Does the world need another book about the Denver & Rio Grande Western narrow gauge? Someone might reasonably ask. Of all railroads with a literature disproportionate to its relative economic importance, the D&RGW is Exhibit A. To underscore the point, I stopped into the Kalmbach Media library to do some rudimentary research: when […]
DENVER — The state of Colorado has changed its negotiating team addressing the expiring lease for the Moffat Tunnel, with the state’s Department of Transportation taking over from the Department of Local Affairs to lead negotiations with Union Pacific over use of the state-owned bore through the Rocky Mountains. The website Colorado Newsline reports that […]
In a paragraph, how did you get started in the hobby? Like many model railroaders, I got started in the hobby with toy trains: first with Marx clockwork, then with Lionel when I was six. In my teenage years I moved up (or down, depending on your point of view) to HO, then HOn3. I […]
ELY, Nev. — A longstanding tradition for the Nevada Northern Railway Museum will be held again this fall. The 2023 Iron Horse Symposium is scheduled from Sept. 28 to Oct. 1 as an immersive experience with steam locomotives Nos. 81 and 93 in operation alongside the museum’s other historic equipment, including vintage Alco and Baldwin […]
Atlas railcar PUEBLO, Colo. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the successful completion of a 1,680-mile round trip as part of the final testing for its Atlas railcar. A Sept. 21, 2023 press release said the 12-axle equipment — designed to transport large containers of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste […]
Denver & Rio Grande Western 2-8-0 1146 helps 2-8-8-2 Mallet 3406 hoist a 27-car freight up the 2-percent grade between Crags and Crescent, Colo., in July 1938. Both engines have tank cars behind them for extra water capacity. R. H. Kindig photo […]
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific says its investigation into the disappearance of 30 tons of a chemical from a hopper car earlier this year indicates the material was lost in transit because of a leak during the trip from Cheyenne to California, KGWN-TV reports. The hopper loaded with ammonium nitrate — used as a fertilizer […]
Denver & Rio Grande Western 4-8-2 1517 emerges from Eagle River Canyon near Redcliff, Colo., on D&RGW’s Tennessee Pass line on July 3, 1941. The Mountain type is heading the second section of train 36, a 50-car freight with 2-8-8-2 helpers at the middle and rear of the consist. J. W. Maxwell photo […]
WASHINGTON — The Federal Railroad Administration will offer $139 million in funding for rail infrastructure projects in Alaska, South Dakota, and Wyoming, the FRA has announced. The funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is for the Special Transportation Circumstances grant program, and provides funds for states that lack intercity passenger service or are not connected […]
WASHINGTON — A federal court has struck down the Surface Transportation Board’s approval of the Uinta Basin Railway project, calling the decision allowing its construction “arbitrary and caprious.” The court also vacated the Environmental Impact Statement and a related document underlying that decision and sent the matter back to the STB. In granting the exemption […]
By Toyoji Sekine / Photos by Kaori Komatsu In the 1950s, when I was a small child, an O gauge train ran around the pond in my yard. It was a Japanese-style train made of tinplate, as nothing more realistic was available after the war. But I fell in love with American railroads, particularly the […]
The Lionel Brass Hybrid Challenger is the latest offering in this program for the train maker. First announced in the 2022 Vol. 2 catalog, it’s all-new tooling. This Legacy model is based on Union Pacific’s CSA-2-class 4-6-6-4s, which were the railroad’s earlier, lighter versions. When built in 1937, they were numbered into the 3900 series […]
