Still more Thursday morning rail news: Rocky Mountaineer to launch Colorado-Utah route in 2021 Canadian luxury train operator Rocky Mountaineer will launch a U.S. train in 2021. The “Rockies to the Red Rocks” service will be a two-day trip between Denver and Moab, Utah, with an overnight stay in Glenwood Springs, Colo. The company plans […]
Railroad: Tourist Railroad
Digest: Date, site set for trial seeking damages from Durango & Silverton for fire
Monday morning tourist railroad and preservation news: Trial seeking fire damages from Durango & Silverton to be held in Denver The trial in which the U.S. government will seek to recover $25 million from the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad for the cost of fighting a 2018 wildfire will take place in Denver, a […]
John Bush, Cumbres & Toltec president and GM, retires
CHAMA, N.M. — John Bush, president and general manager of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, is retiring after eight years overseeing the narrow gauge railroad. “John has been an incredible asset to the Cumbres & Toltec and has poured his heart and soul into the organization,” Dan Love, chairman of the Cumbres & Toltec […]
Pikes Peak railway provides first look at new equipment
PIKES PEAK, Colo. — The first images have been released of the Broadmoor Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway’s new locomotive-hauled trains under construction in Switzerland. The railroad first shared these images with Trains News Wire of the units, being built by Stadler. The new cars are due to be delivered this winter for testing. […]
Durango & Silverton gets federal grant to replace bridge
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad will receive a federal grant for more than $1.9 miilion to replace a bridge over the Animas River as part of the latest group of Department of Transportation Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grants announced by local politicians. The website Colorado Politics reports the grant request […]
Digest: Cumbres & Toltec resumes trips from Chama, N.M.
Still more Monday morning rail news: Cumbres & Toltec resumes trips from Chama The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is resuming trips out of Chama, N.M., as of today and plans to operate from Chama for a month. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that the railroad, which has had its operations significantly curtailed because […]
Norfolk Southern may idle additional hump yards
NORFOLK, Va. — Norfolk Southern CEO Jim Squires hinted today that the railroad may idle more hump yards. NS has shut down the humps at four classification yards in the past year — Allentown, Pa.; Sheffield, Ala; Linwood, N.C.; and Bellevue, Ohio — as its shift to a Precision Scheduled Railroading operating model reduces the […]
East Broad Top schedules September, October events
ORBISONIA, Pa. — The revitalized East Broad Top Railroad has announced several fall events, offering visitors several opportunities to visit the railroad, ride trains and enjoy a barbecue dinner. On Friday, Sept. 18, and Saturday, Sept. 19, 90-minute guided tours of the East Broad Top shops complex will be offered at 11 a.m. and 2 […]
Frame, running gear for SP locomotive arrive at Niles Canyon Railway
SUNOL, Calif. – The last major piece of a significant California steam locomotive has returned to the Golden State. On Wednesday, a truck delivered the frame and running gear for Southern Pacific 2-6-0 No. 1744 to the Pacific Locomotive Association. The 1901 Baldwin will be rebuilt for operation on the association’s Niles Canyon Railway. The […]
Digest: Durango & Silverton won’t run to Silverton this year
Saturday morning rail news: Durango & Silverton won’t reach Silverton in 2020 The Durango & Silverton has given up hopes of operating to Silverton this summer, and will continue operating excursions between Rockwood and Cascade for the remainder of the 2020 season. The Durango Herald reports the railroad will offer a minimum of five daily […]
With a splash of grape juice, East Broad Top returns to operation (corrected)
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — On Aug. 13, 1960, Millie Kovalchick smashed a bottle of Canada Dry ginger ale on the front coupler of East Broad Top Railroad 2-8-2 No. 12, officially reopening the East Broad Top as a tourist carrier. Sixty years to the day later, Millie Kovalchick Glinsky did it again — this time […]
Backdating the East Broad Top: how much is too much?
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — With rehabilitation and restoration of the East Broad Top Railroad under way, the EBT Foundation staff is beginning to deal with the issue of backdating. How far and how much should it change in order to give the property the appearance of its common-carrier days (1870s-1956)? A recent trip through Rockhill […]