Major 2010s steam locomotive restorations will take a look at five revived locomotives you have to know about. While preserved rail equipment is tweaked and repaired all the time, it is a rare event when a steam locomotive is overhauled and returned to service. Check out our list: Southern Railway No. 4501 Restoration completed in […]
Leaving Orbisonia, Pa., on a rainy day in February 2023, EBT steam locomotive No. 16 leads its first passenger train in nearly 67 years! To the delight of the East Broad Top Foundation, the new entity tasked with bringing this 2-8-2 back to life, No. 16 completed successful test runs in preparation for their Winter […]
Host David Popp has the track and cork roadbed in hand, so he’s all set for trackwork! Following good construction processes, David first surveys the various sites where tracks will route. You’ll see how to install roadbed along the main line roadbed, along the turntable lead tracks, under turnouts, and even over bridges! Follow along […]
Host David Popp has the track and cork roadbed in hand, so he’s all set for trackwork! Following good construction processes, David first surveys the various sites where tracks will route. You’ll see how to install roadbed along the main line roadbed, along the turntable lead tracks, under turnouts, and even over bridges! Follow along […]
ABILENE, Kan. — Sometimes, paperwork can be a good thing. The Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad has received positive news for its 2023 operating plans, learning it has one more year to operate its 1919 Baldwin 4-6-2, Santa Fe No. 3415, before the locomotive is sidelined for two years to undergo its federally mandated 15-year […]
Common questions about live steam locomotives: At model-train shows and garden-railway open houses, live-steam locomotives always seem to gather a crowd of interested onlookers. Our small steam locomotives are new to many people and questions naturally arise. I thought it would be worthwhile to answer some of the most common questions for those of you […]
ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — East Broad Top Railroad’s freshly restored 2-8-2 Mikado locomotive No. 16 delighted admirers over the weekend by pulling a full schedule of eight passenger trains and two photo freights for the road’s annual Winter Spectacular. All trains were sold out. The event was a landmark in several ways. First, No. 16 […]
Soo Line 4-6-2 2718 is at Sussex, Wis., with Minneapolis–Chicago local train No. 2 in a view from the late 1940s or early ’50s. Classic Trains coll. […]
Newly restored Santa Maria Valley 2-6-2 number 205 is under steam at the Albany and Eastern Railroad shops as the crew readies the locomotive for a photo charter the following day. We’ll follow the 205 as she is pressed into revenue freight service for a day, March 17, 2022. The Albany and Eastern operates 64 […]
One of Norfolk & Western’s powerful homebuilt Y6-class 2-8-8-2 Mallets drifts downgrade along the New River with eastbound freight at Narrows, Va., in mid-1954, when the N&W was still unsullied by diesels. W. A. Akin Jr. photo […]
Brass engine disassembly basics: When I was a kid, I’d go to the local hobby shop and drool over the brass steam locomotives in the glass display case near the cash register. I’d seen most of them in the Pacific Fast Mail advertisements that used to grace the back cover of Model Railroader, and here […]
Name: Western Maryland locomotive 1309 Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works Wheel arrangement: 2-6-6-2 Mallet (Articulated) Build date: November 1949 Why it’s important: The 1309 is one of the largest regularly operating steam locomotives in the United States. The big 2-6-6-2 originally belonged to the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, where it was one of 10 class H-6 compound articulated […]
