Galveston Railroad Museum flood damage

Galveston Railroad Museum

Magma Arizona 2-8-0 No. 5, with No. 555 on its Vanderbilt tender, and Galveston Railroad Museum Executive Director Morris S. Gould. Gregory DL Morris A wood boxcar shows damage from flooding caused by Hurricane Ike in September 2008. Gregory DL Morris The Galveston Railroad Museum suffered about $8 million in damage in September 2008 when […]

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Railway preservation projects and funding in England

Flying Scotsman

The tender for the famous Flying Scotsman and the frame reside in the shop at the National Railway Museum in York, England, in September 2008. The boiler is under repair at another location. Trains: Jim Wrinn England has the good fortune to obtain money for railroad preservation projects from the Heritage Lottery Fund (through its […]

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BNSF grain shuttle

A Canadian National Railway conductor delivers a BNSF Railway grain train to New Coop in Knierim, Iowa, on March 5, 2007. The elevator gets BNSF grain shuttles by way of a haulage rights agreement over CN. […]

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50 years ago in railroad history: March 1959

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50 years ago in railroad history … A supplement to the Classic Trains Online Look Back e-mail newsletter The U.S. Supreme Court on March 2 upholds a lower court’s ruling not to interfere in the discontinuance of New York Central’s Weehawken-Cortland Street Hudson River ferries, paving the way for their last runs on March 24; […]

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Railroad story of the month: February 2009

A supplement to the Classic Trains Online Look Back e-mail newsletter Outfits I have known By Michael J. McLaughlin One of the most memorable aspects of my career in railroad maintenance of way is the “outfit.” An outfit was usually a collection of old revenue cars–both passenger and freight–converted to sleeping, cooking, shower, supply, tool, […]

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A look back in time: January 1959

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50 years ago in railroad history … A supplement to the Classic Trains Online Look Back e-mail newsletter Pullman car Ferdinand Magellan, modified to haul the President of the United States in 1942 and in POTUS ever since, is donated to the Florida Development Commission for display at the University of Miami; it later moved […]

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A Window in Thrums

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A window in Thrums By Steven Duff Thrums is a name that somehow resonates above most others, a name, as we say these days, that has Attitude. It is a Scottish word, immortalized in Sir James Barrie’s novel, A Window in Thrums, and is perpetuated in Canada by a small town in British Columbia. In […]

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Ask Trains from August 2005

Q Can you please explain the visual and mechanical differences among EMD’s SW-1500, MP15DC, and MP15AC switchers?– Andrew J. Jones, Wigan, England A Electro-Motive’s SW1500, MP15, and MP15AC were all 1,500-hp switchers, but the later MP series were significant upgrades to the older SW models. The SW1500, built 1966-1974, used a non-turbocharged 12-cylinder 645E engine. […]

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Ask Trains from December 2005

Q I saw an unclear photo of a Pennsylvania steam locomotive identified as an S2, with the number 6200. Two things caught my eye: the 6-8-6 wheel arrangement, and the absence of any visible cylinders or driving rods. What can you tell me about it?– J.H. Lehman, Dayton, Ohio A The 6200 was a one-of-a-kind […]

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Ask Trains from November 2005

Q I saw a big tank car (DUPX 29744) at Wilson, N.C. It was quite long, with four trucks. What products do these cars carry? How many are there, how heavy are they, and why so big? – D. Wescott, Wilson, N.C. A It is a 43,800-gallon, 526,000-pound (gross weight) car owned by DuPont, in […]

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