The history behind a locomotive’s ditch lights

five pictures in one of ditch lights

Locomotive’s ditch lights With the implementation on December 31, 1997, ditch lights in the United States have been required for 25 years. First used in North America in the 1960s, Canadian National first used them in its mountainous territory out west. Transport Canada eventually standardized them on all Canadian railroads a decade later. What’s the […]

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Dr. Roy Clarkson, author of books on West Virginia lumber railroads, dies at 95

Older man with glasses

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Dr. Roy B. Clarkson, a well-known botanist and forest biologist at West Virginia University and author of two books dealing with West Virginia lumber railroads, died Sept. 12, 2022. He was 95. Clarkson, originally from Cass, W.Va., published many books, articles, and papers during his career in science, but is known in […]

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Mid-Continent Museum to restore early EMC gas-electric car to operating condition

Green railcar inside building

NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. — Mid-Continent Railway Museum will restore Montana Western gas-electric railcar No. 31 —  built in 1925 by Electro-Motive Corp. — to operating condition, the museum has announced. The car, one of the oldest surviving pieces of equipment built by Electro-Motive, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in August, was built for Great Northern […]

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Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum receives $200,000 grant for Pullman car restoration

Logo of Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — The Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum has received a $200,000 grant from a National Park Service program toward restoration of the museum’s 1925 Pullman sleeping car, the Maitland. The Southern Railway donated the 12-section, one-drawing-room car to the museum in 1965 upon its retirement from a career in both World War II and […]

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Ontario Northland releases ‘Every Child Matters’ unit

Orange locomotive with words "Every Child Matters" on black feather painted on long hood

NORTH BAY, Ontario — Ontario Northland Railway unveiled its “Every Child Matters” locomotive, GP38-2 No. 1808, on Monday, Sept. 12, at its North Bay shop facility, in a ceremony attended by local First Nations representatives and government officials. The “Every Child Matters” initiative is part of Canada’s National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, also known […]

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Kentucky Steam acquires tubes, flues for No. 2716 restoration from Indiana museum

Black 2-8-4 steam locomotive

IRVINE, Ky. — The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. will purchase a full set of boiler tubes and flues from the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson, Ind., for Kentucky Steam’s restoration of C&O 2-8-4 No. 2716. The collaboration, made possible through funds from the John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust, will make use of […]

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Visiting Rapido – Bus and Train Tour

Visiting Rapido – Bus and Train Tour | When David Popp and Ben Lake recently traveled north of the Canadian Border to explore all that’s new with Jason Shron, President of Rapido Trains Inc., they were treated to a special sidetrack trip. On their way to see what new N and HO scale models Rapido […]

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Vintage New York subway equipment set for Parade of Trains

Lineup of vintage subway equipment

NEW YORK — Equipment from New York Transit Museum’s collection of vintage subway cars will be operation Sept. 17-18 at the Brighton Beach station in Brooklyn as part of the museum’s Parade of Trains, offering round-trip shuttle rides with a regular subway admission. The Parade of Trains will operate each day from 11 a.m. to […]

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Owney the Railroad Post Office Dog

Drawing of Owney the Post Office dog on a pile of mail bags

In 1895, a globetrotting mixed-breed mutt named Owney the Railroad Post Office Dog paid a brief call on Milwaukee. As was his custom, the dog arrived aboard a mail car on one train and departed a few hours later by another. His home was anywhere U.S. mail traveled by railroad – and in the 1890s […]

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Fox River Trolley Museum to host photo event celebrating CTA’s 75th anniversary

Yellow steeplecab electric locomotive and green and yellow transit car on adajcent tracks

SOUTH ELGIN, Ill. — The Fox River Trolley Museum will hold a special photo event on Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Chicago Transit Authority, featuring passenger and work equipment that operated in Chicago before coming to the museum. The event will feature posed photography opportunities of the museum’s CTA […]

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Railroad Labor Strike of the Century

Men on a locomotive in a building, illustrative of railroad labor strikes

Major railroad labor disputes haunted the nation during the latter part of the 19th century, highlighted by the “Great Railroad Strike,” which spread from Maryland to California in 1877 and the Pullman Strike 17 years later. Both of these bitter conflicts led to multiple deaths and costly physical destruction. The Shopmen’s Strike of 1922-23, however, […]

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