Here are five traits of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton that made it special. The DT&I was formed in 1905 with the combination of the Detroit Southern and Ohio Southern railroads. In 1920, automobile tycoon Henry Ford acquired the road, popularly to ensure a new River Rouge bridge could be built to ensure water […]
Chicago & Eastern Illinois history was special to those to watched the railroad firsthand. In the pantheon of great railroad names, “Chicago” was so often the magic word. Think of all the carriers with Chicago on their letterhead, railroads with thousands of miles on their system maps, railroads whose names imply vast, continental […]
Up in June … Railfan Road: Chicago’s Cicero Avenue Roosevelt Road used to be THE Chicago railfan road. On less than a mile of viaducts just south of downtown, fans could catch passenger trains to and from many of the great Chicago passenger stations and associated coach yards. But intercity trains now only call at […]
Holiday trains & Polar Express Train Rides (2024) Holiday trains & Polar Express Train Rides (2024): It’s never too early to start planning for a magical train ride with family and friends — especially when tickets go on sale during the spring and summer for some venues. Purchasing a ticket for a holiday ride on […]
Final Spike Steam Tour On Thursday, May 9, 2024, Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railroad’s Class H-1b Hudson No. 2816 continued its Final Spike Steam Tour operating over former Milwaukee Road trackage into Iowa following a display day in Franklin Park, Ill. The 4-6-4 and the CPKC executive train rolled west across the old Milwaukee Road […]
Railfan Road: Virginia’s 460 has all the elements: tracks generally within sight, a legendary grade, interesting endpoints, rail attractions along the way, and reasonable train density (including two Amtrak routes). Some unique cuisine and non-rail history along the way even make it palatable for the non-railfans in the car. The 225-mile trip between Roanoke and […]
What was your first byline in Trains? Mike Wilson: My first byline in Trains was “Winter in Coal Country,” published in January 2022 featuring an in-depth look at the former Norfolk & Western, now Norfolk Southern, Pocahontas Division within the backwoods of southern Virginia and West Virginia. In my humble opinion, the Pocahontas Division serves […]
Yogo Peak, at 8,812 feet above sea level, is located in the Little Belt Mountains on the Judith Basin between Lewiston and Great Falls, Mont. Winding its way through the basin is a tributary of the Missouri River known as the Musselshell River, named by the Lewis & Clark Expedition in 1805 for its abundance […]
From tourist line operations to a transnational tour, see which of these big locomotives will be in steam and a must-see for 2024! Additional locomotives and schedules are expected to be added throughout the year based on upcoming news and announcements. Check back regularly for the most up-to-date list of the must-see big steam for […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — Strasburg Rail Road has named Eric Hoerner, a Lancaster, Pa., business executive, as its board chairman and interim president, following the Feb. 26 resignation of the steam tourist line’s president and general manager, Jim Hager. Hoerner becomes the fifth person since 2018 to lead the 192-year-old short line. He is founder, partner, and […]
A railroad study in snow On Jan. 15, 1885, Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley, a farmer from Jericho, Vt., became the first person to successfully photograph a single snow crystal — a snowflake. Bentley, in his study of snow, went on to capture images of more than 5,000 individual snowflakes, finding that, in fact, no two were […]
Railroad reporting marks Railroad cars are identified by two, three, or four letters and by a number of up to six digits. The letters, known as reporting marks, indicate the owner of the car, while the number places it in the owner’s fleet. Reporting marks ending in X indicate ownership by a private concern as […]
