PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The Reading & Northern Railroad has purchased 11 passenger cars from the fleet formerly owned by the San Luis & Rio Grande Railroad, the Colorado operation of bankrupt Iowa Pacific Holdings. Among the cars bought at auction are several notables, including the former Southern Railway steam program open-air coach Lookout Mountain […]
TREGO, Wis. — The kitchen of the car Huckleberry Finn, being converted to a full dining car, is a focal point as work continues on the restoration of the Mark Twain Zephyr at the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad. During work on Thursday, July 22, lead carpenter Bob Heil displayed a stainless steel butter knife found […]
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The first railcar for the Flour-By-Rail Legacy Project in Buffalo’s Silo City neighborhood has arrived and is now on display. Buffalo Creek No. 3424, a 40-foot car built by the Pullman Co. in 1952, arrived at the project site on July 15 and has now been placed on its trucks on a […]
In the late 1960s and in to the ’70s, I had numerous rides on Toledo, Peoria & Western freight trains in both directions out of Peoria, Ill., where I grew up. The TP&W interchanged with the Pennsylvania Railroad and its successors 108 miles east at Effner, Ind., and with the Santa Fe 114 miles west […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — As tourist railroads and museums emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, they are offering new experiences to attract the public. At the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad, this effort has translated into the addition of Amtrak’s last dome car. The Ocean View, built in 1955 and retired by Amtrak in 2019, debuted earlier this […]
Steel-side classic Pacific Fruit Express’s largest class of steel reefers was the 5,000 cars of R-40-23 starting in 1947. They had improved Dreadnaught ends, fans, and steel running boards. Mainline Photos photo […]
Vest pocket streamliner Union Pacific’s original streamliner, the little M-10000 of February 1934, is at Chatsworth, Calif., on the Southern Pacific during its national tour. Gerald M. Best photo […]
Collection elevator This small collection elevator near Bayneville, Kans., typical of the thousands of wooden country elevators that were once common across the Midwest and West, is loading a boxcar, while two trucks wait with incoming wheat at the start of the grain rush in June 1952. The small elevator isn’t as wide as the […]
CHICAGO — More than 40 years after their debut, Amtrak’s bilevel Superliners remain essential to its long-distance operations in the western U.S., along with a handful of other routes. This article offers a look at what passengers can expect when they ride in Superliner coaches, eat in superliner diners, or enjoy scenery from a comfortable […]
Introduction CHICAGO — Amtrak’s Superliners are double-decked, stainless steel, window-loaded passenger cars — among the most modern available to the traveling public in the United States today. Trains offers passengers a look at what they can expect when they book tickets to ride these cars. This article looks at Superliners’ history and offers a review […]
Postwar ‘El Cap’ A Santa Fe publicity photo shows the inside the postwar El Capitan. In 1956, the all-coach train was re-equipped with innovative new “Hi-Level” double-deck cars. Santa Fe photo […]
On this episode of Bob’s Train Box, Bob and CTT editor Hal Miller get an up-close and personal look at MTH Trains’ recently released Premier line SD24 (even more info on it here). Then Bob examines some Greenberg guides that are fun to read and helpful when it comes to collecting trains and accessories. Finally, […]
