LUDINGTON, Mich. — The S.S. Badger, the former Chesapeake & Ohio car ferry that is the last coal-fired passenger ship operating on the Great Lakes and last remnant of the once sizable fleet of railroad car ferries, has been sidelined until further notice by a mechanical failure of its ramping system, the ship’s owner announced. […]
CASS, W.Va — Cass Scenic Railroad operator Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad has announced two special events — a night photo session, and an excursion, both featuring Climax No. 9 — to be held Labor Day weekend. On Sunday, Sept. 3, the railroad will host a night photo session at the Cass depot, set to […]
On Sept. 3, 1958 – nearly a year after the Pennsylvania Railroad stopped using steam locomotives – PRR 0-6-0 5244 emerges from Union Transportation’s New Egypt enginehouse. UT used leased PRR steam engines from 1945 to 1959. Aaron G. Fryer photo […]
Just when you think recent progress in railroad preservation can’t get any better — I’m thinking here of everything from Big Boy to Reading & Northern 2102 to Silvis Shops to Michigan Central Station — along comes another milestone that, if not quite a blockbuster, is still remarkable. Especially if you’re interested in diesel […]
Abraham Lincoln railcar In early 2023, I had the unique opportunity to take a step back in time, experiencing a short ride on a privately owned railcar. I was able to see what it might have been like to be a railroad president inspecting his territory. The car, the Abraham Lincoln, with owners in the […]
CALGARY, Alberta – Mark your calendars for April 2024. That’s when Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 will embark on a celebratory tour of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City system from Calgary to Mexico City. The Final Spike Steam Tour will depart Calgary on April 14, the one-year anniversary of the merger of CP and Kansas […]
NORTH JUDSON, Ind. — After two years of restoration work using an all-volunteer labor force, the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson is close to beginning operations with one of its two former Bangor & Aroostook Railroad BL2s. BL2s No. 52 and No. 56 came to the museum in June of 2021 after private […]
Locomotive controls Locomotive controls remained fairly standardized since diesels first invaded the roundhouses of America’s railroads in the 1930s. There’s a throttle, a reverser (to determine direction), a handle to control the locomotive’s independent brake, and an automatic brake handle to slow or stop the movement using the air brakes of the entire train. Since […]
OSCEOLA, Wis. — Trains Magazine has announced an exclusive photo charter to be held Sept. 11-12 at the Minnesota Transportation Museum’s Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway featuring three historic diesels. The tentative schedule for the two-day event includes a Sept. 11 passenger train with freshly painted Great Northern SDP40 No. 325 and Great Northern […]
Transcontinental Railroad Workers who built the first Transcontinental Railroad, by hand, in the late 1860s labored through grueling heat, biting winter cold, snow, attacks from Native American tribes, and long, long work days. Learn how they did it with this excerpt from one of Trains’ DVD’s, Journey To Promontory, available from the Kalmbach Hobby Store. […]
MUNCIE, Ind. — Nickle Plate Road SD9 No. 358 is nearing the end of a lengthy process of restoration to operation by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, with Progress Rail returning the locomotive to its appearance as built in 1957. The locomotive, donated by Norfolk Southern to the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society in […]
The Washington Central Railroad’s Spirit of Washington dinner train started running in 1989. Originally, it operated for a few years along the Yakama River Canyon in Eastern Washington, before moving to the east side of Lake Washington to run on Burlington Northern’s Woodinville Subdivision. The 44-mile round trip to the Columbia Winery in Woodinville departed […]
