CHICAGO — Amtrak will halt operations of its Blue Water and Wolverine services Sept. 15-19 to accommodate demotion of two coaling towers that straddle its rail lines. An Amtrak service advisory indicates substitute bus service will be available for the Blue Water, a once-daily round trip between Chicago and Port Huron, Mich. For the Wolverine […]
Embark on an epic journey back to the late 1940s and early ’50s, as depicted on Curt LaRue’s HO scale (1:87.1) Pennsylvania Railroad Panhandle Division! Originally presented in the October 2025 issue of Model Railroader magazine, this stunning layout comes to life as cameras capture various modeled rural and industrial sites along the multi-track mainline […]
CINCINNATI — Nickel Plate Road GP9 diesel No. 532 is set for a return to the Midwest and eventual revival. Ownership of the EMD unit, built in 1958, was recently transferred from the Roanoke Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society to the Cincinnati Scenic Railway. The Cincinnati Scenic also recently acquired ex-NKP express boxcar […]
New York Central 4-8-2 2952 storms through Waterloo, Indiana, 367 miles west of Buffalo, with a westbound freight in 1948. NYC called its 600 4-8-2s “Mohawks” after the river the road’s main line followed across New York state. Photo by Robert A. Hadley […]
WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board has granted Metra’s request for terminal trackage rights on three Union Pacific lines in the Chicago area, addressing the commuter operator’s concerns that UP could otherwise choose to halt commuter service in the absence of an operating agreement. The ruling today [Sept. 3, 2025] ensures Metra service will continue […]
Alco RSD5 572 leads the Milwaukee Road’s local freight to Sparta and Viroqua, Wisconsin, out of La Crosse in October 1971. At right is Grand Crossing tower, guardian of a tangle of tracks that includes the Chicago–Twin Cities main lines of MILW and Burlington Northern. Photo by J. W. Schultz […]
Gerry Leone, host of Spaces to Places, works along the streets of Westcott, a Bona Vista HO scale layout town site he thought was previously “finished.” Here, he shows how to add a key missing element – telephone poles (aka utility/power/line poles)! Follow along, and you’ll see Gerry’s process for building, painting, and installing the […]
CHICAGO — Transportation relevance of Midwest passenger trains has been growing, according to a \policy brief released today by De Paul University’s Chaddick Institute of Metropolitan Development. But the document says that growth is set for a slowdown if states don’t step up investment in more capacity and frequencies. Professor Joseph Schwieterman, who regularly follows […]
CHICAGO — Metra service on the Milwaukee North, Milwaukee West, and North Central lines was disrupted for about two hours during the evening rush on Wednesday (Aug. 27, 2025) by a minor derailment. Service is operating normally this morning. Video from WBBM-TV shows the front wheels of SD70MACH No. 515 off the track near Canal […]
Given the dangers inherent in the railroad industry, it’s no surprise the slogan “Safety First” has a long history with railroading, appearing on posters, signs, and other safety materials — and even turntable bridges like this one in the western Nebraska community of Chadron. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the first recorded use of […]
One of the Interstate Railroad’s ten Alco RS3 diesel locomotives switches hopper cars in the road’s yard at Andover, Virginia, in May 1960. The 88-mile coal-hauler’s diesels wore a colorful gray-orange-silver scheme. The Southern Railway bought the Interstate in June 1961. Photo by Steve Patterson […]
Freight on the Iron Range The Canadian-owned Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific line (now part of Canadian National) links the Midwestern United States with the CN’s east-west line in Ontario and provides CN with a direct route to the Port of Duluth on Lake Superior. According to The Historical Guide to North American Railroads, Third Edition […]
