Ann Arbor Railroad freight trains and car ferries were the life blood of this Michigan-based shortline railroad, which is Classic Trains’ Railroad of the Month for December 2020. We hope you enjoy each of these freight train images from the David P. Morgan Library at Kalmbach Media. If you enjoy this gallery, you may […]
Zone & Region: Midwest
Drew’s Trackside Adventures: Episode 44 Motorin’ across Mizzou
Ride along with host Drew Halverson, Kent Johnson (KJ), and Allan Dahncke (Sherpa Al), as they motor across the middle of Missouri to a bustling BNSF transcontinental railroad route. In the final day of their Show-Me State Summer trek, the guys managed to find epic railfanning locations to capture BNSF, UP, NS, and Amtrak trains […]
Drew’s Trackside Adventures: Episode 44 Motorin’ across Mizzou
Ride along with host Drew Halverson, Kent Johnson (KJ), and Allan Dahncke (Sherpa Al), as they motor across the middle of Missouri to a bustling BNSF transcontinental railroad route. In the final day of their Show-Me State Summer trek, the guys managed to find epic railfanning locations to capture BNSF, UP, NS, and Amtrak trains […]
Little Mogul on the prairie
Wabash 2-6-0 573 heads a train on the road’s Keokuk (Iowa) branch just west of Carthage, Ill., on October 18, 1953. Although the road had announced it was 100 percent dieselized, it kept three Moguls to work this line, which included a bridge over the Illinois River that could not even support SW1 diesels. Photo […]
Hump engines at Willard
Bumped by diesels from front-line road-freight assignments, two S-1 2-10-2s work as hump engines at Baltimore & Ohio’s big yard at Willard, Ohio, in September 1955. Photo by Philip R. Hastings […]
Metra, Amtrak inform STB of remaining issues in Chicago Union Station dispute
WASHINGTON — A total of 16 issues, some major (the procedure for adding trains to Metra’s schedule), some less so (whether Metra is entitled to any station parking), remain to be settled by the Surface Transportation Board in the long-running dispute between Metra and Amtrak over the commuter railroad’s lease at Chicago Union Station. That’s […]
A light in the dark
Name: William Sakalaucks Railroad Name: Farwell, Lafayette, Irving, & Prospect Location: Milwaukee, WI Scale: 1:29 Theme: Tourist/Short Line Description: As we enter the time of longer nights, the FLIP Rwy sometimes needs to bring out the searchlight car for work to be done, or to find the missing connector! […]
The future comes to Milwaukee
In late 1941, officials in hats and overcoats look over the newest thing on the Milwaukee Road: two-unit Electro-Motive E6 passenger diesel No. 15. At left in this scene at the east end of the road’s station in Milwaukee is suddenly obsolete F6 4-6-4 131. Photo from Classic Trains collection […]
Digest: Michigan City moves on land acquisition for South Shore project
Michigan City OKs eminent domain to acquire land for South Shore project The city council of Michigan City, Ind., is moving forward on eminent domain proceedings to complete the land acquisition needed for the South Shore Line’s Double Track project, which will drastically remake the single-track street running in the community that is a unique […]
Minnesota Commercial Railway owner John Gohmann dies
John Gohmann, owner of the Minnesota Commercial Railroad — a notable early success story in the shortline industry that developed in the wake of Staggers Act deregulation — has died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Libertyville, Ill. He was 73. Gohmann began his railroad career as a yard clerk for the Chicago & […]
HO scale Midwest Lines
The layout at a glance Name: Midwest Lines Layout owner: Rolf Plachter Scale: HO (1:87.1) Size: 33 x 52 feet Prototype: freelanced, inspired by Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Rock Island; and Union Pacific Locale: Denver to Milwaukee Era: mid-1960s Style: around-the-walls Mainline run: 400 feet Minimum radius: 36″ Minimum turnout: no. 4 Maximum grade: 2 […]
Digest: Metra places second bike car in service
Metra adds second bike car to Milwaukee North line Chicago’s Metra has introduced a second bike car on the Milwaukee North Line, expanding the program to offer bike car service on 14 weekday trains and eight on weekends. The bike cars, with a distinctive blue and gray paint scheme, can accommodate 16 bicycles rather than […]