Maine museum to get 2-foot gauge tamper donated by Australian sugar firm

Vibratool tamper on a flat rack in Brisbane, Australia

ALNA, Maine — A 2-foot gauge tamper is on its way from Australia to the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum, culminating an 18-month effort by the museum to secure an operational narrow gauge tamper. In a moment of serendipity, the WW&F approached the Wilmar organization just a few days after it decided to retire […]

Read More…

East Broad Top schedules September, October events

ORBISONIA, Pa. — The revitalized East Broad Top Railroad has announced several fall events, offering visitors several opportunities to visit the railroad, ride trains and enjoy a barbecue dinner. On Friday, Sept. 18, and Saturday, Sept. 19, 90-minute guided tours of the East Broad Top shops complex will be offered at 11 a.m. and 2 […]

Read More…

Backdating the East Broad Top: how much is too much?

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — With rehabilitation and restoration of the East Broad Top Railroad under way, the EBT Foundation staff is beginning to deal with the issue of backdating. How far and how much should it change in order to give the property the appearance of its common-carrier days (1870s-1956)? A recent trip through Rockhill […]

Read More…

U.S. Steel looks to sell remaining rail operations

United States Steel Corp., which is struggling amid the steep downturn in demand, is poised to sell the remaining railroads held by its Transtar subsidiary, Trains News Wire has learned. Multiple rail industry sources say the steelmaker plans to put the Transtar lines up for sale soon. A U.S. Steel spokeswoman said the company does […]

Read More…

Durango & Silverton to reopen with shorter trips, steam-diesel combinations

Wednesday morning tourist rail and excursion news: Durango & Silverton to reopen with shorter trips, steam-diesel combinations The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has received the OK to begin operations June 23, although those operations are significantly altered from normal practices. The Durango Herald reports that two trains will operate daily, making a two-hour […]

Read More…

White Pass & Yukon receives second new locomotive NEWSWIRE

White_Pass_Loco

The second of the White Pass & Yukon’s new diesels arrives in Skagway, Alaska, on Monday. White Pass & Yukon Tuesday morning rail news in brief: — The White Pass & Yukon has received the second in its order of 10 new locomotives. National Railway Equipment E3000CC-DC No. 3001 arrived in Skagway, Alaska, by ship […]

Read More…

Final days of steam in western China

A steam locomotive billows smoke and steam under a twilight sky in an industrial rail yard.

Editors’ note: The author and photographers are graduates of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s rail engineering program. This is their first Trains byline. In North America, the days of steam railroading are a distant memory, and coal traffic is slowly headed the way of steam. In Europe and Japan, steam enthusiasts eagerly attend steam […]

Read More…

Durango & Silverton buys White Pass & Yukon diesels

WhitePass_Diesels_Johnston

DURANGO, Colo. — The Durango & Silverton is expanding its locomotive roster, adding four diesels with the potential to be tourist attractions in their own right. The D&S has announced it is acquiring four of the White Pass & Yukon Railway’s distinctive Montreal Locomotive Works DL535C diesels, 1,200-hp C-C locomotives built in 1969 and 1971. […]

Read More…

β€˜The East Broad Top will run again and again.’ NEWSWIRE

MoormanKovalchick

Wick Moorman addresses the crowd gathered on Feb. 14. Joseph Kovalchick, whose family has been longtime owner of the line, is seated in the black overcoat. Rich Roberts Henry Posner III, left, discusses a matter with Bennett Levin. Rich Roberts ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – Sixty years ago, that quote by East Broad Top Railroad owner […]

Read More…

Cumbres & Toltec announces schedule for 19th-century locomotive event NEWSWIRE

EurekaWrinn

Privately-owned 4-4-0 Eureka from Nevada will guest star at Cumbres & Toltec’s 50th anniversary celebration. Trains: Jim Wrinn CHAMA, N.M. — Four narrow gauge locomotives built in the 19th century will take center stage at the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad this August for what will likely be one of the highlights of the year […]

Read More…

North Carolina’s Tweetsie narrow gauge debuts flatcar NEWSWIRE

ETWNCMixedbig

ET&WNC 4-6-0 No. 12 pulls a flatcar for the first time along with a former East Broad Top coach to create Tweetsie Railroad’s first mixed train. Kevin Gilliam BOONE, N.C. — A little bit of history was made this weekend at the Tweetsie Railroad near Boone, N.C. For the first time since the early 1940s, […]

Read More…

Maine Narrow Gauge equipment moves in progress NEWSWIRE

ALNA, Maine —  Shipments of equipment from the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad & Museum have arrived at the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum’s Sheepscot campus, over the past two weeks, moved by truck from Portland and unloaded via a recently built ramp track. First to arrive were Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes Railroad “Rangeley,” […]

Read More…