Wabash Railway passenger trains: All through January 2024, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the Wabash. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Wabash Railway passenger trains, originally published online in May 2019. […]
Train Topic: History
Baldwin diesels scrapped in France
PARIS — Four nearly 80-year-old, Baldwin-built diesel locomotives have been scrapped in France after preservation efforts failed. Two of the units were scrapped in December, following the scrapping of two similar diesels earlier in 2023. The locomotives were part of the effort to resupply French Railways (SNCF) following World War II, when it lost more […]
Nerve center of Cincinnati Union Terminal
Perched high above the tracks, interlocking Tower A controlled the many signals and switches at Cincinnati Union Terminal. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
Western Maryland Scenic begins fundraising to return steam locomotives 1309, 734 to operation
CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has launched a fundraising campaign to return both its steam locomotives — 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 and 2-8-0 No. 734 — to operation, with No. 1309 newly sidelined after the discovery it needs its pistons and rods replaced. The former Cheaspeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 has been the heritage railroad’s […]
B&O museum to begin “B&O Unlocked” series, opening equipment for the first time
BALTIMORE — Beginning Wednesday, the B&O Railroad Museum will launch its “B&O Unlocked” series, a 12-month program offering limited access to locomotives and railcars in the museum’s collection not previously open to the public. One piece from the museum’s collection will be open for three days each month between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., beginning […]
The South’s ultimate 4-8-4: Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Dixies
The 4-8-4 steam locomotive wheel arrangement was exemplified in the South by the Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Dixies. Of all the regions in the U.S., the South had the fewest of what might be called the ultimate dual-service “modern” steam locomotive, that is, engines with four-wheel trailing trucks, especially 4-8-4s. An agrarian […]
Model Railroader Hall of Fame nominees
The 90th anniversary year of Model Railroader magazine is off and running. In the January 2024 issue, Editor Eric White shared the news that we’re starting the Model Railroader Hall of Fame. Each month, we’ll present a slate of nominees. Inductees in the inaugural class will be announced in the December 2024 issue. This month, […]
Canada’s Waterloo Central purchases Canadian Pacific 4-6-2
WATERLOO, Ontario — The Waterloo Central Railway has purchased former Canadian Pacific Railway G5c 4-6-2 No. 1238 and intends to restore the locomotive to operation, according to the Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society, the nonprofit organization that operates the heritage railway. The locomotive was purchased for $150,000 from Vintage Locomotive Society Inc. of Winnipeg, Manitoba, […]
CSX’s eighth heritage locomotive honors the New York Central
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – CSX’s eighth heritage locomotive is a salute to the New York Central. The ES44AH, which carries No. 1853 for the Central’s founding year, made its debut today. It took the Waycross, Ga., paint shop crew 22 days to adorn the locomotive with the Central’s classic lightning stripe scheme. The New York Central […]
Wabash Railway history remembered
Wabash Railway history started with the Northern Cross, the first railroad in Illinois, in 1837. The term “Fallen Flag” first appeared in Trains in 1974, as the title for a series of thumbnail histories of merged-away railroads. The series began with the Wabash, and employed the road’s flag emblem outline to illustrate the series’ […]
Montreal Locomotive Works DL535E diesel locomotives
Montreal Locomotive Works DL535E diesel locomotives have proven to be versatile narrow-gauge haulers made famous by a garden railway staple. In 1969, American Locomotive Co. of Schenectady, N.Y., was building seven six-axle, 1,200-hp DL535E diesel locomotives, Nos. 101-107, for the White Pass & Yukon when the builder abruptly shut down its manufacturing operations. […]
Top 10 stories of 2023, No. 5: East Broad Top returns to steam
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — It was a breakout year for the East Broad Top narrow-gauge line in central Pennsylvania, already the Cinderella story of American steam railroads. Since its opening in 1873 as a 33-mile-long, common-carrier coal and ore line based in Rockhill Furnace, Pa., EBT has been shut down twice and rescued twice. In […]