READING, Pa. — A doubleheader of 4-8-4 No. 2102 and 4-6-2 No. 425 made the Saturday, Aug. 13, Reading & Northern Iron Horse Ramble — the third of four scheduled — even more of a special event for railfans in the Northeast, drawing large crowds to see the sold-out excursion. It was the first Reading […]
JIM THORPE, Pa. — For the first time since 4-8-4 No. 2102 was returned to operation earlier this year, Reading & Northern ran an “Iron Horse Ramble” excursion featuring both that ex-Reading Co. locomotive and its Baldwin light Pacific, No. 425, built for the Gulf, Mobile & Northern. Here, crowds gather around the two locomotives […]
Pennsy Santa train ride: There is an indelible link between kids, trains, and Christmas; even the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad found a way to offer a Santa train ride to kids. Growing up in 1950s Fort Wayne, Ind., I remember the Pennsylvania Railroad as a prominent player in the city’s life. Also prominent was Fort […]
MADISON, Wis. — Rail photographer John Dziobko Jr., whose work covered the transition from steam to early diesel power, as well as documenting foreign steam after the end of the U.S. steam era, died Aug. 5, 2022, in Madison. He was 89. Nicknamed “The Godfather,” Dziobko began 35mm black-and-white photography in 1949, using a Bolsey […]
Trains LIVE — Chasing Big Boy Trains LIVE — 08-03-2022 — this week, Bob Lettenberger talks with Kevin Gilliam about his new role as a Kalmbach videographer and their recent adventure chasing Union Pacific No. 4014 — Big Boy! Many will know Kevin through the years as the primary videographer for Trains Magazine DVDs but […]
READING, Pa. — In a trip featuring the first appearance by a passenger train in Tremont, Pa., in at least 30 years, the Reading & Northern hosted the National Museum of Industrial History’s Anthracite Railroad Ramble on Friday, July 29. The trip, featuring Reading & Northern’s Budd Rail Diesel Cars, originated at the Reading Outer Station, […]
Trains LIVE — Nashville Steam Preservation Society Trains LIVE — 07-20-2022 — Enjoy this first-ever presentation of Trains Live with Trains’ own Bob Lettenberger, recorded LIVE in Kalmbach Media’s Studio B! Today’s special guests are Joey Bryan and Stephen Hook of the Nashville Steam Preservation Society. Nashville Steam’s current project is the restoration of former […]
Two young boys watch New York Central 4-6-0 1290 switch cars at Brigden, Ont., on NYC’s St. Thomas branch in September 1955. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
MADISON, Wis. — The Center for Railroad Photography & Art will offer an online look at its newly acquired collection of the works of rail photography legend Richard Steinheimer on Aug. 2. The event, free but exclusive to CRPA members, will be held on Zoom at 7 p.m. CDT, and will provide the first look […]
COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Norfolk Southern train that derailed Monday in Columbia struck an already derailed industrial switcher on a track adjacent to its main line, according to NS. The newspaper The State reports it was told by NS spokesman Connor Spielmaker that the locomotive — a yellow end-cab switcher visible in some photos of […]
Six axle comfort cabs on shortlines: Comfort cabs took North America by storm in the late 1980s with the introduction of the design on EMDs’ SD60M and GE’s C40-8W. While Canadian operators had been using the design since the early 1970s on both four and six-axle locomotives, it wasn’t until the SD60M and C40-8W arrived […]
ROCHELLE, Ill. — The Rochelle City Council has approved more than $30,000 for the first part of a three-phase plan to upgrade the Rochelle Railroad Park, the popular facility at the crossing of BSNF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad main lines. The Rochelle News-Leader reports that at a Monday meeting, the council approved a $30,750 […]
