HELENA, Mont. — BNSF Railway has completed a plan to address grizzly bear deaths along its rail line near Glacier National Park in Montana that includes $2.9 million in mitigation efforts. Approval of the long-awaited document by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has led to the railroad receiving an “incidental take” permit that addresses […]
Rio Grande 2-8-8-2 Mallet 3413 helps 2-8-8-2 3606, a newer, simple-expansion locomotive, up the Front Range of the Rockies with a 48-car freight at Pinecliff, Colo., in May 1940. J. W. Maxwell photo […]
LOVELAND, Colo. — The Great Western Railway’s Loveland depot, built in 1902, will be preserved following a short move from railroad to city property on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. The Loveland Historical Society began working with Great Western owner OmniTRAX in 2012 to preserve the building, and eventually accumulated the funds necessary to move the […]
Growing up, the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City has been Braden Brickman’s avocation. It’s now his vocation as the 23-year-old is employed as the restoration specialist to not only oversee said restorations, but also the maintenance and operation of the museum’s railroad and historic equipment. How did you get involved in rail preservation? […]
When it come to track plans, everyone has a favorite. After all, each modeler values and prioritizes different aspects of model railroading. Some prefer intricate freight switching layouts, while others prefer long, continuous passenger routes. Some like layouts with dense foliage and rolling hills, whereas other modelers may prefer flat, desert landscapes. We here at […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, the organization that serves as the heritage rail line’s museum arm, has hired Rick Marsden as its new executive director. The Friends board announced the move Jan. 24. The hiring is effective Feb. 13. Marsden will replace Tim Tennant, retiring after 20 years […]
DENVER — Rail and real estate company OmniTRAX has named David Garin as its board chairman and elected OmniTRAX CEO Dean Piacente to its board, the company announced today. Garin joined the OmniTRAX board in 2019 after 35 years with Class I railroads. That includes 19 years at BNSF Railway, where he oversaw sales and […]
Facts and features Name: Rio Grande SouthernScale: Sn3 (1:64 proportion, 3-foot gauge track)Size: 22 x 22 feetPrototype: Rio Grande SouthernLocale: ColoradoEra: 1930Style: walk-inMainline run: 154 feetMinimum radius: 36″Minimum turnout: No. 6Maximum grade: 4%Benchwork: open gridHeight: 34″ to 56″Roadbed: plywood and HomasoteTack: code 70 flextrack with scratchbuilt turnoutsScenery: plaster over chicken wireBackdrop: photosControl: NCE Digital Command […]
MISSOULA, Mont. — An obscure but classic motion picture about logging in the Northwest, and the unique log-hauling locomotive that starred in it, are returning to the spotlight. In February 1955, “Timberjack” made its world premiere on the screens of the Roxy and Fox theaters in Missoula, not far from where the movie had been […]
HEBER CITY, Utah — Parents in Utah’s Wasatch County are seeking to overturn the decision to name a new high school to reflect the area’s railroading heritage. The Wasatch County School Board decided last month to name the new facility Iron Horse High School, with its athletic teams known as the Thunder, following the recommendation […]
SALT LAKE CITY — Two Utah cities are considering employing 24-hour-a-day flaggers at grade crossings to restore a quiet zone on a stretch of Union Pacific track also used by Utah Transit Authority commuter trains. Two quiet zones, stretching from Ogden to Provo and in place for up to 16 years, were suspended last Sept. […]
The joint Southern Pacific-Union Pacific-Chicago & North Western City of San Francisco crosses the Lucin Cutoff across the Great Salt Lake. Introduced in 1936, the train covered the 2,258 miles between Chicago and Oakland, Calif., in less than 40 hours. Southern Pacific photo […]
