Cumbres & Toltec seeing high demand for fall-colors trips

Cumbres_Toltec_Lassen

CHAMA, N.M. — Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad excursions this fall are selling quickly, the railroad reports, with some September dates almost sold out in all ticket classes and Parlor class seating available for only three dates in the entire month. “Autumn is always a popular time to ride the Cumbres & Toltec,” Scott Gibbs, […]

Read More…

White Pass & Yukon workers ratify new agreement

Black and red narrow-gauge diesel with mountain backdrop

SKAGWAY, Alaska — Union operating crews at the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway have ratified a new agreement, ending the prospect of a strike that could have disrupted the end of the tourist railroad’s 2023 operating season. KTOO reports the railroad and members of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation […]

Read More…

Canada’s Cando Rail to develop battery switcher

Green and gray switching locomotive with extended-height cab

EDMONTON, Alberta — Cando Rail & Terminals — the Canadian company which operates shortlines, terminals and transload facilities, and handles industrial switching, among a wide variety of rail services — will develop a battery-electric switcher. The company announced Thursday that it plans to retrofit a legacy, non-tier compliant diesel with a lithium-ion propulsion system for […]

Read More…

White Pass & Yukon, SMART-TD announce tentative agreement

Yellow and green diesel with vintage-style passenger cars on narrow-gauge track

SKAGWAY, Alaska — The White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad and the union representing its train and engine workers have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, the two sides announced Tuesday. The agreement, which would run through 2027, is subject to ratification by the more than two dozen employees represented by the International […]

Read More…

White Pass & Yukon operating employees vote to strike

WhitePass_Diesels_Johnston

SKAGWAY, Alaska — Operating personnel on the White Pass & Yukon Route have voted to authorize a strike, according to their union’s website. Members of International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers-Transportation Division (SMART-TD) Local 1626 authorized the strike in voting last week. The union says it has been negotiating with the […]

Read More…

C&NW narrow-gauge Mogul

20160705

Chicago & North Western 3-foot-gauge Mogul No. 279 stands at Fennimore, Wis., in 1925. Known as “The Dinky,” the North Western’s narrow-gauge line ran 16.4 miles from a C&NW standard-gauge connection at Fennimore to Woodman, on the Milwaukee Road’s Madison–Prairie du Chien, Wis., line. One of the last slim-gauge lines in the Midwest, The Dinky […]

Read More…

Workers strike at Canada’s National Steel Car

White end-cab switcher moves cars

HAMILTON, Ontario — About 1,500 workers are on strike at railcar manufacturer National Steel Car, the Hamilton Spectator reports. The workers, represented by United Steelworkers Local 7135, walked out on Thursday, June 29. Local president Frank Crowder told the newspaper via email that “significant issues,” including wages, remain on the table. The company’s latest offer […]

Read More…

SP’s “Slim Princess”

20160608

Southern Pacific narrow-gauge 4-6-0 No. 22 nears Keeler, Calif., with a freight in May 1940. The Ten-Wheeler was originally Florence & Cripple Creek No. 22, an 1899 product of Schenectady, and then became Nevada-California-Oregon No. 22 before the equipment was relettered for the SP. F.J. Peterson photo […]

Read More…

Railroad memories on vinyl records

Group photo of railroad-themed LPs on white background

Today, it’s easier than ever to railfan without leaving the comfort of your home. Kalmbach Media is one of several companies that offers DVDs on various prototype subjects. If you prefer seeing trains in real time, you can watch any number of railfan webcams, such as the one Trains magazine has at Rochelle, Ill. This […]

Read More…

Owner of Beech Mountain Railroad prepares to close mine

Blue Alco end-cab switcher moves hopper cars in forested area

ALEXANDER, W.Va. — The Carter-Roag Coal Co. plans to close its Morgan Camp mine, the last coal mine in Randolph County, W.Va., as well as the Star Bridge coal preparation plant, likely spelling the end of the company’s Beech Mountain Railroad. Local news reports say Carter-Roag, a subsidiary of United Coal Co., announced last week […]

Read More…