Rebuilding the S-Line | Amtrak in North Carolina and Virginia

Rebuilding the S-Line | As detailed in the November 2024 issue of Trains magazine, the neighboring states of North Carolina and Virginia are up to something big! They are cooperating, collaborating, and even co-funding to create a 110-mph interstate passenger-train speedway dubbed, the “S-Line”. Watch this video to see some of the existing Amtrak trains […]

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Railfan Road: Pennsylvania’s
 U.S. 22

Black and white locomotives with an old steel mill in the distance

Pennsylvania’s
 U.S. 22 It takes less than 6 hours to drive across Pennsylvania using Interstate 80 (boring) or the Pennsylvania Turnpike (expensive and boring). Instead, drive through Pennsylvania on U.S. Route 22 for a plethora of really interesting railroad sites and plenty of trains. Even on a multi-day trip there is almost too much to […]

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A rail enthusiast’s top 10 hot spots

city buildings with train on bridge

Top 10 hot spots I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively during my almost 60 years of rail photography, and have been able to see and photograph railroads throughout the continent. In addition, I’ve lived in the Midwest, the Northeast, Texas, Georgia, and in Virginia for the past 25 years. Here are 10 of […]

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Rail travel photography yesterday and today

A woman uses a photo to take a photograph from a train window

Rail travel photography Over the course of my half-century of railroad photography I’ve seen technology completely change the ways we make photographs. Even so, when it comes to rail travel photography your eye for images will pay dividends far greater than that provided by the latest and greatest camera. In 1984, two months after graduating […]

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Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 3751 set for LA appearance in September

Steam locomotive at passenger station with modern building in background

LOS ANGELES — Santa Fe steam locomotive No. 3751 will make 2024 public debut this September at the Rail Safety: Los Angeles event, the San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society has announced. The free, two-day event will be the largest rail safety event hosted in downtown Los Angeles in more than a decade. Taking place at […]

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Illinois Railway Museum sets night steam photo shoot

Night photo of steam locomotive

UNION, Ill. — The Illinois Railway Museum will host a night photo shoot featuring Frisco No. 1630, its 1918 Baldwin 2-10-0, on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. The event begins at 5 p.m. Tickets are $100 and participation will be limited. No. 1630 will be staged at locations around the property with actors wearing period-appropriate attire. […]

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Lehigh Valley NRHS to host Alco Seminar

Alco locomotives on bridge

NORTHAMPTON, Pa. — The Lehigh Valley Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society/Railroad Historians of the Lehigh Valley are hosting an “Alco Seminar” on Saturday, Sept. 21, at the Northampton Event Center. The event will feature speakers who had a hand in the design and operation of Alcos, officials from railroads with Alco power, and […]

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Finding railroad history beyond the right-of-way 

An orange Rio Grande boxcar in a field with snow-covered mountains in the background

Railroad History Railroading exists everywhere we look, and in our travels we often get a glimpse into railroad history in places we least expect — like the half-dozen U-turns I’ve performed in ranch country where rust boxcars have been repurposed for storage. It’s an encounter with railroad history beyond the right-of-way. Drier climates in the […]

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The Cass Scenic Railroad | Cass, W.Va.

The Cass Scenic Railroad is logging locomotive central for the East Coast, rostering all three major types of geared steam locomotives. The railroad is based out of Cass, W.Va., where a former logging railroad was saved in the 1960s to become the Cass Scenic Railroad State Park to preserve the railroad for future generations. Come […]

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Railroading Heritage of Midwest America | Silvis, Ill.

Headquartered in the former Rock Island Railroad steam locomotive backshops in Silvis, Ill., Railroading Heritage of Midwest America is quickly becoming a major player in the rail preservation scene.  The new owner of famed Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 Challenger No. 3985 and DDA40X Centennial diesel No. 6936, the RRHMA is the proud owner of a large […]

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