Major railroad labor disputes haunted the nation during the latter part of the 19th century, highlighted by the “Great Railroad Strike,” which spread from Maryland to California in 1877 and the Pullman Strike 17 years later. Both of these bitter conflicts led to multiple deaths and costly physical destruction. The Shopmen’s Strike of 1922-23, however, […]
Train Topic: History
PRR steam engine operating at Williams Grove
GRANTHAM, Pa. — With steam-locomotive giants like Western Maryland Scenic 2-6-6-2 engine No. 1309 and Reading & Northern Class T-1 4-8-4 engine No. 2102 grabbing all the attention in the East this year, one historic steam operation in the region is flying under the radar — as it usually does. And it’s in the midst […]
The Trains Interview: Preservation priorities
World events the past two years have kept people from doing what they enjoy. Communities have endured a near-two-year-long pandemic and are navigating the highest inflation in 40 years. Conflict overseas is rattling economies and threatening financial stability. Such events underscore the need for rail preservation groups, who rely on those to share in their […]
B&O E7 diesels on POTUS special
Baltimore & Ohio E7 diesels in A-B-A formation head a train carrying President Truman, on the campaign trail for re-election, at Gary, Ind., on Oct. 25, 1948. B&O photo […]
Thomas T. Taber III, author and historian, dies at 93
Thomas T. “Tom” Taber III, 93, of Muncy, Pa., author of numerous railroad books, died Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, at Hillside Senior Living Center in Montoursville, Pa. A Life Member of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, he had been active in the organization since his childhood when he accompanied his father, Thomas T. Taber, […]
EMD holds 100th anniversary event at Illinois Railway Museum (updated)
UNION, Ill. — Under leaden skies, rainwater pools on the walkway of Progress Rail EMDX SD70ACe-T4 demonstrator No. 7723. On the passenger platform at the Illinois Railway Museum, a much earlier product of Electro-Motive Division rolls to a stop with the museum’s caboose train. Its rain-soaked carbody shining, SD24 No. 504, built in 1959 for […]
Inside Amtrak’s Amfleet cars
Amtrak Amfleet cars were the first of the National Passenger Railroad Corporation’s own passenger cars in the 1970s. They were and are, useful, flexible cars that have served the railroad for decades. Did you know these facts about Amfleet cars? The cars were initially billed as “the Amfleet,” but “the” was quickly dropped as trains […]
Western Maryland Scenic schedules benefit for PRR No. 1361 restoration
CUMBERLAND, Md. — The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad will hold a steam-powered fundraiser Oct. 14 to benefit restoration of the Railroaders Memorial Museum’s Pennsylvania Railroad K4s-class 4-6-2 steam locomotive No. 1361, based in Altoona, Pa. An evening dinner train will be pulled by WMSR’s ex-Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 2-6-6-2 engine No. 1309 (Baldwin, 1949), temporarily […]
Wichita Falls, Texas, may dispose of most equipment from defunct rail museum
WICHITA FALLS, Texas — The city of Wichita Falls should get rid of most of the rolling stock from its defunct railroad museum, an official from the community’s history museum has recommended. The Times Record News reports Madeleine Calcote-Garcia, director of the Museum of North Texas History, made the recommendation at a Tuesday city council […]
Five receive R&LHS Railroad History honors
The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society has announced pandemic-delayed winners of its Railroad History awards for 2020, as well as one award for 2019. The awards recognize senior achievement, photography, and book and magazine authors. Winners for 2020 are John P. Hankey of Omaha, Neb., Gerald M. Best Senior Achievement Award; Brian Solomon of Center […]
News photo: Demolition of Deshler, Ohio, station begins
DESHLER, Ohio — After years of neglect, the former Baltimore & Ohio railroad station in Deshler, the community known as “Crossroads of the B&O,” is coming down. The building last saw a passenger train in 1971, has been closed since the 1990s, and was damaged by a coal hopper in an April 2002 derailment. The […]
Five receive R&LHS scholarships
Five students have received scholarship awards for 2022 from the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society. The awards, to graduate or upper-level graduate students studying railroad history, engineering, or operations, are each worth $3,000. They are given in the name of railroad historians who endowed the awards: Professor George W. Hilton, Edward T. Myers, and Bruce […]