Super Streamliners: Dazzling passenger trains from the classic era of rail travel

Long before the advent of diesels and lightweight equipment, streamliners shaped “high-speed rail” in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In this free, 35-page download, we revisit the classic streamliner era. This series includes: The Great Chicago-Twin Cities Speed War: How intense competition between Burlington Route, Milwaukee Road, and Chicago & North Western drastically reduced daytime […]

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Coast-to-coast passenger train

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Amtrak’s westbound ‘Sunset Limited’ pauses for a station stop in Atmore, Ala., at sunrise in January 1995. It was the nation’s first and only transcontinental passenger train. Bob Johnston Q There were numerous named passenger trains that spanned distances beyond the reach of a single railroad, such as the California Zephyr between Chicago and Oakland, […]

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Trains Presents: Train Festival 2011

We take you trackside for Train Festival 2011 in the Quad Cities! Relive the glory days of Midwest steam excursions and see your favorite locomotives, including Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765 and Iowa Interstate’s Chinese-built QJs! Be sure to look for our special issue, Big Steam is Back, available now, along with its companion […]

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Trains Tube: ‘Selling Sunshine’ DVD preview

Brightly painted diesel electric locomotive.

Join Trains Magazine Editor Jim Wrinn and video producer Rich Luckin for an early look at our next DVD production: “Selling Sunshine, the Florida Trains,” available in late August 2017. You’ll learn about the passenger trains that opened the Sunshine State to tourism and the railroads they ran on. […]

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Trains Tube: ‘Selling Sunshine’ DVD preview

Brightly painted diesel electric locomotive.

Join Trains Magazine Editor Jim Wrinn and video producer Rich Luckin for an early look at our next DVD production: “Selling Sunshine, the Florida Trains,” available in late August 2017. You’ll learn about the passenger trains that opened the Sunshine State to tourism and the railroads they ran on. […]

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Biodiesel fuel in locomotives

Q Certain states require fueling stations to blend biodiesel into diesel fuel for cars and trucks at different times of the year. Do railroads use biodiesel in their locomotives? – Brett Schmidt, Madison, Wis. A Class I railroads, regionals, short lines, and commuter agencies have tried biodiesel with a variety of blends from a 10-percent […]

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Return trip to Tucumcari

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Tucumcari, July 1963: Nameless Los Angeles–Chicago train 40 has arrived with SP power and will depart behind Rock Island FP7 409. The RDC foreground is on the rear of Rock Island 22 for Memphis. Richard J. Anderson It was a hot day in the summer of 1963. I was driving from my home in Iowa […]

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Big Steam is Back DVD preview

Large black steam locomotive hauling passenger train.

See how your favorite big steam locomotives are rebuilt and run — from Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s Southern Railway No. 4501, to the big steam story of 2016: the return of Union Pacific No. 844. You can now watch a preview of this new video production, which features popular steam locomotives from coast to coast! […]

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Video Review: Big Steam is Back

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Big Steam is Back Kalmbach Publishing, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612. Approx. 90 minutes kalmbachhobbystore.com In Spring 2009, Union Pacific’s never-retired 4-8-4 No. 844 visited Nevada, California, and Utah on its “Western Heritage Tour.” This event provided ample evidence, as if any was needed, of the appeal of “Big Steam,” loosely defined as the […]

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