Fire danger pushes back Cumbres & Toltec’s opening day

Two steam locomotives leading train through fall colors

The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad has pushed back the start of its excursion season by nearly three weeks due to extreme wildfire danger. The 64-mile steam-powered narrow gauge railroad, owned by the states of New Mexico and Colorado, now aims to begin its season on July 1 rather than the previously scheduled June 11 […]

Read More…

An engineer and his steed

Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway Mogul 304

A Minneapolis & St. Louis engineer poses with his engine, Mogul 304, in mid-1946. He’s waiting at Minerva Junction, Iowa, to take his mixed train off the Story City Branch and on to the main line for the return to Marshalltown. William F. Armstrong photo […]

Read More…

Frisco steam to diesel transition

Man inspects front of four-unit streamlined diesel locomotive set

Frisco steam to diesel transition: The mid-20th century was a time of great change for U.S. railroads. They were in the midst of a great steam to diesel transition that would revolutionize the industry for generations to come. An example of how the diesel changed part of one railroad may be found on the rolling […]

Read More…

View from a boxcar door

Model figure inside of boxcar

View from a boxcar door 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 Description: “From A Boxcar Door” – Safety Film – Riding in an open boxcar on a J&MtZ extra freight train. (An unsafe practice!)  Music […]

Read More…

Work on East Broad Top 2-8-2 No. 16 nearing completion

Man inspecting portion of steam locomotive

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — Out of service for 66 years, East Broad Top narrow-gauge 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive No. 16 is getting close to operating again. Built for EBT by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1916, it’s one of six surviving BLW Mikados on the roster of the iconic short-line railroad in central Pennsylvania, which has […]

Read More…

American Flyer S gauge Pacific a great addition to the lineup

American Flyer S gauge Pacific Baltimore & Ohio

The 2021 Lionel American Flyer catalog announced the production of a Legacy-equipped light 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive. It was exciting to hear the tooling for it was going to be used again; the company produced a number of models of these United States Railroad Administration-designed engines from 2006 to 2008 as well as a light 2-8-2 […]

Read More…

East Broad Top team brings history to life: Analysis

When East Broad Top General Manager Brad Esposito was cleaning up rock salt in a shed at the railroad’s shop complex last year, he didn’t bat an eye when he realized he was standing on wooden crates marked “dynamite.” After all, the EBT stored just about anything in dynamite crates that had been emptied at […]

Read More…