Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway history remembered

Blue-and-white streamlined diesel locomotives of Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway in station

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 […]

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The 4-6-2 Pacific-type steam locomotive

Steam locomotive with passenger train standing in station

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 […]

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A Milwaukee Road 4-6-4 welcomed you to Kalmbach

Steam locomotive wheel on wall-sized mural

If you’re reading this, you’re undoubtedly aware of what’s been going on with Kalmbach Media, and how it has sold most of its magazine titles, including Trains and Classic Trains, to Chattanooga-based Firecrown Media. Concurrently, Kalmbach has decided to liquidate over the next couple of months, bringing an end to approximately 90 years of continuous […]

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Iowa railroad museum shut down by flood damage

Two steam locomotives in roundhouse are surrounded by flood waters.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — The Big Sioux River, which took down a BNSF Railway bridge on Sunday night, has now shut down an Iowa railroad museum. The Sioux City Railroad Museum will be closed until further notice because of flooding, the museum announced on its Facebook page, posting multiple photos of standing water in its […]

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GE 70-ton diesel locomotive

A diesel locomotive in a yellow paint scheme

The GE 70-ton diesel locomotive was a consistent seller for the international conglomerate.     In North American railroad circles, General Electric was originally known primarily as a builder of large road locomotives. In the diesel market, starting with the groundbreaking 2,500 hp U25B road-switcher in the 1960s, railroads gobbled up its four- and six-axle […]

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Robert F. Kennedy’s funeral train

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On June 8, 1968, at Baltimore, Penn Central GG1s 4901 and 4903 lead a 21-car special train carrying 1,146 people and the body of New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, assassinated June 5 in Los Angeles while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination. Crowds thronged the right of way between New York and Washington, and […]

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Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad adds two Alco diesels

Dark green diesel cab unit with yellow stripe and red trim

PENINSULA, Ohio — The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad announced it has acquired an Alco FPA4 and an FPB4 from the Grand Canyon Railway, and aims to purchase one more of each unit from the Grand Canyon. The two diesels will join three FPA4 units already on the Cuyahoga Valley roster and are part of what […]

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Chicago & Eastern Illinois locomotives remembered

Black-and-white diesel Chicago & Eastern Illinois locomotives

Chicago & Eastern Illinois locomotives served the road well through many decades of operation.     C&EI was a coal-hauling railroad and, other than some early switchers, stuck with steam through World War II. Three E7s and a bunch of F3s made quick work of dieselizing the line from 1946 onward, with the last steam […]

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Amtrak GP40 diesel locomotives

Silver-and-black diesel Amtrak GP40 diesel locomotives with red, white, and blue stripes

Amtrak GP40 diesel locomotives came in two flavors: eight former GO Transit GP40TCs acquired in October 1988 and 15 straight GP40s leased between May 1991 and June 1993. The 3,000 hp GP40 is a standard bearer of freight motive power in the second half of the 20th century. Introduced by EMD in 1968, the model […]

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Why Michigan Central Station matters

Shiny marble tiles and columns supporting high ceiling

Walking out the 15th Street side entrance to Detroit’s Michigan Central Station last Friday morning, I found myself channeling the great baseball play-by-play man Jack Buck. “I can’t believe what I just saw!” Buck’s epic quote came, of course, when Dodger Kirk Gibson launched his epic home run off A’s reliever Dennis Eckersley in game […]

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