The Spike 150 website already lists about 100 events across Utah. SALT LAKE CITY – While railroad enthusiasts and history buffs are anxiously awaiting news of when Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 will hit the main line in May, officials in Utah say there are already dozens of events to celebrate the 150th anniversary […]
Tickets go on sale Monday for May 10, 2019 transcontinental railroad anniversary events. Trains: Jim Wrinn PROMONTORY SUMMIT, Utah — Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. mountain time Feb. 4 for 150th anniversary events at the Golden Spike National Historic Site on May 10, 2019. Participants can pay $20 per car that are good […]
The engineer of Canadian National 2-8-2 3503 enjoys the breeze as he hurries a freight east at Lorne Park, Ont., in August 1955, a year after the author’s experience on another CN Mikado some 700 miles to the northwest. W. H. N. Rossiter A steam locomotive fireman’s duties go far beyond the actual firing of the […]
As we mark our 250th issue, a familiar name returns to our masthead. Bob Keller, who served as associate editor of Classic Toy Trains for more than 20 years, returns as contributing editor. Bob joined the staff in 1996, following his retirement from the U.S. Air Force, where he held the rank of major. In […]
Leviathan will get a new role in Pennsylvania this spring. Trains: Jim Wrinn ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. — Good bye Central Pacific No. 63, Leviathan! Hello Pennsylvania Railroad No. 331. The operating 4-4-0 replica of one of the locomotives in the first transcontinental railroad 150 years ago is being redecorated to represent the PRR engine that pulled […]
FULL SCREEN Jack Ferry collection For a decade, the cover of the Illinois Central system timetable carried illustrations of the Chicago lakefront. All purported to show the view from the top of Great Central Station, which burned in the Great Fire of 1871. The depot’s arched train shed, however, was never rebuilt. FULL SCREEN Detroit […]
President Bush’s body is loaded aboard the train for the trip to College Station. Sol Tucker HOUSTON – The U.S. rail industry shined in the bright lights of the public eye in a way not seen in almost 50 years on Dec. 6, as a special Union Pacific passenger train carried the remains of former […]
Jim Shaughnessy MADISON, Wis. – They were innovators in a medium that resisted change. One captured the change from steam to diesel then kept right on going, the other offered a new vision in the emerging diesel era. They were Jim Shaughnessy and John Gruber, giants of railroad photography who we lost in 2018. Jim […]
A crowd gathers near Spring, Texas, to watch the passing of President George H.W. Bush’s funeral train on Dec. 6, 2018. The locomotive and car that carried the president’s remains are now on display in Omaha. Matthew Holman OMAHA, Neb. — Union Pacific is placing the locomotive that led President George H.W. Bush’s funeral train, […]
Bush’s casket on board UP’s Council Bluffs passenger car. CNN screen capture Presidential seal on rear of UP office car Kenefick. CNN screen capture UP No. 4141 waits to depart Spring, Texas. CNN screen capture SPRING, Texas — Capping days of services and events marking the passing of the 41st President of the United States, […]
Crowds greet the George H.W. Bush funeral train in Navasota, Texas, on its journey Thursday from Spring, Texas, to College Station. Bush was buried alongside his wife and daughter Thursday at his presidential library on the campus of Texas A&M in College Station. Zach Pumphery In Spring, Texas, the casket of President George H.W. Bush […]
UP 4141 will lead the Bush funeral train. Steve Schmollinger COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The Bush funeral train will be difficult but worthwhile to see. On Thursday Dec. 6, the remains of President George H. W. Bush will be transported by train from Spring, Texas, to their final resting place at the George Bush Presidential […]
