CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Iowa Interstate Railroad today announced that its founding chairman, Dr. Paul H. Banner, died on June 17 at the age of 102. Banner was instrumental in the efforts to save the railroad in 1984 following the liquidation of the Rock Island. “To describe Paul Banner as a visionary would be an […]
Planning your travel for this summer? Be sure to include some model trains in those plans! These five train layouts throughout the country (and world) are all worth a visit this summer. Colorado Model Railroad Museum Featuring more than 500 HO scale locomotives, 80 scale miles of track, and tens of thousands of handmade trees, […]
Locomotives & rolling stock E-Z Catch Train Shop has announced a custom-run MTH D&H hopper (20-95691) as part of the Premier line. The car is decorated in pink cancer awareness graphics. Estimated delivery this fall. Price: $74.99. Website: https://e-zcatch.square.site. Pat’s Trains, 142 29th St., Wheeling WV, 26003, is offering a custom-run MTH AC6000 engine in […]
No trains, now what? You have taken time off from work, the clouds have parted, the sun is out, and you are heading out for a full day of chasing and photographing trains. Refreshments are packed in the cooler, the scanner is humming, and your camera is ready for quick retrieval when that first locomotive […]
WINDSOR, Ontario — Although no effective date has been announced, VIA Rail Canada CEO Mario Péloquin said last week at a public event that the new Siemens trainsets would begin migrating to Toronto-Windsor trains this summer. The Venture equipment debuted by replacing 1950s-vintage Budd stainless steel HEP-1 and HEP-2 coaches and 1980s Bombardier “Light Rapid […]
NEW YORK — Amtrak announced on Friday, June 28, that had awarded a construction contract to build a new Connecticut River Bridge on the Northeast Corridor to replace the existing 116-year-old structure. A joint venture of O&G/Tutor Perini received the contract award for the $1.3 billion project, which has received a $827 million Federal Railroad […]
SEATTLE — The Sound Transit board of directors has selected a site in Federal Way, Wash., as the location for its Operations and Maintenance Faciility South, which will service future expansion of the Link light rail system to West Seattle and Tacoma, Wash. The site at South 336th Street had been identified as the preferred […]
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California High Speed Rail Authority has approved the final environmental document for the 38-mile Palmdale-Burbank segment of the project, providing the last environmental clearance needed on the route between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Authority CEO Brian Kelly called the approval, at a meeting of the authority board of directors on […]
The concept of an American Freedom Train arose after WWII. It was a chance for Americans to reflect on their citizenship at a time when the United States was finding new roles in world affairs. The project was funded by donations and not at government expense. The American Heritage Foundation was created in 1947 to […]
The most recent version of the American Freedom Train (AFT) was assembled to help celebrate the United States’ 1976 Bicentennial. The complete train, which visited all 48 contiguous states over a two year period, had a total of 23 pieces of rolling stock, including passenger cars, showcase cars (with full-scale historical artifacts, like the Lunar […]
Although the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway employed several nicknames — “Dixie Line,” “Nashville Road,” and “Lookout Mountain Route” among them — to former employees and their families, it will always be “Grandpa’s Road.” James A. Skelton was one of those Grandpas. He was 14 in April 1862, and although the War Between the […]
Prior to the Hudsons, Mountains, and Northerns, the 4-6-2 Pacific-type was celebrated as THE passenger locomotive at the turn of the 20th century. Outperformed in later years by their bigger, faster, and stronger successors, the smaller racehorses continued to hold their own until the end of steam along North America’s railroads. Though, it can be […]
