East Broad Top owner trying to sell railroad in one piece NEWSWIRE

INDIANA, Pa. — “The East Broad Top is sleeping,” Joe Kovalchick says. Indeed, it’s been five years since the legendary narrow gauge railroad has operated for the public. The famed narrow-gauge coal hauler’s modern-day owner, Kovalchick, says he’s trying to find someone, some group or agency to buy the 33-mile railroad. “I want to keep […]

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Santa Fe 2-10-2

Santa Fe Railway 2-10-2 locomotives

The Santa Fe Railway pioneered the 2-10-2 type in 1903 with a group of engines that were essentially 2-10-0 helper locomotives with trailing trucks to aid in downhill reverse movements. The wheel arrangement, known as the Santa Fe type, evolved into a general-purpose heavy freight hauler found on dozens of roads. AT&SF 3864 was built […]

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Trains Presents: The Ohio Central in Steam

Long-time railroader and steam enthusiast Jerry Joe Jacobson died in September 2017. In addition to building a shortline railroad empire, Jacobson is remembered as the man who championed steam excursions, locomotive restoration, and ultimately, the Age of Steam Roundhouse. Join Trains‘ on a look back at a handful of memories from the 1990s and 2000s […]

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Trains Presents: The Ohio Central in Steam

Long-time railroader and steam enthusiast Jerry Joe Jacobson died in September 2017. In addition to building a shortline railroad empire, Jacobson is remembered as the man who championed steam excursions, locomotive restoration, and ultimately, the Age of Steam Roundhouse. Join Trains‘ on a look back at a handful of memories from the 1990s and 2000s […]

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Head-on collision aftermath

Northern Pacific Railway 2-8-2 crash in Montana

Northern Pacific 2-8-2 No. 1917 lies on its side after being hit head-on at nearly 50 mph by four F units on a freight train. The incident occurred at Wibaux, a lonely siding in far eastern Montana, on September 20, 1954. Wing Studios photo […]

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Hudson on the Riley

New York Central Railroad James Whitcomb Riley train

New York Central J-1 4-6-4 No. 5373 brings the Chicago-bound James Whitcomb Riley into Kankakee, Ill., on January 23, 1956. The Riley and other trains on NYC’s former “Big Four” lines were among the last stands of the great Hudsons. M. L. Powell photo […]

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Classic Frisco

St. Louis-San Francisco Railway 4-8-2s near Oklahoma City

One of the St. Louis-San Francisco’s beautiful 1500-series 4-8-2s swings through a reverse curve about 20 miles east of Oklahoma City with the Meteor from St. Louis in October 1946. Preston George photo […]

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A 4-4-0 in 1952

Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway in Hill Top, Illinois

Chicago & Illinois Midland 4-4-0 No. 500, built by Baldwin at the late date of 1927, pulls away from Hill Top, Ill., with the daily-except-Sunday train from Pekin to Springfield, Ill. The date is May 20, 1952 — late in the game indeed for American types on Class I railroads. Ed Theisinger photo […]

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Stalled on Kirkwood Hill

Missouri Pacific Railroad Kirkwood Hill

Greasy rails on Missouri Pacific’s Kirkwood Hill west of St. Louis have brought 2-10-2 helper No. 1716 and 4-8-4 road engine No. 2111 to a halt in March 1946. The train got moving again with an assist from an 0-8-0. Joe Collias photo […]

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