For Trains editors, the story of 2019 is — and has to be — the return of a Big Boy. Yes, we mean Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 — a speedy 700-tons of steel and steam when fully fueled and ready to go. Despite being out of service since the time Dwight Eisenhower was President, […]
Type of Train: Steam Locomotive
Washington state group seeks funds for tank locomotive restoration NEWSWIRE
Chelatchie Prairie Railroad’s Crossett Western No. 10, an Alco 2-8-2T steam locomotive. Doug Auburg SEATTLE — The Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, a volunteer-run tourist rail operation near Vancouver, Wash., has begun a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to restore its steam locomotive to operating condition. The Crossett Western No. 10, an Alco 2-8-2T built in 1929, […]
Remembering Denver & Rio Grande Western locomotives
Classic Trains editors are celebrating the heritage, history, and lore of famed (and infamous) railroads. In December 2019, we celebrate the Denver & Rio Grande Western. Please enjoy a collection of locomotive images located in the David P. Morgan Library archives at Kalmbach Media that include the Rio Grande’s iconic locomotives and classic scenic […]
Crowd estimates for Big Boy 4014: 1.1 million plus NEWSWIRE
UP 4014 on display in West Chicago in July. Trains: Jim Wrinn OMAHA, Neb. — How many people saw Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 run in 2019? That is a question whose answer we’ll never know with full certainty, but estimates are coming in. UP says it counted 115,000 visitors who went through its […]
No. 261’s North Pole Express trips carry 10,000 passengers NEWSWIRE
Icicles form on the front of Milwaukee Road 4-84 operating in frigid temperatures at St. Paul Union Depot. Friends of the 261 ST. PAUL, Minn. – Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 pulled North Pole Express trips that carried 10,000 passengers this month, the nonprofit Friends of the 261 reports. While the first weekend at St. […]
Steam 101
Grubby but still working, former Union Pacific 0-6-0 4455 waits for its next move at the Monolith cement plant near Laramie, Wyoming, in September 1967. A. J. Wolff When I began my freshman year at the University of Wyoming in Laramie in 1963, I was vaguely aware that steam locomotives possibly were still being used […]
Fundraiser for NKP SD9 reaches half way mark NEWSWIRE
Donations will be matched through Dec. 31 up to $5,358 for NKP SD9 No. 358. FWRHS NEW HAVEN, Ind. — Online contributors have donated half of the match that will go toward the restoration of a Nickel Plate Road SD9 in the collection of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. That means more than $2,500 […]
Coast Mail train operations
MT-4 SP 4360, today’s power on Train #72, the Los Angeles-bound Coast Mail, picks up a load of strawberries at Quisling, Calif. Video by Brian Moore. […]
Coast Mail train operations
MT-4 SP 4360, today’s power on Train #72, the Los Angeles-bound Coast Mail, picks up a load of strawberries at Quisling, Calif. Video by Brian Moore. […]
Steam commuter operation in Poland appears to be ending NEWSWIRE
Mainline steam in November 2019: Polish 2-6-2 Ol49 59 is about to leave Wolsztyn with the 11:37 service to Leszno on Nov. 22, 2019. The 80-minute one-way steam trip cost around $3. Keith Fender WARSAW — Daily steam hauled passenger services survive on two regional commuter rail lines in western Poland but seem set to […]
Montana museum aims to restore oldest surviving Willamette steam locomotive NEWSWIRE
Anaconda Co. No. 7 Heritage Museum at Fort Missoula MISSOULA, Mont. – A small museum in Montana is raising money to restore the oldest surviving Willamette locomotive in existence. Anaconda Co. No. 7, a three-truck Willamette built-in 1923, has been on display outside of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula since the 1980s. Plans call […]
Gateway to the Kettle Moraine
A recently “discovered” Soo Line Railroad silent movie from 1919 featuring glimpses of how Colleywood / Maryville Junction looked 100 years ago. Video shot by Radio Trains. […]
