ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – East Broad Top Railroad 2-8-2 engine No. 16 is out of service until the end of August due to a cracked driving-wheel center, the railroad announced today (Thursday, April 11). In its place, the narrow gauge EBT will substitute its General Electric 55-ton center-cab diesel switcher M-7, the same unit that […]
Type of Train: Steam Locomotive
Grand Canyon No. 4960 operates first of three April excursions
WILLIAMS, Ariz. — In its second round trip of the 2024 season, Grand Canyon Railway No. 4960 performed well on Saturday, April 6, with its first of three April excursions. Along the rugged line between Williams and the South Rim, the 2-8-2 and F40 diesel-helper No. 4128 lugged the 16-car train with 900 passengers aboard, […]
Lionel Catalog Volume 1 for 2024
Lionel Catalog Volume 1 for 2024 is filled with plenty of treasures. What’s there? How about fantastic locomotives loaded with tons of special effects and realistic details as well as lots of superb pieces of scale rolling stock and entertaining operating cars of all sorts? And plenty of spectacular and enjoyable train sets for modelers […]
Big Boy’s ‘Westward Bound Tour’ to begin June 30
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Evolving plans for this year’s tour by Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 now call for the locomotive to make what the railroad is calling its “Westward Bound Tour” beginning Sunday, June 30, traveling to Roseville, Calif., and returning to its home base in Cheyenne by the end of July. At this […]
Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad to restore two locomotives to operation
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum will partner with Maine Locomotive & Machine Works to restore a pair of 2-foot gauge engines, Monson Railroad No. 4, and Bridgton & Saco River Railroad No. 8, to operation, the museum announced Tuesday. Monson No. 4, an 0-4-4 tank engine, was built in 1918 […]
Dixie Mikado
Louisville & Nashville J-4 class 2-8-2 No. 1882 rests at Carrolton, Ky., in 1956. Charles B. Castner photo […]
Olympia & Sand Creek, Episode 16 | Building a removable ramp for the ore tipple
Welcome back to the Olympia & Sand Creek series with host David Popp. While David has been sidetracked with efforts to build the cart before the horse, now’s the time to put that tandem into its place! In this installment, you’ll see how to shape up a removable tipple scene that sits atop a plateau. […]
Auxiliary water cars are replenishments for mainline steam excursions
From short lines to Class I railroads, you’ll likely come across a mainline steam excursion with one or more tenders/tank cars coupled right behind the locomotive’s main tender. Water is the primary commodity, all for the steam locomotive when out on the road. The use of an auxiliary water car, sometimes referred to as a […]
News photos: Homecoming for steam locomotive after departing Milwaukee County Zoo (updated)
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — After 63 years operating at the Milwaukee County Zoo, steam locomotive No. 1916 Harry J. Grant went back home to the Riverside & Great Northern Railway in Wisconsin Dells. The Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works built the 15-inch gauge 4-4-2 at what is now the R&GN shops in 1960-61. Today, a crew […]
Durango & Silverton | Coal-fired steam finale
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has faced numerous challenges in the last few years, the results of which have attributed to the end of using coal to fire their steam locomotive fleet. Following a major fire near the railroad, the D&S fast-tracked a program to convert their steam engines to burn oil. A […]
Ed King’s book canonizes N&W steam
Rumors of the death of railroad fiction are greatly exaggerated. The veteran railroad journalist Fred Frailey made that clear a year ago with his “Seldom Willing,” an absorbing tale of an ambitious 1980s Midwestern regional railroad that outmaneuvered a far larger rival. When Fred told me his novel was coming out soon, I wasn’t sure […]
A little helper
Missouri Pacific 0-8-0 No. 9721 (with caboose) helps a freight No. 75 up Kirkwood (Mo.) Hill in March 1946. Regular power was 4-8-4 No. 2111 closest to the camera. Helper 2-10-2 No. 1716 is spliced between. Joe Collias photo […]