DE SOTO, Mo. — Amtrak will add a Texas Eagle stop in De Soto, the De Soto city council announced at its meeting on Monday. The Leader newspaper reports that the announcement comes after a five-year campaign to gain the station stop. Council members have previously agreed to provide the matching funds necessary for construction […]
Zone & Region: Midwest
NYC’s Cincinnati Special comes home
J-1 Hudson 5270 brings New York Central’s Cincinnati Special from Cleveland into Cincinnati Union Terminal in September 1954. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Metra’s ‘Rails, Trails and Ales’ program returns on Heritage Corridor
CHICAGO — Metra’s “Rails, Trails and Ales” excursions on the Heritage Corridor line will return on six fall Saturdays beginning Sept. 9, marking the third straight year for the program offering Saturday rail outings on the normally weekday-only commuter line to Joliet. Three round trips will operate on each Saturday through Oct. 14, departing from […]
Indiana Rail Experience concludes summer schedule out of South Milford and Pleasant Lake, Ind.
SOUTH MILFORD, Ind. — The summer schedule of the Indiana Rail Experience’s 2023 season concluded on Aug. 19-20 with two excursions operating out of South Milford and Pleasant Lake, Ind. The Experience is a multi-year partnership between the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society and the Indiana Northeastern Railroad Co. The society’s Nickel Plate Road steam […]
Missabe 2-8-8-4s in the shop
Shopmen minister to a pair of giant 2-8-8-4s in Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range’s shop at Two Harbors, Minn., in September 1954. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Milwaukee class A Atlantic
Brand-new Milwaukee Road class A 4-4-2 No. 4 stands for a portrait at the road’s West Milwaukee Shops on Sept. 15, 1937. Alco built class As Nos. 1 and 2 in 1935, No. 3 in 1936, and No. 4 — the final one — in 1937. All were for the Hiawathas. Classic Trains coll. […]
The Hills Line with James McNab | A Firm Foam Foundation, Episode 14
The Hills Line host James McNab knows a good thing when he sees it! That’s why he’s eager to form the foundation for this portable HO scale layout using little more than foam insulation board commonly sold at home improvement stores. After crediting the pioneers of this technique, James shares how to work with this […]
L&N heavy Mikado 1852
L&N heavy Mikado 1852 A hostler tends to the fire of Louisville & Nashville class J-4 2-8-2 No. 1852 at South Louisville on Sept. 8, 1951. The 165 J-4 and J-4A USRA heavy Mikados of 1918–27 were the backbone of L&N’s freight fleet. Jack Fravert photo […]
Santa Fe No. 3415 at halfway point of its final operating season
ABILENE, Kan. — Steam locomotive No. 3415 is halfway through its 2023 operating season on the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad, the final year before the locomotive is slated to be taken out of service for its federally mandated 1,472-day inspection. Though the start of the season saw multiple sidelines to the 4-6-2 due to […]
Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society acquires depot
PLEASANT LAKE, Ind. — The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society has acquired the 141-year-old railroad station in Pleasant Lake to serve as headquarters for the Indiana Rail Experience, the tourist rail partnership of the society and the short line Indiana Northeastern Railroad. The acquisition was made possible through a grant to develop a station and […]
NS reaches settlement with OSHA, union over safety at East Palestine site
CLEVELAND — Norfolk Southern has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the union representing maintenance-of-way employees to improve safety at the site of the Feb. 3 East Palestine, Ohio, derailment, according to a Wednesday OSHA announcement. The settlement stems from OSHA enforcement inspections that began in March to […]
Enlarging an L&N turntable
In 1948, construction crews at Louisville & Nashville’s engine terminal in Hazard, Ky., work to enlarge the turntable to accommodate new class M-1 2-8-4s being built by Lima. The 98½-foot-long “Big Emmas” were the L&N’s largest locomotives. L&N photo […]