Chicago’s hot spots

If you want to know railroads, you’ve got to know Chicago. And Trains Magazine takes you there in its July 2003 Special Issue. You’ll see how 500 freight trains a day thread their way through the city, check in at the 30 active interlocking towers, pay homage to the city’s six great passenger stations, and […]

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Fort Worth, Texas (Tower 55)

Tower 55 in Fort Worth, where the T&P crosses UP and BNSF lines, is one of four Texas locations profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below for Tower 55 information. DescriptionGrade-level crossing of double-track Union Pacific (ex-Texas & Pacific) and single-track BNSF Railway (ex-AT&SF) […]

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Hutchinson, Kans.

Hutchinson, Kans., is generally thought of as a town to pass through, not a point of final destination. As rail enthusiasts and photographers head west to Curtis Hill, or follow the Union Pacific’s trackage into the southwest, they’re likely to pass through thinking it’s just a good place for gas and food. But “Hutch” offers […]

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Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

TRAIN-WATCHING HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TWIN CITIES HIAWATHA LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT LINE Runs from: Warehouse District/Hennepin Ave. in downtown Minneapolis along Hiawatha Avenue to MSP International Airport and Mall of America in Bloomington, 11.6 miles. Train frequency: Trains run daily, every 7-8 minutes during rush hours, every 10 minutes between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, every […]

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Rio Grande railfanning

Think “Rio Grande” and one imagines long freights grinding through the tunnels and screeching around the tight curves of the Front Range, or coal drags with multiple helpers creeping up Soldier Summit or winding through the double horseshoe at Gilluly. Not as frequently considered, yet almost entirely accessible end-to-end, is the stretch from Dotsero, at […]

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Shreveport, La. (Texas Junction)

Shreveport is profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below for Shreveport information. Site: Shreveport, Louisiana Popular Name: Texas Junction Location: Louisiana B-1 (Rand McNally Atlas) Directions: 10 miles northwest of downtown Shreveport. From I-220 (a freeway loop around the north side of Shreveport), exit […]

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Soldier Summit, Utah

Soldier Summit is one of two sites in Utah profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below for Soldier Summit information. DescriptionDouble-track main line of Union Pacific’s ex-Denver & Rio Grande Western line over the Wasatch Mountains, used jointly by UP and the Utah Railway. […]

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Spokane, Wash., a railfanning hotspot

Eastbound BNSF freights from Seattle descend into Spokane on the Indian Canyon Bridge, part of a 1970s relocation of the ex-Great Northern main line. Bruce Kelly Spokane is one of three Washington state locales profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Description Spokane is the busy […]

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Texarkana, Texas

Texarkana is one of four sites in Texas profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below for Texarkana information. Site: Texarkana, Texas Nearest Cities: Dallas (186 miles southwest); Shreveport, La. (71 miles southeast) Popular Name: Tower 42 Location: Texas/Eastern EC-12 (Rand McNally Atlas) Directions: About […]

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Tulsa, Okla.

Tulsa-Sapulpa Union No. 104 borrows a page from the story ” The Little Engine that Could.” Hal Miller Tulsa, Okla. is served by two Class 1 railroads, three short lines, and two industrial operations. TRAINS Magazine profiled two of Tulsa’s hometown short lines in its April 2001 issue. See below for some information on Tulsa’s […]

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Weber Canyon, Utah

Ogden is still a busy railroad town with main lines approaching from four different directions. From the east, Union Pacific reaches Ogden through 40-mile Weber Canyon (pronounced “WEE-ber.”) It’s one of two Utah hot spots profiled in Kalmbach Publishing’s Guide to North American Railroad Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below: […]

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Metra

Slant-nosed Metra F40PH-2Ms are seen powering Rock Island district trains, approaching Chicago’s LaSalle St. Station on December 15, 1997. Howard Ande Commuter trains have long been a part of Chicago’s railroad scene, appropriately enough for the railroad capital of the world. Illinois Central, the first railroad west of New York and Philadelphia to offer commuter […]

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