Monon Railroad history remembered

Red-and-gray and black-and-gold locomotives on trains from Monon Railroad history

Monon Railroad history is tied to Indiana state history.   Imagine a meandering Midwestern railway constructed through difficult, sparsely settled territory and soon bankrupt as a result, discovering upon completion that it had been built between the wrong cities. It would attempt to rectify early mistakes through expensive acquisitions of adjoining railroads, and trackage rights […]

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Largest 2-10-0 Decapod fleet: Pennsy’s I1 ‘Hippos’

Two steam locomotives lead a train through a city

The railroad with the largest 2-10-0 Decapod fleet should come as no surprise.   Throughout most of its history, the Pennsylvania Railroad called itself “The Standard Railroad of the World,” and yet in so many ways it was anything but “standard.” From position-light signals along its right-of-way to Belpaire boilers for its steam locomotives to […]

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Burlington Zephyr 9900 and its shiny legacy

Streamlined Burlington Zephyr 9900 train at station between freight cars

Burlington Zephyr 9900 left a shiny legacy on North American railroading that’s still evident today.   Zephyr! It’s a name in the world of American passenger trains that dates from 1934 and is still in use by Amtrak. Its pronunciation even has a fast sound to it.   Let’s do what Classic Trains does best: […]

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Monon Railroad diesel locomotives remembered

Four black-and-gold Monon Railroad diesel locomotives with freight train on curve

Monon Railroad diesel locomotives showed a variety of models from four builders.     The Monon began dieselizing after World War II in 1946. It opted for EMD F3 units for mainline freight and passenger service and with EMD BL2s and Alco RS2s for locals. An A-B-A set of F3s started as EMD demonstrators. The […]

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University of Wisconsin School of Engineering to offer three rail courses

MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s College of Engineering will offer three rail courses as part of its Interdisciplinary Professional Programs. The upcoming courses are: — Fundamentals of Railroad Bridge Inspection, April 18-20, offered in person or online. Those taking part will learn about the inspector’s responsibilities, compliance with regulations, training requirements, and types […]

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The Eiteljorg Museum’s Jingle Rails display

A train in front of a lodge in a canyon

For its 13th holiday season, the Eiteljorg Museum’s Jingle Rails showcased the American West in a whimsical fashion. Created by the team at Applied Imagination, the G gauge display featured miniature depictions of downtown Indianapolis along with landmarks of the western United States. Such features included Lucas Oil Stadium, Monument Circle, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone […]

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Minnesota museum to repaint Great Northern diesel

Green and white diesel

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Minnesota Transportation Museum will repaint its former Great Northern Railway SDP40 No. 325 into GN’s simplified orange and green color scheme, the museum announced to members. A museum member has agreed to fund the over $60,000 cost to have the engine repainted. MTM also has a large collection of GN […]

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Weather leads to cancellations for Southwest Chief, Empire Builder

Passenger train leaves rooster tail of snow as it runs on three-track main line

CHICAGO — Weather is taking its toll on current operations of Amtrak’s western long-distance trains. According to the Amtrak Alerts Twitter feed, the eastbound Chief scheduled to depart Los Angeles today (Wednesday, Feb. 22) has been cancelled due to severe weather conditions, while the westbound Chief that left Chicago on Tuesday, Feb. 21, will terminate […]

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