Question: What do the numbers and letters mean on the side of the cab of Union Pacific Challenger 4-6-6-4 No. 3985? — Ben Fairbank, San Antonio, Texas Answer: 21 – 21 4-6-6-4-4-69 ————— 404 UP […]
Magazine: Trains Magazine
Ask Trains: How did railroads use classification lamps and flags?
Classification lights on Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern SD40-2 No. 6090. David C. Schauer Question: When a train displays color flags on the engine indicating “Extra” or “Second” section, how is that information used in the operation of the railroad? — Robert Miller, Hernando, Fla. Answer: A complete answer is available in Trains’ online “ABCs of […]
Ask Trains: What is the purpose of unpowered axles in modern diesel-electric locomotives?
BNSF Railway ES44C4 No. 8338 works at the lead of a freight train. The locomotive’s C4 trucks have only two powered axles in the three-axle trucks arranged in a powered-unpowered-powered arrangement known as A-1-A. Tom Danneman Question: What is the purpose of the A-1-A C4 truck on the BNSF Railway Evolution Series diesels, and how […]
Ask Trains: Why do certain locomotives have reporting marks for different railroads?
What appears to be an Omaha Orange and Pullman Green Great Northern Railway EMD SD9 in 2017 actually is a BNSF Railway unit that had been built in 1959 for Chicago, Burlintgon & Quincy subsidiary Colorado & Southern. For several years, BNSF has assigned Great Northern “GN” reporting marks to some older diesels generally assigned […]
Model Railroader, May 2019
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Trains, May 2019
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Birmingham Rail & Locomotive acquires Ohio company NEWSWIRE
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Birmingham Rail & Locomotive has acquired Ohio’s Austintown Rail Supply, a manufacturer of track products. Birmingham will retain Austintown’s 10 employees and expects to add more to support a rail crane facility at the Austintown, Ohio, site, AL.com reports. Birmingham Rail & Locomotive supplies new and reconditioned rail and other rail materials […]
Illinois museum honors Golden Spike ceremony with recreation NEWSWIRE
Monticello (Ill.) Railway Museum volunteers pose with two steam locomotives in an attempt to re-create the famed Champagne Photo of the original Transcontinental Railroad ceremony from May 10, 1869. Steve Smedley MONTICELLO, Ill. — Monticello Railway Museum in central Illinois gave a nod to history at the end of Saturday and Sunday runs of Southern […]
Metra board OKs engineering study for extension of BNSF service NEWSWIRE
An inbound Metra BNSF train stops at the Route 59 station in Aurora, Ill. Metra’s board has approved spending $4.7 million in federal funds to study extension of the BNSF line beyond Aurora into Kendall County, Ill. TRAINS: David Lassen CHICAGO — A longstanding effort to extend Metra’s BNSF line service beyond Aurora, Ill., west […]
Pioneer RailCorp agrees to merger with Brookhaven NEWSWIRE
A Keokuk Junction Railway’s FP9 locomotive leads a train in Illinois. Keokuk’s parent company is being merged with Brookhaven Rail Partners. Steve Smedley PEORIA, Ill. — Pioneer RailCorp, which operates a number of shortline railroads, announced in a news release Friday that the company has entered into a merger agreement with Brookhaven Rail Partners to […]
Twin Cities light rail line to end 24-hour weekday service NEWSWIRE
MINNEAPOLIS — Metro Transit will end around-the-clock service on one light rail line, the agency announced Friday, after five years of 24-hour operation. Beginning in August, the Green Line will shut down from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m. on weekdays, while continuing 24-hour service on weekends, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports. That will leave only LA […]
Wisconsin, Illinois still want more ‘Hiawatha’ trips NEWSWIRE
Northbound Amtrak Hiawatha No. 333 passes Tower A20 in Glenview, Ill., on May 18, 2019. This is where Canadian Pacific trains enter and leave the Chicago-Milwaukee main line via the tracks at right to reach the railroad’s Bensenville Yard. Bob Johnston A southbound Hiawatha passes Metra’s Glen of North Glenview station in January 2019. Plans […]
