WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Grand Canyon Railway on the former Santa Fe branch between Williams, Ariz., and South Rim, will see steam again in 2019. Former Burlington Route 2-8-2 No. 4960 will operate Feb. 16 on President’s Day, and also on the first Saturday of each month starting March 2 and going through Oct. 5. A […]
Type of Train: Steam Locomotive
‘Big Boy’ passes early pressure test
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific’s Big Boy is another step closer to running this year after it passed a Federally required hydrostatic test. Union Pacific posted a video on YouTube Wednesday showing workers knocking on the locomotive with hammers while pressurized water filled the boiler. One scene shows a pressure gauge at 300 pounds per […]
Prototype drawings of Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 steam locomotive
Click on the image or link to download a PDF of this drawing of the Union Pacific Big Boy In 1941 the Union Pacific RR took delivery of its first 4-8-8-4 single-expansion articulated steam locomotives. Aptly named “Big Boy,” these 7,000 hp, 386-ton locomotives were the heaviest and among the most powerful simple articulateds ever […]
Montana museum wins state grant to rebuild firebox on 1906 Shay NEWSWIRE
A volunteer works on J. Neils Lumber Co. No. 4 in Libby, Mont., in 2012. Justin Franz LIBBY, Mont. – A museum in northwest Montana has won a $26,704 grant to rebuild the firebox on its 1906 Shay locomotive. The Heritage Museum in Libby recently obtained a matching grant from the Montana Office of Tourism […]
Tickets go on sale Monday for May 10, 2019 150th anniversary event NEWSWIRE
Tickets go on sale Monday for May 10, 2019 transcontinental railroad anniversary events. Trains: Jim Wrinn PROMONTORY SUMMIT, Utah — Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. mountain time Feb. 4 for 150th anniversary events at the Golden Spike National Historic Site on May 10, 2019. Participants can pay $20 per car that are good […]
Maine narrow gauge line will use $10,000 award for track extension NEWSWIRE
WW&F members plan to build about 2,000 feet of track next fall with help from the Webb Award received on Jan. 26 from the Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts. Here is the end of track in October 2018. WW&F: Mike Fox WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — The Mass Bay Railroad Enthusiasts has awarded its annual $10,000 H. […]
Maine narrow gauge museums to collaborate on collections NEWSWIRE
Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes parlor Car No. 9 Rangeley, built by Jackson & Sharp of Wilmington, Del. in 1901, is the only two-foot gauge car of its type ever built. It is scheduled to be the first car moved to Sheepscot in May. MNGM Bridgton & Saco River Railroad No. 8, a 1924 Baldwin […]
Trains Presents: Southern Railway steam doubleheader
Ride with us on the tender tank of Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 630 while we watch Southern 2-8-2 No. 4501 at work on a Chattanooga, Tenn.-Summerville, Ga., trip in October 2018. You’ll see and hear the engines at work on famous Missionary Ridge. It’s a classic Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum excursion with lots of stack […]
Trains Presents: Southern Railway steam doubleheader
Ride with us on the tender tank of Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 630 while we watch Southern 2-8-2 No. 4501 at work on a Chattanooga, Tenn.-Summerville, Ga., trip in October 2018. You’ll see and hear the engines at work on famous Missionary Ridge. It’s a classic Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum excursion with lots of stack […]
Mid-February for UP’s Big Boy 4014 schedule this spring NEWSWIRE
A schedule for Big Boy 4014’s first operations should be out in February. Trains: Jim Wrinn OMAHA, Neb. — The wait for Big Boy 4014’s first operating schedule got a little shorter or a little longer, depending on how soon you want to make travel plans. On Wednesday, the Union Pacific Steam Club, a new […]
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania completes fundraising for five restorations NEWSWIRE
Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pa. — The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania has reached its $250,000 goal for the Ready For The Roundhouse fundraising campaign for the preservation of five historic steam locomotives. The nonprofit Friends of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania took the lead in the Ready For The Roundhouse campaign, which was kicked off with […]
Trains Presents: Cumbres & Toltec Scenic double-headed steam
Join us for a ride on the tender of a narrow-gauge Mikado in the San Juan Mountains of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. We’ll ride the tender tank from Chama, N.M., up the 4 percent grade of Cumbres Pass. Only from Trains! […]