December 2025

The December 2025 issue of Trains Magazine.

Featured

In this Issue

UP-NS merger may hurt, not help

A BNSF senior executive, now retired, shares his views on the proposed merger

Credit the scanner

Overheard radio transmissions paved the way for a dramatic photo

Steam’s dream team

It has been a decade since Norfolk Southern hosted four major steam locomotives

Two feet from history

The Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington recreates Maine’s narrow-gauge operations

In My Own Words: “A loud whoosh”

A derailment on the New York Central puts an EMD demonstration set on the ground

Gallery

Railroads celebrate the holidays

In every issue

News, p. 4

  • Steve Angel replaces Joe Hinrichs as CSX chief executive officer

Bill Stephens, p. 14

  • Three days in August will shape the merger debate

John P. Hankey, p. 16

  • Will there be one big railroad?

Preservation, p. 40

  • The National Railroad Museum opens its riverfront expansion

Brian Solomon, p. 44

  • ‘Tis the season for trains