ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 has reached the westernmost point of its current tour, beginning the first of two days of public display today in Roseville. Information on the display is available here. Here are a few images catching up on recent days of the “Westward Bound” tour, with Elrond Lawrence […]
WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Against the backdrop of a long, busy, and hot holiday weekend, it was business as usual for Grand Canyon Railway No. 4960. The 2-8-2 Mikado-type led a July 6 round trip from Williams to the national park’s South Rim as part of the railway’s “First Saturday” steam excursion. Coinciding with the Fourth […]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The long-awaited Albuquerque convention by the Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society, previously postponed due to COVID-19, called for a visit to the downtown’s Rail Yards as part of the annual gathering. Adding on to the itinerary was the June 26-27 appearance of steam locomotive No. 2926, making its first mainline […]
NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A German manufacturer of concrete railroad ties will open a factory in North Las Vegas to help supply the Brightline West project, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. PCM Railone AG, which production facilities in 12 countries, specializes in track systems and concrete ties for projects that go 186 mph or […]
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to run a steam locomotive? Well, you can! Come with us as Trains.com visits the Nevada Northern Railway for their “Be the Engineer” program, where trained crews will teach you how to run a steam locomotive. This short clip is from our feature-length “Introduction to Steam Locomotives: How They Work” […]
Facts and features Name: Olli’s RailroadScale: large scale (1:29)Size: 20 x 430 feetPrototype: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe and Burlington NorthernLocale: American WestEra: 1970s and 1980sStyle: walkaround gardenMainline run: 850 feetMinimum radius: 7 feetMinimum turnout: LGB R5 (main), LGB R3 (industrial area)Maximum grade: 1.2%Benchwork: welded steel framework backfilled with earthHeight: 19″ to 38″Roadbed: noneTrack: […]
Facts and features Name: Southern Pacific Keeler BranchScale: On30 (1:48 proportion, 30″ narrow gauge, also called On21⁄2)Size: 6 x 17 feetPrototype: SP narrow gaugeLocale: Owens Valley, CaliforniaEra: 1950sStyle: sectionalMainline run: 36 feetMinimum radius: 24″Minimum turnout: No. 5Maximum grade: noneBenchwork: open grid Height: 50″Roadbed: 1 x 4 clear pineTrack: Micro Engineering code 83Scenery: sifted, demagnetized […]
PAYSON, Ariz. — Logan “Stan” Garner, rail enthusiast, actor, and supplier of railroad equipment to the entertainment industry, died May 20 in Arizona at the age of 83. Born in Pasadena, Calif., Garner gained initial fame for being a co-founder in 1967 of Short Line Enterprises, where discarded railroad equipment, mostly from Hollywood movie studios, […]
WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Grand Canyon Railway steam locomotive No. 4960 has transitioned to its regular, once-a-month schedule after a busy April of public and private excursions [see “Grand Canyon No. 4960 concludes April operations…,” Trains News Wire, April 25, 2024]. The 2-8-2 was called on for two days of the “First Saturday” excursion in May […]
WASHINGTON — The five members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation have asked the Federal Railroad Administration to address the lack of a safety inspector for the state in the wake of the April derailment of a BNSF freight train near the New Mexico-Arizona state line that closed Interstate 40 for more than two days. The […]
WASHINGTON — The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report on the April 26 derailment of a BNSF Railway train near the Arizona-New Mexico state line — an incident that led to a breach of tank cars carrying propane and fire that closed Interstate 40. No one was injured in the incident. Interstate […]
The recent shortage of Amtrak long-distance sleeper cars has hoisted the venerable, but rapidly aging, Superliner equipment into the spotlight again. You can read more about past and present Superliner woes in the article, “Superliner capacity not a new issue”, appearing in the July 2024 issue of Trains magazine. But first, catch a glimpse of […]
