On the old BR&P

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At Du Bois, Pa., on Baltimore & Ohio’s former Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh lines, a B&O Pacific swings by Tower CM with Pittsburgh–Buffalo train 252, discontinued not long after this September 1955 photo. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Big Boy draws big crowds

Large steam locomotive pulling a passenger train around a curve. More of the Big Boy story.

DENVER—In what will most likely be its sole trip of 2022, Union Pacific No. 4014 — Big Boy — is attracting large crowds during a three-day excursion between Cheyenne, Wyo., and Denver. The proceeds from Sunday’s ticketed excursion will support the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Leading a 12-car train, including an […]

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Gulf, Mobile and Ohio locomotives remembered

Streamlined diesel locomotive seen from low angle

Please enjoy this photo gallery of Gulf, Mobile and Ohio locomotives selected from files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library.     The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was one of the first major railroads to completely dieselize, with the last steam locomotive dropping its fire in October 1949. The GM&O was an early Alco customer, […]

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Yosemite Valley train at El Portal

Yosemite Valley Railway at Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Valley Railway 4-4-0 No. 22 stands with a short train at El Portal, end of the line and gateway to Yosemite National Park, in 1940. YV ran 78 miles west to SP and Santa Fe connections at Merced, Calif.; its last run was in 1945. Harre W. Demoro photo […]

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Shay No. 7 and the log operating train

scale logs on a model log car

Shay No. 7 and the log operating train Name: Ray Wheeler Railroad Name: Jericho & Mt Zion Railway Location: Lynnwood, WA Scale: G scale Theme: Tourist railroad with freight operations in the modern era. Title: The E.V. Wheeler Timber Company Description: “The E.V. Wheeler Timber Company” – EVWT Shay #7 and log train operating on […]

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UP releases schedule for Big Boy trip

BigBoy_Speer_Wrinn

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific has released details of its excursion later this month with Big Boy No. 4014. In a message to members of its Steam Club, the Railroad says the 4-8-8-4 will depart Cheyenne for Denver on Thursday, July 28, at 10 a.m., with an intermediate stop in Greeley, Colo. The locomotive will […]

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Polished Ps-4

Southern Railway 4-6-2 in Washington, D.C.

Southern Railway 4-6-2 1395, one of the road’s class Ps-4 passenger engines revered for their handsome lines and green-and-gold livery, takes a passenger train out of Washington, D.C., in the late 1930s or ’40s. Walter H. Thrall photo […]

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A postwar Lionel haul unboxing

Postwar Lionel haul unboxing with Hal Miller and Roger Carp

A postwar Lionel haul unboxing featuring Roger “Professor” Carp and CTT editor Hal Miller. The trains belong to a co-worker who received them from her father. He received his first Lionel train in 1941 – in fact, we have his original no. 1089 set box! Have a look at some of the well-loved and time-worn […]

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Nocturnal steam at Cincinnati

New York Central Railroad 4-8-4 and Baltimore and Ohio 4-6-2 at Cincinnati Union Terminal

New York Central 4-8-4 6000 (left, the first of NYC’s famous Niagaras) and Baltimore & Ohio 4-6-2 5313 (one of B&O’s famous “President” Pacifics) simmer near Cincinnati Union Terminal one evening in September 1954. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Why I love the 2-8-4 Berkshire locomotive

Berkshire 2-8-4 locomotive: When I was a kid, my dad once showed me his childhood Lionel set. He had a Lionel no. 726RR Berkshire set with a few extra pieces stored in a metal crate. I never got to see it set up or operate, unfortunately. I had no idea what a Berkshire was back […]

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