ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Santa Fe 4-8-4 No. 2926 will return to Tractor Brewing on May 4, marking the first anniversary of its first public trip, the New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society has announced. The locomotive built by Baldwin in 1944 will again make the half-mile trip from its restoration site at 1833 […]
Type of Train: Steam Locomotive
News photos: First part of steam engine arrives at Wisconsin Great Northern
TREGO, Wis. — Duluth & Northeastern No. 27 — or at least part of it — has arrived at its new home at the Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad. The boiler and rest of the superstructure of the Alco 2-8-0, long displayed at the Carlton County Fairgrounds in Barnum, Minn., arrived at the WGN in Trego […]
Grand Canyon No. 4960 concludes April operations with Earth Day excursion (updated)
WILLIAMS, Ariz. — While the busy steam season for most locomotives is beginning to build up around this time, 2-8-2 No. 4960 is already in full form on the Grand Canyon Railway. The Mikado-type recently completed three April round trips from Williams to Grand Canyon National Park. While the locomotive performed well during the public […]
Olympia & Sand Creek, Sidetrack Ep. 4 | A horse apiece
Back on the sidetrack, David resumes construction of the drivers, plus the horses and mules used to pull the various wagons and carts he’ll place into his On30 layout scenes. Initial efforts in this episode involve the basic material prep and assembly of all the white metal parts and pieces in the selected kits. By […]
‘Be the Engineer’ for a day: An unforgettable ride
The words “Be the Engineer!” drew my attention to a Nevada Northern Railway advertisement in Trains Magazine. I’m a veteran train museum patron. I’ve been to many, from Los Angeles to Scranton, and most are a lot more accessible than Ely, Nev. Ely is 3 hours and 42 minutes north of Las Vegas, a lonely […]
Fast freight
A Santa Ana freight works upgrade on the eastbound main at Summit, Calif., on Cajon Pass on Dec. 28, 1940. Edwin A. Vail photo […]
Abilene & Smoky Valley becomes Kansas’ state heritage railroad
ABILENE, Kan. — Kansas now has an official state heritage railroad and a state steam locomotive. House Bill 2481, which bestows the railroad honor on the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad and the locomotive distinction on the railroad’s Santa Fe Pacific No. 3415, was one of seven bills signed into law on Thursday, April 18, […]
George Washington
Chesapeake & Ohio’s George Washington roars through Mayville, Ky., in an undated photo. No. 491 was an F-19 class 4-6-2 built by Richmond and later rebuilt as a 4-6-4. Lucius Beebe photo […]
CPKC releases travel schedule for tour by No. 2816
CALGARY — CPKC has filled in many of the blanks on the upcoming Last Spike Steam Tour, releasing a schedule with travel days and intermediate stops for the Canadian and U.S. portions of the three-nation tour of 4-6-4 No. 2816, shown above. Locations and times for the “Event” days on the schedule were released last […]
Wisconsin Great Northern acquires steam locomotive (updated)
TREGO, Wis. – The Wisconsin Great Northern Railroad has added a steam locomotive to its expanding roster. Former Duluth & Northeastern 2-8-0 No. 27 will be moved from its display site at the Carlton County Fairgrounds in Barnum, Minn., where it has been displayed since 1968. Wisconsin Great Northern, known for its ongoing restoration of the […]
British Columbia heritage rail operation sidelined for safety review
FORT STEELE, British Columbia — A steam locomotive that has been a longtime attraction in southwestern British Columbia has been sidelined for a safety review, raising doubts about its future operation. Concerns over the age and increasing maintenance costs of 2-6-2 No. 1077, built in 1923 by Montreal Locomotive Works for Vancouver Island logging operations, […]
Scotland’s ‘Harry Potter’ train to restart operations
The “Jacobite” or “Harry Potter” steam train, running from Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, will resume operations as of Monday, April 15, operator West Coast Railway announced today. Initially, the train will operate just once a day, instead of the two daily trips planned previously. The train has been subject of a long-running debate […]