PARADISE, Pa. — Strasburg Rail Road’s 4-8-0 steam engine No. 475 collided with a tracked excavator or “trackhoe” parked on a spur Wednesday morning, Nov. 2, punching a hole in the engine’s smokebox. No injuries resulted and the engine, running light, remained on the track. A combination of a misaligned switch — apparently left open when […]
Railroad: Tourist Railroad
Seven injured when theme-park train derails in Missouri (updated)
BRANSON, Mo. — Seven people were injured Wednesday evening when a 2-foot gauge train derailed at the Silver Dollar City amusement park in Branson. The park said on its Twitter feed that six guests and one employee were transported by ambulance for medical treatment. Stone County Emergency Management Director Tom Stone said three cars from […]
Cuyahoga Valley Scenic cancels more trains because of trackside erosion
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad has had to cancel more excursion trains because of riverbank erosion along its route. All trains but the Cleveland Dinner and Event Train, which will operate on an abbreviated route, have been cancelled through Nov. 6. The dinner train will continue to run on Fridays through Oct. […]
Western Maryland Scenic No. 1309 powers benefit train for Altoona museum
CUMBERLAND, Md. — Echoing off the walls of the Cumberland Narrows, a Pennsylvania Railroad three-chime passenger whistle symbolized a new preservation partnership between the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, Pa., and the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad. An evening dinner train to benefit restoration of the museum’s PRR Class K4s 4-6-2 engine No. 1361 (Juniata Shops, […]
Locomotive loan allows Maine Narrow Gauge to keep operating
PORTLAND, Maine — When Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad’s GE diesel No. 1 came up lame last week, the railroad’s close relationship with the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway Museum proved its value. Without another locomotive, Maine Narrow Gauge annulled its trains on Tuesday. Learning of the problem, the WW&F offered its Plymouth diesel No. 52 […]
Riverbank erosion forces cancellation of some Cuyahoga Valley Scenic excursions
The National Park Service has closed portions of the tracks used by Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in Ohio due to significant erosion from the Cuyahoga River, the tourist railroad announced on Thursday. The closure will affect some of the CVSR’s excursion operations. For the weekend of Oct. 14, the Cleveland Dinner and Event Train will […]
Durango & Silverton employees help rescue missing hiker
DURANGO, Colo. – A Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad crew helped rescue a missing hiker on Monday. The Durango Herald reports that a passenger on a northbound train spotted a woman waving frantically from the opposite bank of the Animas River about five miles south of Silverton. The passenger notified the crew, which in […]
‘Friar Tuck’ and the East Broad Top
ROBERTSDALE, Pa. – “Little more, little more . . . Mush, you huskies! Ho!” With that chant, Gene Tucker urged his four-man volunteer crew at the narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad to squeeze a 60-pound rail into alignment just enough to slip a J-shaped “hook bar” into place to force the track gauge back […]
Lionel John Bull display set review
The Lionel John Bull display set is a historical piece from the 2021 Volume I catalog. The company cataloged this in three versions: the “Display Set” which features the engine and one coach on two flatcars; a Camden & Amboy set with three coaches; and a “What-if?” Uncle Sam (John Bull’s cartoon U.S. counterpart) set […]
Waterloo Central operates steam for Canada’s Thanksgiving
ST. JACOBS, Ontario — Heritage operator Waterloo Central Railway operated its 0-6-0 locomotive No. 9 on Canada’s Thanksgiving weekend for the first time in two years, following a two-year retrofit and its 10-year boiler inspection from Ontario’s Technical Standards and Safety Authority. The locomotive, built in 1923 by the Montreal Locomotive Works for the Essex […]
EBT opens the door on south portion of main line
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa.—The East Broad Top Railroad notched another first during the Oct. 7-9 annual gathering of its friends auxiliary group, carrying passengers on a mile of narrow gauge main line that’s been out of service for 66 years. As part of the Fall Reunion of the 1,777-member nonprofit Friends of the East Broad Top, EBT […]
Friends’ work week brings more progress
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. – Friends of the East Broad Top volunteers wrapped up a week’s worth of labor on Friday, Sept. 23, the group’s second week of concentrated effort this year. The crew ranged between 10 and 20 people, working in close coordination with the railroad’s own full-time employees, according to Andy Van Scyoc, Friends […]