La Crosse, Wisconsin

La Crosse, Wis., is a city of 51,000 people located about 150 miles southeast of Minneapolis, Minn. The city was once home to the G. Heileman Brewing Co., maker of Old Style beer. For a city its size, there is a remarkable variety of railroading, with scenery to boot. Train-watchers frequently see motive power of […]

Read More…

Lynchburg, Virginia

Lynchburg, Va., marks the crossing for Norfolk Southern’s Southern Railway main line from Washington to Atlanta with the former Norfolk & Western main from Roanoke to Norfolk, and CSX’s former Chesapeake & Ohio James River line from Clifton Forge to Richmond and Newport News. The former Southern main sees 15-20 trains per day, including passenger, […]

Read More…

Cienega Creek, Arizona

About 20 miles east of Tucson, Ariz., is a vastly underrated train-watching location: Cienega Bridge. The bridge carries Union Pacific’s former Southern Pacific Sunset Route over itself and Cienega Creek. The main line is split through this section of the desert, and each main track has its own dedicated right-of-way. In 1880, SP built what […]

Read More…

Fostoria, Ohio

Fostoria is a city of 14,000 in northwest Ohio, about 35 miles south of Toledo. Like its larger neighbor to the north, Fostoria is known for its one-time glass production. The Fostoria Glass Co., founded in the city in 1887, even supplied glassware to railroads for their dining cars! The city is also known for […]

Read More…

Gibson City, Illinois

Gibson City, Ill., located in the heart of Central Illinois’ grain-growing region, is the headquarters for the Bloomer Shippers Connecting Railroad, otherwise known as the Bloomer Line. Gibson City also serves as a junction and interchange point for two Class I railroads, Canadian National and Norfolk Southern. CN runs up to two locals a day […]

Read More…

Arlington, Virginia

A location to safely watch trains has opened near Washington, D.C. Arlington County recently opened Long Bridge Park adjacent to control point RO on CSX’s RF&P Subdivision. Arlington is at the south end of CSX’s Long Bridge across the Potomac River. This double track bridge was opened in 1904. The name “RO” comes from the […]

Read More…

Summer 2013

Classic Trains is a quarterly magazine celebrating the “golden years of railroading.” Each issue covers the North American railroad scene from the 1920s to the late 1970s with extraordinary photographs and compelling writing. Giant steam locomotives, colorful streamliners, down-home local trains, great passenger terminals, recollections of railroaders and train-watchers . . . they’re all in […]

Read More…

Fall 2012

Classic Trains is a quarterly magazine celebrating the “golden years of railroading.” Each issue covers the North American railroad scene from the 1920s to the late 1970s with extraordinary photographs and compelling writing. Giant steam locomotives, colorful streamliners, down-home local trains, great passenger terminals, recollections of railroaders and train-watchers . . . they’re all in […]

Read More…

Fall 2010

Classic Trains is a quarterly magazine celebrating the “golden years of railroading.” Each issue covers the North American railroad scene from the 1920s to the late 1970s with extraordinary photographs and compelling writing. Giant steam locomotives, colorful streamliners, down-home local trains, great passenger terminals, recollections of railroaders and train-watchers . . . they’re all in […]

Read More…

Digest: Palm Beach port gets federal funds for rail expansion

Wednesday morning rail infrastructure news:   Port of Palm Beach receives $13.2 million grant for rail expansion The Port of Palm Beach, Fla., has received a $13.2 million federal grant to expand its rail infrastructure, more than doubling its intermodal capacity. In a press release, the Port says it will expand capacity from 44,000 20-foot […]

Read More…

Digest: FBI still seeking suspects in 1995 Amtrak derailment

Still more Monday morning rail news: FBI investigation continues, 25 years after ‘Sunset Limited’ derailment Twenty-five years after a fatal derailment of the Sunset Limited in Arizona, the investigation continues and a reward remains available for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those response. An article posted on the FBI website on Friday, the 25th […]

Read More…