Lake Superior Railroad Museum celebrates 50 years

Two small steam locomotives in museum setting.

DULUTH, Minn. – The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is celebrating its golden anniversary this year. It was 1973 when the Lake Superior Museum of Transportation & Industry was incorporated (the name was formally changed to Lake Superior Railroad Museum Dec. 1, 1997). Three men were primarily responsible for the museum’s establishment: rail historians Frank A. […]

Read More…

L&N heavy Mikado

20180424

Louisville & Nashville 1807, one of the road’s big fleet of heavy USRS 2-8-2s, moves through Strawberry Yard, south of Louisville, in the late 1940s. Charles B. Castner photo […]

Read More…

Illinois Railway Museum to preserve historic White Castle facade

Exterior of White Castle hamburger stand

UNION, Ill. – White Castle restaurants and railroading would not appear to be linked, but volunteers at the Illinois Railway Museum are working to incorporate the famous White Castle facade into a 1950s street scene the museum is recreating. When volunteers realized that the oldest active Chicago-area White Castle restaurant in Whiting, Ind., was closing […]

Read More…

Iowa mixed train

20180423

Smack in the middle of the Hawkeye State, Minneapolis & St. Louis 2-6-0 No. 310 crosses the Skunk River with train 342, the return leg of the daily mixed from Marshalltown to Story City, Iowa, in mid-1946. The spindly bridge near Roland necessitated the use of light motive power on the Story City Branch. William F. […]

Read More…

More Midwest Venture cars enter service; California still waits

Train with four matching Siemens Venture passenger cars

Second of two parts CHICAGO — The introduction of Venture business/coach cars on some state-supported Amtrak routes in the Midwest reflects an increase in availability of the Siemens-built equipment, delayed by a variety of production and acceptance issues. Meanwhile, there is still no firm date for the introduction of California’s Venture equipment, although a spokesman […]

Read More…

Slide suspends Seattle-Portland ‘Cascades’ service through Friday

Train at station platform

SEATTLE — Amtrak Cascades between Seattle and Portland, Ore., remain suspended through Friday, April 14, while BNSF Railway crews clear a mudslide that has kept passenger trains from operating since Tuesday. Portland-Eugene, Ore., and Seattle-Vancouver, B.C., trains have continued to operate, while the Coast Starlight to and from Los Angeles has been turning at Portland. […]

Read More…

Venture business-class cars debut in Midwest: Trip report

Interior of business-class car

First of two parts  CHICAGO — After being delayed for several years by production setbacks and acceptance issues, the first of 17 state-owned Siemens Venture business-class cars are now hosting passengers on Midwest Amtrak routes. They are not being advertised, however, and you only need a regular coach ticket to ride the cars. They feature […]

Read More…

Icing reefers on the Erie

20180425

The Erie’s icing platform at Marion, Ohio, handled a lot of meat and other perishable traffic. Here, carts on the upper-level platform service a pair of Wilson meat reefers. The two Pacific Fruit Express reefers at right will receive chunk ice from the main platform. A large ice plant is in the background. Erie Railroad photo […]

Read More…