Oil-fired narrow gauge steam locomotives are relatively rare. But they are making a come-back in the world of preservation. Recently the Durango & Silverton tourist railroad, prompted by a disastrous wildfire allegedly caused by one of its trains, began converting some of its steam locomotives from coal to oil fuel. Like the rest of the […]
Introduction to the Beverly Branch The Beverly Branch is a unique segment of Metra’s 11-line commuter rail network. While there are other branch lines — two on the Electric District, one on the UP Northwest line — this one is essentially an alternate route, a 6-mile diversion from the Rock Island District main line providing […]
History of the New Haven Railroad New Haven Railroad history reveals that the New York, New Haven & Hartford was a railroad of many different faces, depending on which part you saw. The double-track Shore Line between New Haven and Boston was home to famous trains such as the Merchants Limited and Yankee Clipper, hauled […]
All through August 2021, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the heritage, history, and splendor that was the Western Pacific Railroad. Please enjoy this photo gallery of locomotives selected from Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Only from Trains.com! […]
All through August, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the grit, the glory, and the grandeur that was the Western Pacific Railroad. Please enjoy this photo gallery of images selected from Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Only from Classic Trains! […]
Union Pacific Big Boy differences from its 2019 tour are subtle, but you can still see them. Here are some of the most visible changes to the engine that you can spot as the engine rolls by or during one of its display stops. Big Boy cylinder head and piston head covers Big Boys had […]
BIG BOY HOT SPOT Location If you’re for Union Pacific Big Boy Hot Spot this summer, don’t miss the Dexter, Missouri, community. Dexter is situated in the rural southeast corner of Missouri in Stoddard County, about halfway between St. Louis and Memphis. It is surrounded by fertile soil, vast row-crop farmland, and straight, high speed […]
These are the steam locomotives on Big Boy’s 2021 route. In August and September 2021, Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 will travel from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to New Orleans through Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, among other places. Classic Trains offers this photo gallery of steam locomotives from railroading’s high-period, showcasing those […]
All through August 2021, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and legacy of the Western Pacific Railroad. In this article, please enjoy a photo gallery of Western Pacific Railroad passenger trains in their prime. This gallery was first published in July 2016. Only from Classic Trains! […]
When you think of engine facilities on the BNSF Ry., images of large, multi-bay structures; wash racks; and sand towers and fuel columns that can handle 10 or more locomotives at a time probably come to mind. And that makes perfect senses considering the railroad’s size. BNSF has facilities like this in Alliance (Neb. and […]
Western Pacific Railroad history The Western Pacific Railroad almost “had it all.” It ran passenger and freight trains, in mountain and desert scenery, behind vintage steam engines that survived World War II and hauled excursions, and then colorful diesels, from early green-and-yellow FTs through orange-and-silver Fs and Geeps to dark-green second-generation EMDs and GEs. It […]
The BL2 was a mistake at diesel locomotive leader EMD EMD’s BL2 diesel locomotive was a mistake of historic proportions. During the 1930s and ’40s — when diesel-locomotive sales grew from smoldering embers to white-hot inferno — Electro-Motive Corp. (after 1940, General Motors’ Electro-Motive Division) seemingly could do no wrong. With the technical and marketing […]
