The thunder of modern motive power and the rumble of long trains rolling through Colorado’s Rocky Mountain passes caught Bill Becker’s imagination years ago, and it remains the theme of his fictional N scale Colorado & Eastern RR. Working in this small scale makes it possible to capture the majesty of the Rocky Mountains with […]
LARAMIE, Wyo. — Jim Ehernberger, 88, has now been retired longer than his time working for the Union Pacific. Yet, Ehernberger still considers himself a railroad man. Over the years, he has amassed a collection of documents, maps and photographs detailing western U.S. railroad activity. While he previously donated a portion of his collection to […]
A GP35 and three GP30s lead a 47-car freight up the west side of Denver & Rio Grande Western’s Tennessee Pass at Mitchell, Colorado, in September 1969. Indicative of the severity of the grade, four F units and two older Geeps are cut in as mid-train helpers. […]
Add Boise, Idaho, and Anchorage, Alaska, to a list of locations expressing interest in launching commuter rail service. The Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho (COMPASS) last week selected commuter rail as its preferred form of future mass transit, based on a study that has been in progress since January 2024. The planned service would […]
In 1968, the Great Northern loaded 50 of its new Big Sky blue covered hoppers in Wolf Point, Montana, in an experimental unit train move to an export elevator in Portland, Oregon. In this posed photo, a crewman signals from the train’s modern wide-vision caboose. Photo by Great Northern […]
Time capsule When construction of Pennsylvania’s iron ore and coal-hauling East Broad Top began in 1872, more than 150 years ago, its builders decided it would be a narrow gauge line, with rails set 3-feet apart instead of the North American standard gauge of 4-feet, 8.5-inches. Narrow gauge offered significant advantages, as the smaller locomotives […]
BUTTE, Mont. – Turn off Harrison Ave. into the parking lot of the Butte Civic Center and there between the asphalt and the Town Pump gas station next door sits Northern Pacific No. 25, one of 13 2-8-0s built in 1899 by the Schenectady Locomotive Works for the railroad. No. 25 lugged freight and passenger […]
Steam over Cumbres Pass On a sunny June morning in Antonito, Colorado, Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad’s 4-6-0 No. 168, built by Baldwin in 1883, is readied for another run over the mountains. Its relatively tall 46-inch drivers made it suitable for fast passenger service. Carl Swanson The 64-mile-long Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is […]
GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — OmniTRAX has signed an agreement to provide switching for WE Soda’s Westvaco soda ash mine in Green River, Wyo., its second such announcement for service in Green River in little more than a week. Westvaco is the largest North America facility for WE Soda, the world’s largest soda ash producer. Under […]
GREEN RIVER, Wyo. — OmniTRAX has been selected as the switching partner for Tata Chemical Soda Ash Partners’ mine in Green River, one of North America’s largest soda ash mines and home of one of the world’s largest reserves of trona ore. The agreement, effective as of Aug. 1, will provide dedicated shipping and track […]
CHAMA, N.M. — The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic will host a five-day celebration Aug. 13-17 marking the 100th anniversary of the Denver & Rio Grande Western’s K-36 steam locomotives, delivered from Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1925. Nine of the 10 locomotives still exist; five are at the C&TSRR, with four still in regular operation. A […]
DENVER — A BNSF worker was seriously injured in a derailment at the company’s Globemaster Yard in Denver today (Aug. 5, 2025), KMGH-TV reports. The injury led to amputation of his right leg. The National Transportation Safety Board announced it will investigate the incident. The Denver Fire Department reported on social media that the worker […]
