ELBE, Wash. — The Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad and Museum, shut down by owner American Heritage Railways in 2020 in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, will resume operation in 2024 or 2025, according to the executive director of the Western Forest Industries Museum. The Centralia Chronicle reports Forest Industries Museum Executive Director Bethan Maher […]
The rakish front end of a Milwaukee Road F7 4-6-4 hints at the locomotive’s famous potential for speed. MILW photo […]
“Been there. Done that.” In no way does this saying apply to standing trackside as Union Pacific No. 4014 — Big Boy — rumbles by. Every trip taken by the world’s largest operating steam locomotive is a new adventure. Here is a spectacle that doesn’t get old. It’s time for a Big Boy adventure. Although […]
SILVIS, Ill. — Canadian Pacific has donated the former Milwaukee Road twin-span turntable from Bensenville, Ill., to Railroading Heritage of Midwest America (RRHMA) for use at its Silvis shop complex. On Sept. 8, the turntable, constructed in 1937, was successfully split in two and loaded onto trucks for the move across Illinois to Silvis. Project […]
CUMBERLAND, Md. — Western Maryland Scenic Railroad excursions have been cancelled through Sept. 11 because of track damage caused by recent heavy rains, the Cumberland Times-News reports. Damage was confined to about 250 feet of track near the railroad’s shop and yard in Ridgeley, W.Va., on the West Virginia side of the North Branch Potomac […]
IRVINE, Ky. — The Kentucky Steam Heritage Corp. will purchase a full set of boiler tubes and flues from the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum in North Judson, Ind., for Kentucky Steam’s restoration of C&O 2-8-4 No. 2716. The collaboration, made possible through funds from the John H. Emery Rail Heritage Trust, will make use of […]
This softcover, perfectbound, 570-page reference book is an index for modeling Baltimore and Ohio locomotives. So, there are no photos therein, and only text. This is not a history book about the B&O, so it’s not the type of publication you’d sit down with a good cup of coffee and immerse yourself in B&O passenger […]
The 310-page book Narrow Gauge in the Tropics is a thorough examination of the railroads in the tropical islands of the Dutch or Netherlands East Indies, capturing the story behind the first railroad in Java where construction began in 1864. Java is the most populous and economically developed of the thousands of the Indian archipelago. […]
It makes good sense to maintain your large-scale equipment. Basic maintenance is the key to reliable operation. There are several simple things you can do to keep your trains running through the garden. Basic locomotive maintenance Many manufacturers include exploded drawings or written instructions on how to properly lubricate the gears. All moving parts should […]
Common name: Begonia Latin name: Begonia sp. Plant type: Annual USDA Hardiness Zones: 10-11; grown as an annual in lower zones Cultural needs: moist, well drained, neutral or slightly acidic soil; part shade Plant size: 18″ x 18″ Most begonias are true perennials, living on for years as houseplants or in tropical gardens. Usually we […]
Lionel’s 1926 Cardinals Train Set was kind of hidden in the pages of the 2021 Lionel Volume I “Big Book” behind the re-release of the 2-10-10-2; the Mohawks and Camelbacks; the Acela sets; and the Asa Packer, New Hope & Ivyland consists. It’s a high-end Legacy outfit that features a newly cataloged 4-6-2 Pacific steam […]
STRASBURG, Pa. — Famed Norfolk & Western J-class 4-8-4 No. 611 will return to steam this fall in a series of limited-time-only events announced by the Virginia Museum of Transportation, owners of the locomotive, and the Strasburg Rail Road, which together are completing the most recent federally required inspection of the 72-year-old locomotive. Among […]
