heritage rail attractions can focus on what is normal: selling seats and injecting much-needed cashflow into tourist rail and preservation. This year is likely to be the first season […]
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mid-America Car of Kansas City has completed the cosmetic restoration of former Santa Fe SD45-2 No. 5704 — donated to the Southern California Railroad Museum in Perris, Calif., in 2021 — to the eye-catching bicentennial paint scheme it wore in the mid-1970s. Mid-America’s craftsmen took several months to recreate the appearance […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad and Trains Magazine kicked off the 2022 steam season at the Cumberland, Md.-based tourist railroad with a three-day photo charter featuring former Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 No. 1309, the last Baldwin built for domestic service and now the world’s largest operating Mallet. Some 100 enthusiasts were on hand […]
MONTICELLO, Ill. — The Monticello Railway Museum in Central Illinois is adding to its collection with the donation of former Illinois Central SW14 No. 1407. Following a career in private lease service, No. 1407 was graciously donated by GATX Locomotive Group. The unit, now GMTX No. 526, is currently stored in Lexington, Ky. No. 1407 […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — The East Broad Top Foundation posted a sold-out Winter Spectacular celebration Feb. 18-19, with 10 internal-combustion-powered trips over its restored main line between Rockhill Furnace and Colgate Grove and tours of the roundhouse and station archives. This year’s winter event built on the success of the Foundation’s first Winter Spectacular in […]
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The drive to restore Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis 4-8-4 No. 576 to operation has been boosted by a record-breaking, year-end fundraiser that raised $200,000 total. With over $26,000 raised on Giving Tuesday alone and an additional $74,000 raised between November 2021 and January 2022, the non-profit organization successfully met a $100,000 […]
CALGARY, Alberta — The Locomotive & Railway Historical Society of Western Canada is seeking homes for three Fairbanks-Morse locomotives that will become homeless later this year. The locomotives are Canadian Pacific FM H16-44 No. 8554, part of Canadian Pacific’s former historical collection, and a pair of Canadian Pacific FM CPB16-4 B units built as CP […]
CHAMA, N.M. — After weathering the COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns of 2020 and 2021, Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad ridership rebounded to within 11% of 2019 ridership, railroad President Scott Gibbs tells Trains News Wire. With most restrictions lifted by July 1, 2021, the railroad carried 37,735 riders for the year versus 42,451 in 2019, Gibbs […]
These ten unusual locomotive paint schemes are a sight to behold. Railroads usually spend a lot of money and time to create an image. Lettering, a paint scheme, a “look” is all important for consistency and brand identification. So, here are a few examples of locomotive paint schemes that were either derivations of the original […]
The Golden Spike Centennial Limited was born, in promoter Ross Rowland Jr.’s mind, as a reaction to the Association of American Railroads’ not planning anything special to mark the 100th anniversary of the nation-uniting event on the new transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah, in 1869. The apathy was perhaps typical of the Class I railroads […]
PORT JERVIS, N.Y. — After more than two years of planning and development, the Port Jervis Transportation History Center is set to celebrate its grand opening Memorial Day Weekend with the first Port Jervis Transportation Festival. Also, the Dining Car Society has announced it will move its collection of seven historic passenger equipment from Scranton, […]
FILLMORE, Calif. – Former Fillmore & Western Alco S6 1059, a heavyweight passenger car, and a detrucked Pacific Fruit Express wood-sheathed refrigerator car left Fillmore on Tuesday by low-boy trucks for their new home at the Virginia & Truckee Railroad in Virginia City, Nevada. The diesel, former Southern Pacific No. 1059, was numbered 1229 in […]
