Work on track and 4-6-2 ramps up at Abilene & Smoky Valley (updated)

steam train in field for charter

ABILENE, Kan. — The operating season is ramping up for the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad. The same is true for major work on the railroad’s former Rock Island branch — between Abilene and Enterprise — and its Santa Fe steam locomotive No. 3415. Accoring to a May 7 article from KSAL radio, the railroad’s […]

Read More…

Restored open air gondola to debut on Woodstown Central

Restored vintage gondola with seats

WOODSTOWN, N.J. — The Woodstown Central Railroad will see another expansion to its excursion fleet, this time in the form of a favorite among tourist railroad circles: the open air car.  Former Lehigh & New England Railroad composite gondola No. 10301 will debut on May 10 as part of the Woodstown Central’s Scenic Rambler between […]

Read More…

News photo: Strasburg No. 90 returns in throwback 1990s appearance

Steam locomotives sit on a cloud day

STRASBURG, Pa. — The Strasburg Rail Road wasted no time unleashing its workhorse, 2-10-0 No. 90 back onto the tourist railroad’s main line through the Amish countryside.  The locomotive began 45-minute excursion runs by early April, mechanically fresh from a federally mandated 1,472-day boiler inspection that began in early 2024. Cosmetically, the gold numbers, lettering, […]

Read More…

News photo: Saratoga Corinth & Hudson adds an Alco

Vintage black and yellow diesel next to current CPKC unit

CORINTH, N.Y. — The Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway, the heritage railway located on the former Delaware & Hudson Adirondack Branch, has added a third Alco RS3 with the arrival this week of No. 4085, a former D&H diesel long stored in Port Jervis, N.Y. The Delaware & Hudson Railway Historical Society announced the acquisition […]

Read More…

C&NW No. 1385 return to Mid-Continent museum postponed

Steam locomotive by concrete coaling tower

NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. — The move, scheduled to begin May 5, bringing Chicago & North Western 4-6-0 No. 1385 back to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum has been postponed, says Jeffrey Lentz, museum office manager. A statement from the museum indicates that the trucking firm slated to handle the road move withdrew its services “on short […]

Read More…

Woodstown Central steam locomotive sidelined (updated)

Black and gray steam locomotive with large smoke plume running in woods.

WOODSTOWN, N.J. — Woodstown Central Railroad steam locomotive No. 9, an Alco 0-6-0, suffered an overheated journal on its central axle during the 12 p.m. excursion on April 18. The railroad’s mechanical team determined the damage was beyond in-house repair capabilities at its South Woodstown, N.J., shop. The wheelset has been removed for repairs at […]

Read More…

Fire destroys trestle on Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad (updated)

Train on large wooden bridge

ELBE, Wash. — A major wooden trestle on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad has been destroyed in a potential arson fire, a major blow that has the operation asking for financial support. The heritage railway, in a Facebook post, says a fire at a 28-span bridge between Mineral and Morton, Wash., was reported about 6:40 […]

Read More…

Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation: Challenging Times yet Times for Celebration

Crowds take pictures of steam locomotive on turntable

Rail preservation often comes with challenges, and the Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF) is no exception. Yet despite challenging times, the organization continues to find times for celebration — especially with the continued success of the Oregon Rail Heritage Center in Portland and the iconic locomotives it protects. The foundation’s story began in the 1990s […]

Read More…

New York’s Delaware & Ulster announces return of operations

Alco locomotive with Delaware & Hudson paint scheme pulling tourist passenger train

ARKVILLE, N.Y. — The Delaware & Ulster Railroad, a heritage rail operation that last ran in 2019, has announced plans to resume operation beginning in May. “The railroad is heading in a new direction literally and figuratively,” Todd Pascarella, executive director of the Catskills Revialization Corp., the nonprofit organization that operates the railroad, said in […]

Read More…

Turmoil continues at Wilmington & Western

Logo of Wilmington & Western Railroad

WILMINGTON, Del. — The Wilmington & Western Railroad, which announced an indefinite halt to operations earlier this year, has experienced more turmoil, with unhappy volunteers picketing the railroad, potential legal action, and the operation briefly posting then removing an announcement that excursions would return this fall. On Thursday, about 20 volunteers mounted a protest outside […]

Read More…

Western Maryland Scenic No. 1309 set to return to operation in May

Steam locomotive under large cloud of smoke and steam

CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 is slated to return to operation beginning May 3, powering “Frostburg Flyer” excursions on Saturday and Sundays, the railroad said in an email to customers on Tuesday (April 8, 2025). Plans also call for the locomotive, built by Baldwin in 1949 for the Chesapeake & […]

Read More…

APM Terminals acquires Panama Canal Railway from CPKC and Lanco Group/Mi-Jack

Container train next to body of water

CALGARY, Alberta – Canadian Pacific Kansas City and the Lanco Group/Mi-Jack have sold the Panama Canal Railway to APM Terminals, a global terminal operator and an independent division of A.P. Moller-Maersk. The 47.6-mile railway provides ocean-to-ocean freight and passenger services along the Panama Canal and has been a 50/50 joint venture between CPKC subsidiary Kansas […]

Read More…