RTA to assume ownership of Detroit QLine streetcar

Advertising-wrapped blue streetcar on city street

  DETROIT – The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan will acquire ownership and control of the Detroit QLine streetcar, Detroit Free Press reports. The deal was approved on Sept. 19 and will be effective Oct. 1.   The QLine began as M-1 RAIL, a non-profit organization formed in 2007 to lead the design, construction, and […]

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Michigan City Quiet Zone approved on South Shore Line

Bilevel electric train approaches banner strumng across tracks

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. — The Federal Railroad Administration has approved the pending South Shore Line Michigan City quiet zone. Horns in the city will cease on Oct. 21.   “We are pleased to finally have the approval for the Quiet Zone,” Michigan City Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch says. “This is something I helped champion for our […]

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US Senator urges CSX to reconsider operating changes in Cleveland

Train under signal bridge coming out of setting sun

CLEVELAND – Ohio’s Democratic Senator urges CSX to reconsider its decision to reduce its crew base at Collinwood Yard in Cleveland and reassign workers to terminals at Willard, Ohio, and Buffalo, N.Y., saying the decision is bad for railroaders and operations. U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, in a letter to CSX President and CEO Joseph Hinrichs, […]

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Museum restores Erie Mining hi-rail car

Yellow restored Erie Mining hi-rail car indoors

  DULUTH, Minn. – The Lake Superior Railroad Museum has restored a former Erie Mining hi-rail car — a 1957 Pontiac — to service. The Pontiac Chieftain station wagon was put into service in 1957 on Erie Mining Co.’s 74-mile main line between Hoyt Lakes and Taconite Harbor.   The vehicle traveled an estimated 110,000 […]

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The farmer’s frying pan

Black and white photo of Chicago & North Western SD45 pulling a freight train. The farmer's frying pan.

Four decades later, I still chuckle when I think about the grouchy old farmer who jumped on my locomotive at a central Iowa grade crossing, cast iron fry pan in hand, and cussed me out like he was a drunken sailor! It was summer 1979. I had been a qualified Chicago & North Western Railway […]

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Spaces to Places VI | Fixing a wayward waterway, part 3

Gerry is back to reworking the river scene on his HO scale Bona Vista HO scale double-deck model railroad. As he heads for the homestretch, our host shares tips and tricks for making the new river bed easy to install (and remove); modifying bridge abutments; building the bridge itself; and then finally forming the river […]

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Detroit commuter trains remembered

Steam locomotive with Detroit commuter trains under high-tension power lines

Detroit once had a robust passenger-train network that included two commuter routes that survived into the early 1980s. But when public funding of those trains ended, so did the Detroit commuter trains.     Grand Trunk Western began Detroit-Pontiac commuter service on Aug. 1, 1931. Steam locomotives pulled some of the three daily roundtrips until […]

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Railroading Heritage of Midwest America to host Tractors & Trains

Two steam locomotives in shop building

SILVIS, Ill. — Initially announced on Sept. 1, the Railroading Heritage of Midwest America’s (RRHMA) upcoming Tractors & Trains event, scheduled Oct. 18-19, now has a new layer of excitement brewing. A Sept. 13 announcement headlines plans for the non-profit organization to unveil its latest acquisition that’s touted as a rare piece of railroading history. […]

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Nickel Plate Road No. 765 rolls out for Rolling Victory (updated)

Steam locomotive with World War II reenactors and vehicles

PLEASANT LAKE, Ind. — Labor Day concluded the summer schedule for Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society’s Indiana Rail Experience. The sendoff during the three-day weekend was the Rolling Victory event in Pleasant Lake, billed as a World War II experience with reenactors, displayed equipment, battle reenactments, big band dance, train rides, and Nickel Plate Road […]

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Using the Lionel Base3 on large club-size layouts

Grey control box sitting on a counter with large layout in the background.

In July of 2024, Lionel Trains’ long-awaited Base3 arrived in stores, homes, and our own Firecrown office here in Brookfield, Wis. This new command control takes all of the manufacturer’s previous systems in a backwards-compatible manner and centralizes them into one package. Out of this sole setup, you can control Lionel Legacy, TMCC, LionChief, LionChief+, […]

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About that ‘Mohawk’ book cover

The photo is at once ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary because the photographer had to grab it on the fly, shooting a low-angle wedge shot in low light as a New York Central steam locomotive snuck up on him out of nowhere. The photo is a bit dark and shows little of its creator’s compositional genius. […]

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Memorable train rides: VIA Rail Canada ‘Ocean’

Trains.com Kent Johnson’s pick: VIA Rail Canada Ocean Name of train: Ocean, Train No. 14 The route: Montréal, Quebéc to Halifax, Nova Scotia Duration: ~22 hours (one night, one day), tri-weekly service Waylaid by wet leaves on the rails, VIA Rail’s No. 14 eastbound Ocean arrives hours late into Moncton, N.B., Canada, on Oct. 19, […]

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