Anthracite hauler

Black-and-white broadside photo of 2-10-2 steam locomotive with hopper cars beside a river

Anthracite hauler Reading Co. 2-10-2 3012 leads a train of anthracite along the Schuylkill River at Tamaqua, Pa., in July 1953. RDG’s 20 K-1’s were the heaviest Santa Fe types ever built. Classic Trains collection […]

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Some of your favorite toy train Christmas scenes

Model steam engine in Christmas scene

Vintage toy trains in winter holiday scenes bring feelings of nostalgia. Relive the nostalgia with this selection of both current and vintage holiday-themed photos in O and Standard gauge scales. If you have a photo you’d like considered for a future gallery, contact editor@classictoytrains.com […]

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Firebox replacement plans advance for PRR K4s restoration project

Boiler of disassembled steam engine

ALTOONA, Pa. — Work is proceeding on planning for and funding a replacement for the firebox of Pennsylvania Railroad K4s-class 4-6-2 steam locomotive No. 1361 at the Railroaders Memorial Museum. FMW Solutions LLC, the engineering consultant on the $2.6 million project to restore the engine to operating condition, determined that the original squared-off Belpaire firebox […]

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Frisco steam locomotive cab ride

View from behind fireman tossing coal into firebox in steam engine on a Frisco steam locomotive cab ride

My Frisco steam locomotive cab ride came on Sept. 5, 2021. It was a first for me. I knew that it would be fun and that I’d like it, but what I didn’t know was exactly how much. It was a feast for the senses. My photos here may not be great or even capture […]

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Remembering Milwaukee Road locomotives

Broadside of streamlined steam locomotive in valley

Milwaukee Road locomotives All through November, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the multi-faceted Milwaukee Road. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Milwaukee Road selected from the image archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. The Milwaukee Road operated with steam, electric, and diesel motive power in its Midwest-to-Northwest service area. There are examples in […]

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2022 steam locomotive list

Small steam locomotive with freight car in high-plains scenery

Here’s our 2022 steam locomotive list. As 2021 may be the best so far in the 21st century to be a steam locomotive enthusiast, 2022 is looking good too! A Big Boy is running on Union Pacific’s main lines, the last Baldwin steam locomotive built is flexing its articulated muscles on a mountain railroad, and […]

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Trains Magazine, Western Maryland Scenic announce 1309 event

Large steam locomotive, shining after restoration

CUMBERLAND, Md. — Trains Magazine and Western Maryland Scenic Railroad are pleased to announce the first enthusiast event to celebrate return of newly restored 2-6-6-2 No. 1309, to be held Feb. 25-27, 2022. The three-day event will be limited to 100 participants and will include a night run on the legendary Western Maryland Railway main […]

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Reefer block

Steam locomotive with freight train

Reefer block 4-8-2 2605, a product of IC’s own Paducah (Ky.) shops, leads a long string of refrigerator cars north on the main line at Peotone, Ill., in the 1940s. Illinois Central photo […]

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Western Maryland Scenic 1309 receives FRA approval

steam locomotive outside shop

RIDGELEY, W.Va. — The Federal Railroad Administration Thursday approved Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 2-6-6-2 No. 1309 for service, officials of the Cumberland, Md.-based tourist railroad tell Trains News Wire. The last Baldwin built for domestic service in 1949 immediately becomes the world’s largest operating Mallet on a 17-mile mountain railroad that was once the Western […]

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Handsome Hudson

Streamlined steam locomotive with passenger train at speed

Handsome Hudson For a few years in the late 1930s, the steam queens of New Haven’s Shore Line were 10 class I-5 4-6-4s. The handsome Hudsons’ wheel-balance woes prompted NH to begin acquiring a fleet of 60 DL109 diesels in 1941. Here, an I-5 roars west with the Merchants Limited at Sharon, Mass. Wayne Brumbaugh […]

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Milwaukee Road freight trains photo gallery

Streamlined electric locomotive leads freight train with four diesels through mountain valley in snow

All through November, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the multi-faceted Milwaukee Road. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Milwaukee Road freight trains selected from the image archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. In its history, the Milwaukee Road operated freight service from as far as Louisville, Ky., west to Tacoma, Wash., and Portland, […]

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