Bigger is not necessarily better: the Alco C855 locomotives

Alco C855 locomotives in a freight yard with man in cab window

The Alco C855 locomotives is a locomotive that Union Pacific should have never considered purchasing.     The railroad’s operating department had always favored big motive power to move its mainline trains; just look at its 4-12-2 Union Pacifics, 4-6-6-4 Challengers, and 4-8-8-4 Big Boys in steam days. That philosophy carried over to a fleet […]

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Big Skies & Iron Rails, Hauling Freight

With our intrepid railfan Tom Danneman behind the camera, even a seemingly mundane manifest or general merchandise freight train stands out amidst the beautiful backdrop of the American West. Enjoy the striking natural views, complemented by the various sizes, shapes, and colors of modern freight trains traversing Big Skies & Iron Rails! Be sure to […]

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Big Skies & Iron Rails, Hauling Freight

With our intrepid railfan Tom Danneman behind the camera, even a seemingly mundane manifest or general merchandise freight train stands out amidst the beautiful backdrop of the American West. Enjoy the striking natural views, complemented by the various sizes, shapes, and colors of modern freight trains traversing Big Skies & Iron Rails! Be sure to […]

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Weather leads to cancellations for Southwest Chief, Empire Builder

Passenger train leaves rooster tail of snow as it runs on three-track main line

CHICAGO — Weather is taking its toll on current operations of Amtrak’s western long-distance trains. According to the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed, the eastbound Chief scheduled to depart Los Angeles today (Wednesday, Feb. 22) has been cancelled due to severe weather conditions, while the westbound Chief that left Chicago on Tuesday, Feb. 21, will terminate […]

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Empire Builder encountered track defect before fatal Montana derailment

Still from locomotive on-board camera, with red square higlighting track defect

WASHINGTON — Amtrak’s Empire Builder ran through a track misalignment in a curve — distinctly visible in a still from the lead locomotive’s onboard camera — just before its September 2021 derailment in Joplin, Mont., according to information contained in more than 3,100 pages of documents released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The […]

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Earthwork on the project railroad

retaining wall illustration

Earthwork on the project railroad: We are ready to begin grading the line. The first thing we had to do was to transfer our design to the ground. This would give us a feeling for how the railroad would actually sit in its site and it would also delineate where the earthwork had to be […]

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The Lionel Union Pacific Rocket Booster Train

Lionel Union Pacific Rocket Booster Train

The Lionel Union Pacific Rocket Booster Train is finally out, and as an aerospace engineer formerly employed by NASA, this set hit home! I knew I had to have it the second I saw it advertised in the Lionel 2022 Volume 1 catalog! The set isn’t a work of science fiction, either. The prototype Rocket […]

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Union Pacific Silvis Donation Special

In November 2022, a special train left Cheyenne, Wyo., bound for the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America’s steam shops in Silvis, Ill. The move marked the end of one era and the beginning of a new one, as the Union Pacific, the only Class I railroad in North America with a steam program, decided to […]

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Five Burlington Northern kitbashes

Color photo of caboose painted light gray with small windows and rooftop air conditioners.

Kitbashing is a facet of the hobby many model railroaders enjoy. Full-size railroads modify equipment, too. As I was combing through my photo collection and images in our David P. Morgan Memorial Library, I found five Burlington Northern kitbashes. Hopefully one or more of these cars will inspire your next modeling project. Want more Burlington […]

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