Bob’s Train Box Episode 73

Bob Keller in front of CTT layout doing BTB intro

On this Episode of Train Box, Bob Keller and CTT editor Hal Miller put a new Legacy Lionel Soo 4-6-0 through its paces. Then Bob shows part of his collection of colorful tinplate O gauge Marx locomotives and rolling stock. Finally, he discusses railroad timetables and other paper memorabilia that make interesting and informative reading […]

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Crash at Crush killed 3 in 1896 Texas publicity stunt

A cloud of smoke and debris with railroad cars visible to one side.

Crash at Crush history “Crash at Crush” turns up thousands of Google search results. Many of these point to the fateful publicity stunt that killed three people and injured more in 1896. What was William Crush thinking the day he thought up a staged train wreck in Texas? Here was a quiet man who went […]

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Union Pacific Big Boy 4014’s trip through Louisiana in 2021

Large steam locomotive pulling a passenger train around a curve. More of the Big Boy story.

In August 2021, Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 ventured south to New Orleans, Louisiana, in a run through the mid-South. Join Trains contributor Steve Smedley as he takes video of the famed steam locomotive through small towns and over the massive Huey P. Long bridge. Only from Trains.com. […]

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Union Pacific Big Boy 4014’s trip through Louisiana in 2021

Large steam locomotive pulling a passenger train around a curve. More of the Big Boy story.

In August 2021, Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 ventured south to New Orleans, Louisiana, in a run through the mid-South. Join Trains contributor Steve Smedley as he takes video of the famed steam locomotive through small towns and over the massive Huey P. Long bridge. Only from Trains.com. […]

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Chasing Big Boy 4014 to Las Vegas

Crowds for Big Boy 4014’s 2019 and 2021 tours have been immense. I haven’t taken part in any concerted effort to chase for these tours, but I got a taste of the madness back in 2014 when Big Boy moved from Southern California to Cheyenne, Wyo., for restoration. I covered it for two days with […]

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Faces of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s K4s steam locomotive

Black-and-white photo of front portion of 4-6-2 steam locomotive

  The recent announcement of a fresh start in the long effort to restore the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum’s class K4s steam locomotive No. 1361 is great news for Pennsylvania Railroad fans. More than any other locomotive, the K4 was the face of the steam-era PRR. For 40 years, the Pacific types could be found […]

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Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad: How to visit

Side view of small steam locomotive waiting on tracks

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad: An introduction The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad provides a family train-riding experience through scenic vistas. The tourist railroad is located on the western outskirts of Yosemite National Park, two miles south of Fish Camp, Calif. The facility at Fish Camp consists of a two-stall engine house, a museum, and […]

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‘San Francisco Overland’

Smoking steam locomotive leads a passenger train across open terrain by a water spout

‘San Francisco Overland’ Dressed in two-tone gray, FEF-1 816 and FEF-2 824 make 55 mph up Sherman Hill near Otto, Wyo., on October 21, 1949. Green flags and “1-27” in the 4-8-4s’ train indicator boxes tell that at least one other section of the San Francisco Overland is following. Ross B. Grenard Jr. photo […]

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