Santa Fe’s Madame Queen deserves some love

Smoking steam locomotives with freight train in mountains

  Family road trips usually involve self-inflicted detours to see park steam engines, “stuffed and mounted” for the sake of local posterity. They’re usually easy to find, thanks to J. David Conrad’s standard reference “Steam Locomotive Directory of North America, Vols. I and II,” which I’ve consulted for decades, or, in a pinch, Google. A […]

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Meridian & Bigbee Railroad history

Black Meridian & Bigbee Railroad diesel locomotive passing small wooden station

The Meridian & Bigbee Railroad “possessed all the credentials required for admittance to the Typical Southern Short Line Club,” wrote J. Parker Lamb in Trains’ July 1959 issue. Those included secondhand steam locomotives, a leisurely schedule, and insufficient revenue tonnage. Yet, the road was able to overcome those deficiencies to become a sought-after bridge route […]

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NRHS awards 2023 Heritage Preservation grants

Logo of National Railway Historical Society

MOORESTOWN, N.J. — The National Railway Historical Society has awarded almost $125,000 to 25 organizations as part of its 2023 Railway Heritage Preservation Grants, supporting preservation of railroad-related artifacts and media. The awards total $124,950, and range from $2,500 to $10,000. The largest single grant this year, $10,000, was received by the Center for Railroad […]

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Pennsylvania’s Northern Central Railway to mark 10th anniversary

Modern recreation of 19th-century steam locomotive at wooden passenger station

NEW FREEDOM, Pa. — A 10th-anniversary “Ages of the Railroad” celebration is scheduled for this weekend, June 17-18, on the Northern Central Railway of York nonprofit tourist line in southeastern Pennsylvania. Highlights will include two operating steam locomotives and a diesel, with a range of passenger trips available over varying stretches of the railroad’s 17.5 […]

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New York tourist railway’s new flatcar has lengthy history

Flatcar with railings and seats added for open-air passenger use

CORINTH, N.Y. — The Saratoga Corinth & Hudson Railway has introduced its newest piece of equipment, a flatcar that proved to have an extensive and significant history. SC&H car No. 16151 was unveiled on June 3 for the Alco Historical & Technical Society’s annual “Alco Adventure” day. During restoration for use as an open-air excursion […]

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An engineer’s life: Mad Dog and the volcano

An image showing a young man in a plade shirt and red suspenders standing in front of a green diesel locomotive

The story of Mad Dog and the volcano starts on March 20, 1980. At 3:47 p.m. on that day, Mount St. Helens rumbled to life with an earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale. It was mostly unnoticed. Earthquakes often occur in Washington State, most are light enough not to be felt. Within a week […]

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