Southern Pacific’s “Slim Princess” line tackled the rugged and arid territory along the east side of Owens Lake between the Virginia & Truckee and Keeler. Originally the Carson & Colorado, it was renamed for parent SP in 1912. Here oil-burning 4-6-0 No. 8 leads a short train through the desert. Classic Trains collection […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — The narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad plans to celebrate 2022 as another milestone – the 150th anniversary of the start of construction in 1872 — with more track restoration and a return to steam-locomotive operation. If 2020 was the year of a miraculous rebirth for the historic south-central Pennsylvania line, […]
MERRILL, Ore. — What is perhaps the single largest private collection of steam locomotives, mostly from the western U.S., has been sold and will soon be dispersed following the death of its long-time owner. The Fred M. Kepner collection of 14 steam locomotives and other railroad equipment has been purchased by the Oregon Coast Scenic […]
SALTILLO, Pa. – The Friends of the East Broad Top, an auxiliary group whose membership has exploded since the rebirth of the narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad starting in 2020, announced over the weekend that it is moving forward to help the railroad’s owner, the EBT Foundation, reopen its main line south 20 miles […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – East Broad Top Railroad staff and volunteers went the extra mile – literally – to fully reopen the company’s line from here to its tourist-era (1961-2011) wye and picnic area at Colgate Grove, just in time for this past weekend’s Friends of The East Broad Top annual reunion. Since 2020, when […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — Almost two years into its revival, the East Broad Top’s return is moving forward at a rapid pace, with thousands of new crossties, work on the historic shop complex, and, progress on steam locomotive restoration. In February 2020, the famed narrow gauge railroad was sold to the newly formed EBT Foundation. […]
Wood-burning steam locomotive event in 2021 Wood-burning steam locomotive trains were the highlight of a September 2021 celebration of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad that is automatically a step back in time to the 1920s. With the inclusion of the older locomotives, the clock turned back further, to about 1900. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed […]
OSIER, Colo. — Steam excursion trains of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic turned back early today after a fire in the lunch hall at the mid-point of the railroad in Osier, Colo. C&TS Interim President Scott Gibbs says that damage was confined to the bakery portion of the kitchen. He says the railroad turned Thursday’s […]
HARBOR SPRINGS, Mich. — An important piece of American steam locomotive logging history is being relocated from its display site of more than 50 years in Texas to an appropriate place in Michigan. In the town of Harbor Springs, a Shay locomotive will be restored and displayed in the town where inventor Ephiram Shay came […]
Oil-fired narrow gauge steam locomotives are relatively rare. But they are making a come-back in the world of preservation. Recently the Durango & Silverton tourist railroad, prompted by a disastrous wildfire allegedly caused by one of its trains, began converting some of its steam locomotives from coal to oil fuel. Like the rest of the […]
PORTLAND, Maine – Looking to the future, the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. and Museum plans to restore two more of its 2-foot gauge steam locomotives to operating condition, in addition to two currently in service. The announcement was made at the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum’s summer picnic earlier this month, where two […]
Geared for success Brimstone’s 3-truck Shay No. 35 pulls coal in Tennessee. Lumber railroads were the primary users, but a few coal-haulers used Shays and/or the two other popular geared locomotives in North America, Heislers and Climaxes. Dwight Smith, Jim Wrinn collection […]
