STEUBEN COUNTY, Ind. — Tickets have been released for the Fall Color Trains, scheduled to operate in Northeast Indiana and Southeast Michigan this October. Nickel Plate Road steam locomotive No. 765 of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society will serve as the main motive power for these all-day, round-trip excursions on the Indiana Northeastern Railroad […]
Type of Train: Steam Locomotive
The last PRR steam locomotive
On Sept. 3, 1958 – nearly a year after the Pennsylvania Railroad stopped using steam locomotives – PRR 0-6-0 5244 emerges from Union Transportation’s New Egypt enginehouse. UT used leased PRR steam engines from 1945 to 1959. Aaron G. Fryer photo […]
Lionel The Chessie Legacy Greenbrier
The Lionel The Chessie Legacy Greenbrier is big. It’s colorful. It’s a steam engine. Should steamers be colorful? Like it or not, fantasy paint schemes on them seem to be an attractive alternative to the prototypical (mostly) black models. This one was featured in 2022’s Volume 2 catalog. A look back at previous offerings indicates […]
Rio Grande mountain power
Huge Rio Grande 2-8-8-2 3615 storms across South Boulder Creek near Pinecliff, Colo., on the climb from Denver to the Moffat Tunnel in July 1941. John W. Maxwell photo […]
Gleaming SD9 reminds us of Nickel Plate Road’s big switch
Just when you think recent progress in railroad preservation can’t get any better — I’m thinking here of everything from Big Boy to Reading & Northern 2102 to Silvis Shops to Michigan Central Station — along comes another milestone that, if not quite a blockbuster, is still remarkable. Especially if you’re interested in diesel […]
Big Boy’s Home Run Replay (with video)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. 4014 made its 2023 debut in June and July with the Home Run Express to the NCAA Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Neb. Though a tradition for the Class I railroad to showcase its various equipment at the 12th Street display site outside Charles Schwab Field, […]
CP 4-6-4 No. 2816 to embark on Canada-U.S.-Mexico tour in 2024
CALGARY, Alberta – Mark your calendars for April 2024. That’s when Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 will embark on a celebratory tour of the Canadian Pacific Kansas City system from Calgary to Mexico City. The Final Spike Steam Tour will depart Calgary on April 14, the one-year anniversary of the merger of CP and Kansas […]
Steam locomotive No. 765 plays host to young campers
PLEASANT LAKE, Ind. — Nickel Plate Road No. 765 was under steam July 13-15 as the centerpiece of the first Indiana Railcamp in Pleasant Lake. Organized by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society under the Indiana Rail Experience banner, this pilot program hosted 20 campers — ranging between ages 13 and 17 — from the […]
Shay-It-Forward and the Silver Creek & Stephenson Charter
On June 25th, 2023, Trains Magazine sponsored their first photo special of the year at the Silver Creek and Stephenson Railroad in Freeport, Illinois. The event was timed to coincide with the Jim Wrinn Memorial Shay-It-Forward event at the Illinois Railway Museum. Let’s take a look at the weekend! […]
U.S. themed garden railroad in Australia
Garden railroad in Australia: I have been a model railroader in both N and HO scale, and then I discovered large scale. My other pastime is the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting, so I knew my theme would be the Wild West. Space was limited on my inner-city block, so I set up a basic […]
Locomotives We Love: Lionel Vision Line Big Boy
Chris Montagna is a Contributing Editor of Classic Toy Trains and operates the Chris’s Trains and Things channel on YouTube. What Toy Train Locomotive Means the Most to You? When I reflect on the locomotives in my collection it’s difficult to pinpoint just one that I love above the rest. I was recently asked this […]
Jack Burgess’ Yosemite Valley Railroad in HO scale
Jack Burgess’ Yosemite Valley Railroad in HO scale | Jack Burgess, a dedicated model railroad enthusiast, has masterfully recreated the Yosemite Valley Railroad, an iconic prototype railroad that operated in central California until 1947. Over the course of 31 years, Jack poured his heart into crafting an intricate and historically significant model railroad, capturing the […]