BUTTE, Mont. – Turn off Harrison Ave. into the parking lot of the Butte Civic Center and there between the asphalt and the Town Pump gas station next door sits Northern Pacific No. 25, one of 13 2-8-0s built in 1899 by the Schenectady Locomotive Works for the railroad. No. 25 lugged freight and passenger […]
Steam over Cumbres Pass On a sunny June morning in Antonito, Colorado, Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad’s 4-6-0 No. 168, built by Baldwin in 1883, is readied for another run over the mountains. Its relatively tall 46-inch drivers made it suitable for fast passenger service. Carl Swanson The 64-mile-long Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is […]
Tru-Vue was a stereoscopic viewing system and line of films first marketed in the 1930s. Two simultaneous exposures of the same object or scene were made from slightly different angles. When seen through a special viewer, the paired photos combined to form a three-dimensional image. Although stereoscopic photo cards and viewers had been around since […]
Western Maryland 4-6-6-4 1202 drifts downgrade with an eastbound freight in the narrows along the Potomac River just west of Cumberland, Md., in May 1952. Edward Theisinger photo […]
STAUNTON, Va. — Tickets for the upcoming Shenandoah Valley Limited fall excursions behind Norfolk & Western No. 611 are now available for purchase, ranging from $128 to $318 per person. The J-class 4-8-4 is poised to return to the Buckingham Branch Railroad for the first time since 2023 [See “Norfolk & Western No. 611 to […]
Lionel Trains has released a 2025 Volume II catalog. The 44-page book includes new items in the Legacy, LionChief, Star Wars, and Accessory lines. Highlights include a Santa Fe Super Chief set (No. 2622020), which includes two F3A locomotives, two F3Bs (one unpowered), baggage car, Pullman sleeper car, dome car, diner, three sleeping cars, and […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — The East Broad Top Railroad celebrated two notable events on Friday (Aug. 8, 2025), returning 2-8-2 No. 16 to operation after it was sidelined for several months, with the locomotive bringing ta train to the campus of Southern Huntingdon County High School adjacent to the railroad. It is the first train […]
In introducing the issue-length article on Santa Fe’s 2-10-4s dominating the August 1975 issue of Trains Magazine, Editor David P. Morgan wrote: “We broke our word. We promised you after our single-subject issues in 1972 on L&Ns “Big Emma” 2-8-4 and Electro-Motive’s 50th anniversary that Trains would not publish any more all-steam or all-diesel editions. […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — In nearly 200 years of American railroad history, we have witnessed some unusual speed challenges — horse vs. steam locomotive, attempts at distance speed records, even, how much track can be laid in a day. Now it’s time to gear up for cyclists racing against Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 2-6-6-2 No. 1309. […]
The Canadian National’s 4-8-4 U-4s were striking machines from any angle. Colors were black with green stripes, cab, and tender, accented by gold trim and white tires. This scene is at Spadina roundhouse in Toronto, on March 10, 1957. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
Louisville & Nashville 4-6-2 No. 240 leads a northbound local passenger train across the big bridge over the Red River south of Winchester, Ky., in May 1952. Photo by Ed Theisinger […]
MAUI COUNTY, Hawaii — Wild fires continue to take a toll across the country. Earlier this week a brush fire consumed the shops of the Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific Railroad — the Sugar Cane Train — near Kaanapali. Lost in the fire were two steam locomotives and numerous passenger cars. A diesel locomotive was also […]
