Connaught Tunnel

View of tunnel portal off rear platform of passenger car

Connaught Tunnel Observation cars afforded a fine view of the Canadian Pacific’s engineering landmarks. This August 1942 photo shows the west portal and ventilation equipment of Connaught Tunnel on Rogers Pass in British Columbia. Andre Morin photo […]

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Western Pacific Railroad: passenger trains

GP1607011

  All through August 2021, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and legacy of the Western Pacific Railroad. In this article, please enjoy a photo gallery of Western Pacific Railroad passenger trains in their prime. This gallery was first published in July 2016. Only from Classic Trains! […]

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Wabtec locomotive remanufacturing program completes 1,000th unit

Two black locomotives, one weathered, the other new and shiny

FORT WORTH, Texas — Wabtec has reached a milestone, completing its 1,000th remanufactured locomotive at plants in Fort Worth; Erie, Pa.; and Contagem, Brazil, since the program’s start in 2015. Norfolk Southern has received 500 of the locomotives since contracting with Wabtec to take 1990s-vintage, 4,000-hp, D.C. traction GE Dash 9 locomotives and rebuild them into […]

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Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern working to clear intermodal congestion

WASHINGTON — Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern told federal regulators today that congestion in their busiest international intermodal terminals has been due to disruptions that are beyond their control. Both railroads have taken steps to limit the flow of containers, particularly to their terminals in Chicago, where bottlenecks have arisen from an unprecedented combination of […]

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Analysis: STB affirms Amtrak’s right to pursue New Orleans-Mobile service

Crowd at train platform including woman holding sign, "Bay St. Louis loves Amtrak"

WASHINGTON—Calling the issue “ripe for adjudication,” the Surface Transportation Board has agreed with Amtrak’s request for expedited hearings to determine what, if any, infrastructure improvements must occur before it can begin operating between New Orleans and Mobile, Ala. Amtrak had sought to start two daily round trips along the Norfolk Southern-CSX Transportation route in January […]

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New England passenger authority backs CSX acquisition of Pan Am Railways

Passenger train passing through trees

WASHINGTON – The Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which sponsors Amtrak’s Downeaster service between Brunswick, Maine, and Boston, says it backs CSX Transportation’s proposed acquisition of Pan Am Railways. Amtrak’s Downeaster uses Pan Am trackage from the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border to Portland, Maine, and on to the passenger service terminus at Brunswick. The passenger […]

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Final environmental statement released for Uinta Basin project

Map showing proposed rail route in Utah

WASHINGTON — The Surface Transportation Board’s Office of Environmental Analysis has released its final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Uinta Basin Railway, and selected the Whitmore Park Alternative as the environmentally preferred route for the approximately 85-mile rail line to serve a remote portion of northeastern Utah. The 637-page environmental document, accompanied by more […]

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A busy engine shop, a peaceful river crossing, a river in the Steel City, and other model railroad photos

A maintenance crew works on a pair of diesel locomotives outside a shiny corrugated metal maintenance building

Trackside Photos is a showcase for the work of Model Railroader readers. Send your photos (digital images 5 megapixels or larger) to: Model Railroader, Trackside Photos, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612; or upload them to http://fileupload.kalmbach.com/contribute. For our photo submission guidelines, contact associate editor Steven Otte at sotte@mrmag.com. […]

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Locomotive flue sheets are essential for steam engines

Looking down the nose of a steam locomotive and a honeycomb appearance of steel tubes.

Locomotive flue sheets are an important component in a steam locomotive’s design. The steam-generating part of every conventional steam locomotive consisted of three elements — the firebox where the fuel was burned to provide the heat, the boiler itself where water was converted into steam, and the smokebox where the exhaust from the engine was […]

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