Mind-blowing Conrail facts Arguably, the Consolidated Rail Corp. story is one of the darkest and yet brightest chapters in American railroad history. Consolidated Rail Corp. or Conrail — originally spelled ConRail — was the government-led and financially backed bailout of six Northeastern railroads. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the demise of the Penn […]
LOMBARD, Ill. — BNSF Railway’s plans for a major new facility in Barstow, Calif., represent the continuing evolution of the railroad’s efforts to improve the intermodal supply chain, says CEO Katie Farmer. The railroad’s plans for the Barstow International Gateway, a $1.5 billion, 4,500-acre terminal in Southern California, builds on the development of earlier Logistics […]
EVANSTON, Wyo. — While restoration of Union Pacific Challenger No. 3985 and 2-10-2 No. 5511 in Silvis, Ill., has grabbed headlines, there are at least two other Union Pacific steam locomotives currently undergoing return to operating condition. One that has really flown under the radar is UP S-4 Class 0-6-0 No. 4420 at the UP […]
Traveling through the mountains Having never visited Canada before September and thus never having an opinion of the Canadian Rockies, except visualizing something like Colorado, my first brush with Canada revealed I frivolously misperceived the legitimacy of its mountain railroad scene. New realizations Prior to several realizations, this experience brought me to Calgary on Canadian […]
Most users of Milwaukee’s Oak Leaf Trail running from the Lake Michigan shoreline in downtown Milwaukee northwest through the city are aware, or could easily guess, they are using an old railroad right of way. Few realize this was once the route of one of the fastest long-distance passenger trains in the world — the […]
California Zephyr day trip to Winter Park Amtrak’s California Zephyr is irrefutably one of the passenger railroad’s most picturesque and famed routes, for rail enthusiasts and historians alike. And thanks to the California Zephyr schedule today, passengers can enjoy a beautiful segment of the route in a single day and mostly in daylight hours year-round. […]
Mind-blowing Chessie facts Mind-blowing Chessie facts: What began as a simple etching of a sleeping kitten, blossomed into one of America’s most-loved corporate symbols. This is the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway’s Chessie Cat. Trains collectionAmerican businesses have fostered a plethora of advertising characters attempting to endear us to their products and entice us to purchase […]
An Amtrak Capitol Limited day trip from Pittsburgh is one of the few Amtrak journeys with single-day, round-trip offerings featuring Class I railroading across a famous mountain pass and a second train-riding experience involving a recently restored Mallet steam locomotive. Yes, Amtrak’s Capitol Limited between Pittsburgh, and Cumberland, Md., offers this and more on its […]
Model Conrail passenger trains. You read that right. Yes, you can model Conrail passenger trains prototypically. You are limited to the area roughly between Chicago and Connecticut, north to Detroit south to Philadelphia with highlights in and around New York City, New Jersey, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. But oh, what a big box to dabble in. […]
CALGARY – Canadian Pacific has set the details for a concert to be live-streamed as part of its virtual version of the CP Holiday Train. The Dec. 18 event, dubbed the “CP Holiday Train at Home” concert, will originate from the train’s cars in Calgary. It is part of CP’s continuing charity efforts with the […]
A lightweight Pullman-Standard coach that saw service on the Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Union Pacific, and others is available in N scale for the first time thanks to RailSmith Models. Built to PS plan 7510 starting in June 1946, these 56-seat day coaches replaced heavyweight coaches on name trains after World War II. A streamlined […]
History of the Seaboard Air Line The Seaboard’s beginnings date to 1832, when the Portsmouth & Roanoke was chartered to build from Portsmouth, Va., to Weldon, N.C. Opened in 1834 the companies’ backers saw great potential to link the North with the South’s agricultural and forest products and with its developing potential for industry. P&R […]
