Southern Railway’s master mechanic-steam occupies the engineer’s seat of Tennessee Valley 630 during a 1980s excursion. Jim Wrinn ATLANTA – Bill Purdie, the beloved master mechanic for Southern Railway’s extensive steam locomotive excursions in the 1960s and 1970s, died yesterday evening. He was 95. Purdie joined Southern Railway as a helper in 1936 and progressed […]
Train Topic: Preservation
Preservationist George Hart dies NEWSWIRE
George M. Hart Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania LEHIGHTON, Pa. – Legendary Pennsylvania railroad preservationist George Hart, who died Thursday in Lehighton at age 89, will remembered for his work with Reading’s steam fantrips, as the first director of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, and as the indefatigable operator of Rail Tours Inc. excursions. He was […]
Canadian Railway Museum seeking help to restore Canadian Pacific RDC NEWSWIRE
ST CONSTANT, Quebec – Once a staple of the Canadian railway landscape linking towns and cities from coast to coast, the Budd Rail Diesel Car has all but vanished from the scene. Those that remain in service in Ontario and British Columbia have undergone numerous modifications to meet the travel needs of Canadians today. Between […]
Walter Gray, former director of the California State Railroad Museum, dies at 54 NEWSWIRE
Walter P. Gray III SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Walter P. Gray III, the longtime former director of the California State Railroad Museum and most recently a prominent state parks cultural official, died today in Sacramento after a long battle with cancer. He was 54. A graduate of California State University at Sacramento, Gray was instrumental in […]
Southern Pacific 2472 is test-fired NEWSWIRE
Alan Siegwarth SUNOL, Calif. – The Golden Gate Railroad Museum has announced that its Southern Pacific 4-6-2 No. 2472 has been successfully steam-tested as mandated by federal regulations under the 1,472-day inspection rules. Locomotive reassembly is continuing, and the group expects the locomotive to be complete in the near future. The Golden Gate Railroad Museum […]
Great Northern “Hustle Muscle” SD45 repainted NEWSWIRE
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Great Northern Railway Historical Society recently completed a project to repaint Great Northern SD45 No. 400, the “Hustle Muscle.” Built in May 1966, No. 400 was the first production SD45 built by Electro-Motive Division; it received the Hustle Muscle moniker by GN when the company purchased the unit. It continued […]