When Trains Magazine author Lou Maxon was invited by the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad and Museum in Mineral, Wash. to experience steam railroading from the cab, he knew he was in for a special treat, a peek into a world few non-railroaders will see. He watched as the crew went through their pre-departure routine for […]
It’s 7:30 a.m. and our Trains crew has arrived at the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad and Museum in Mineral, Wash. for a steam engine cab ride. It’s about a two-hour plus drive from Carnation, Wash. where I run, own and operate my own short line electrified private railway. Today though, I’m a guest crew member […]
A particular run of the Kansas City-Florida Special may have changed the course of steam locomotive assignments on the Frisco. During the mid-1930s, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railroad started rebuilding low-drivered 2-10-2 freight locomotives into modern, high-horsepower, coal-burning 4-8-2s, also for freight service. The first series of these Mountain types was the big, […]
Fifty years ago, in the May 1975 Trains Magazine, prolific author William D. Middleton visited New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. His 14 page article opened on a down note, with Middleton writing: Grand Central’s great long-distance trains are gone now. deposed by the airplane and the automobile: and no longer do the rich, the […]
Interested in riding the railroad? One of the best windows on the railroad world are passenger trains, and you have plenty of options. Amtrak, a government corporation that took over nearly all U.S. intercity passenger trains from private railroads in 1971, today operates a 21,000-mile network that includes 500 stations in 46 states served by […]
A man reads a book on the main level of a Budd-built Tubular coach while people relax in the smoking lounge above and behind him. Note the dark-colored ramp up to the end door. The train entered regular service on the Pennsylvania Railroad in June 1956 on the New York–Washington Keystone. Pennsylvania Railroad photo […]
By 1840, the nation had 2,800 miles of railroad track. In his book American Notes, novelist Charles Dickens captured the flavor of an 1842 trip on the Boston & Lowell Railroad. “On it whirls headlong, dives through the woods again, emerges in the light, clatters over frail arches, rumbles upon the heavy ground, shoots beneath […]
In the old days, when an accident had a rail line shut down, it was time to call the big hook, rugged cranes built for the biggest chores in the rail industry. The driving wheels of a passenger-service steam locomotive can be taller than a grown man, a 3-foot section of rail can weigh 155 […]
Steamtown National Historic Site, once known as Steamtown USA, has a captivating history. Its journey from one man’s vision in New England to a National Park Service railroad museum in Pennsylvania is marked by highs and lows, attracting both advocates and critics. The Vision of F. Nelson Blount Francis Nelson Blount Jr. was […]
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Recently, I began teaching a series of classes at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania titled Railroad Photography 101. I cover the basics in this two-hour course, beginning with a short digital slide show encompassing more than 60 years of photography. I also provide a list of 10 basic tips — things like making sure batteries […]
Almost exactly 160 years ago, the American Civil War wound down to a messy and anticlimactic end. By December 1864, it was apparent the Union had prevailed. It didn’t necessarily win, but at least southern secession had been thwarted. If noticed at all, the anniversary might be an occasion to recount the many roles railroading […]
