How to visit Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum

steam passenger train in Tennessee

Visiting Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum If you took a major Class I railroad in the early 1950s, shrunk it, and set it aside to show people today what a section of big-time, steam-era railroading was all about, you’d create Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Set on a portion of Southern Railway’s original main line into Chattanooga, […]

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Northern Pacific Railway locomotives

  All through May 2021, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the style, glamour and grit of the Northern Pacific Railway. Please enjoy this NP locomotive photo gallery sourced from the archives of the David P. Morgan Library at Kalmbach Media. Only from Classic Trains! […]

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Doug Harrop’s Utah

Sun highlight diesel locomotive exhaust of train in curve

Doug Harrop retired from Union Pacific in 2003. He hired out with the Southern Pacific in 1967 in Arizona. He left the management ranks a decade later to return to Utah to enter engine service out of Ogden. Known for his photographic coverage of Utah, Harrop’s enthusiasm for railroads took him across the continent. He […]

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Northern Pacific Railway freight trains

  The Northern Pacific Railway is Classic Trains‘ Railroad of the Month for May 2021. Please enjoy this freight train photo gallery sourced from the archives of the David P. Morgan Library at Kalmbach Media. Only from Classic Trains! […]

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How to visit the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

Visiting the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Chama, New Mexico, might be some of the most sacred ground for 1920s railroad and steam locomotive enthusiasts. That’s the western end of the mighty Cumbres & Toltec Scenic, and it’s the site of an authentic shop, yard, and depot. It’s the start of the dramatic eastbound climb across […]

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A freight train at night, a diesel at the turntable, a steamer in the shop, and other model railroad photos

A steam locomotive is dramatically lit from the side as it crosses a wood trestle at night

Trackside Photos is a showcase for the work of Model Railroader readers. Send your photos (digital images 5 megapixels or larger) to: Model Railroader, Trackside Photos, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612; or upload them to http://fileupload.kalmbach.com/contribute. For our photo submission guidelines, contact associate editor Steven Otte at sotte@mrmag.com. […]

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Feraca Stone Canyon gallery volume 1

Wood structures frame a Santa Fe steam locomotive at the end of a gravel parking area

John Feraca started working on his Stone Canyon HO scale layout in 2003. After several expansions, it now fills a 28 x 40-foot space. The freelanced layout depicts the mountain west of the United States, but there are also town scenes and plenty of industries to keep operators busy. John used kits from Walthers Cornerstone, […]

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Kansas City, Mo., is one of America’s top rail hubs

Locomotive hauls a train on yard tracks under a bridge backlit by low angle sunlight.

  Who realizes that Kansas City is one of the U.S.’s main rail hubs, the second busiest and second by annual tonnage? Chicago wins by a small margin. While declines in coal shipments have likely ended Kansas City’s three-decade dominance in rail tonnage, the difference between the two cities remains about 3%, says the Association […]

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Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range: Locomotives

2-10-4 steam locomotive

All through April 2021, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history, heritage, and grit of the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railroad. Please enjoy this photo gallery of DM&IR locomotives selected from the files of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Only from Classic Trains! […]

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Cars of the 1938 Century

Streamlined steam locomotive leading a streamline passenger train on a gentle curve.

From its launch in 1902, New York Central’s 20th Century Limited was arguably the most prestigious train in America. With its all-first-class passenger accommodations, the Century was the way to travel between New York and Chicago. By 1938 the train’s reputation was well established when it was completely re-equipped with new streamlined Alco locomotives and […]

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