ORLANDO, Fla. — Brightline will resume 110-mph testing on the coastal portion of its extension to Orlando this Friday, Jan. 6, a process scheduled to continue in Martin and St. Lucie counties through Monday, Jan. 23. Testing on the 11-mile stretch of track will occur between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Flaggers and law enforcement […]
The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society will recognize magazine writing about passenger rail service with the latest addition to its Railroad History Awards. The William F. Howes Jr. Passenger Rail Article Award becomes the seventh category of the awards program, which began in 1982. Howes, a career railroad official with the Baltimore & Ohio railroad […]
Enjoy this North Shore passenger service photo gallery selected from among the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Moran Library. This gallery celebrates the history, heritage, and Electro-glamour that was the high-speed North Shore interurban railroad. This North Shore passenger service photo gallery was first published in August 2015. […]
Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee history is tied to the transit needs of Chicago and Milwaukee. In 1891 the Waukegan & North Shore Rapid Transit Co. was incorporated — a trolley line for the city of Waukegan, Ill., on the shore of Lake Michigan, 36 miles north of Chicago. In 1897, by which time it […]
The Morrison-Knudsen MK5000C was but a footnote to 1990s locomotive history. It kind of resembled an EMD six-axle road switcher. Or maybe a GE/Wabtec unit. But the cab didn’t quite seem to fit either one. It looked brutish, well-defined, powerful, and ready to pull as many cars as you could couple to it. […]
The best-selling Alco diesel locomotives came from the switcher, cab unit, and road switcher product lines. The American Locomotive Co. was North America’s second-largest manufacturer of steam locomotives. The company began making the transition to internal combustion early, building diesel locomotives in the 1920s while continuing to build steam locomotives (which it did until 1948). […]
New York Central’s 20th Century Limited was dubbed “The Greatest Train Ever Made.” In the first half of the 20th century, New York and Chicago were the two largest, most dynamic cities in the U.S. and titans of commerce. Big business demanded in-person company meetings, thus the need for fast travel between New York and […]
The biggest 4-6-2 Pacific came from a surprisingly small railroad. Any history of the American steam locomotive must save some superlatives for the 4-6-2 Pacific. The wheel arrangement allowed a wide variety of design and performance, such that approximately 6,000 were manufactured in the first half of the 20th century, all in the […]
Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee equipment set it apart from other electric interurban lines. Please enjoy this photo gallery selected from files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. Each month since October 2019, Classic Trains editors have selected one Fallen Flag to honor. A Fallen Flag is a railroad whose name and heritage have succumbed […]
Trains News Wire wrapped up its countdown of 2022’s top stories on Saturday. In case you missed any of our coverage, we open the new year with a recap — not only of this year, but of five years of News Wire top stories. 2018: Richard Anderson The highly controversial three-year tenure of the former […]
Q: Why do some railroads use concrete ties versus wood ties? I live near Altoona, Pa., where the Norfolk Southern runs, and they use all wood ties. – Mark Kroll A: There are a few reasons why a railroad might choose concrete ties over wood ties, but generally they all boil down to economics. Concrete […]
Railroad snow plow methods Railroad snow plow methods in North America: Railroads do use some of the same tools as the rest of us for clearing sidewalks and driveways. But, when it comes to clearing the tracks, the tools get significantly larger. The idea of what to do with the snow remains fairly similar: Get […]
