An A-B-B set of Santa Fe FT diesels rolls a 127-car freight extra west at Galesburg, Ill., in June 1953. R. R. Malinoski photo […]
Santa Fe FT diesels
Type of Train: Diesel Locomotives
News photos: Kaw River Railroad SD60Ms show off fresh paint
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kaw River Railroad operations in Kansas City now feature two former Union Pacific SD60M’s in a paint scheme reflecting the line’s Watco ownership. The 6032 and 6033 are the first six-axle locomotives on the Kaw River, which operates former Kansas City Terminal Railway trackage in Kansas City, Kan., and Kansas City, […]
Alco RS27 failure — a diesel that didn’t
Alco RS27 failure: It’s tough when professional engineers create a decent locomotive that builds on successes, and pitfalls, of the past and still nobody really wants it. That was the Alco RS27, also referred to as the DL640. Its 16-cylinder, 251B prime mover pushed out 2,400 hp. Coincidentally, only 27 were built between December 1959 […]
Southern Railway locomotives remembered
Southern Railway locomotives: It’s time to celebrate the sleek lines and power of Southern Railway locomotives. 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 […]
New company to lease locomotives for commuter rail operations
BOSTON — A new company has announced plans to provide locomotive leasing for commuter rail agencies, saying it will offer proven, like-new units on flexible lease terms. Rolling Stock Solutions announced the venture last week, with initial plans to lease fully overhauled F40PH locomotives. “Having spent two decades at the intersection of government operations and […]
Preview the July August 2022 issue of Classic Toy Trains
Editor Hal Miller previews the July August 2022 issue of Classic Toy Trains! We’ll visit a large club layout in Nassau, N.Y., learn about Lionel’s no. 9141 Burlington Northern gondolas, solve a mystery behind a Marx set, and visit an S gauge layout owned by Tom Barker. Plus, the latest new products, and reviews of […]
Nevada Northern acquires Baldwin prime mover for restoration project
ELY, Nev. — The Nevada Northern Railway has acquired a Baldwin VO diesel prime mover to be used in restoration of the railroad’s VO1000 locomotive built in 1942. In a series of posts on the Nevada Northern Facebook page, the railroad says it found the engine, built in 1945, at a New Jersey firm that […]
Bicentennial Santa Fe locomotive to be displayed in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Santa Fe No. 5704, the SD45-2 locomotive cosmetically restored to its bicentennial paint scheme, will be displayed at Union Station Kansas City June 14-19 to coincide with the convention of the Santa Fe Railway Historical & Modeling Society on those dates in Overland Park, Kan. The locomotive, which has been donated […]
News photos: Canadian National returns Dash 8 locomotives to service
SARNIA, Ontario — Canadian National has returned some GE Dash 8 locomotives to service after most had disappeared in early 2021. Ex-Chicago North Western C40-8 No. 2131 led Chicago-Toronto train 148 on Sunday, June 5, providing the first look at a standard-cab Dash 8 on the mainline in well over a year. This unit and […]
Electro-Motive history: From upstart to undisputed champ
Electro-Motive history: Steam was king, its supremacy uncontested, in 1922 when Harold L. Hamilton and associates rented office space at 17th and Euclid in Cleveland, Ohio, for their fledgling Electro-Motive Engineering Co. Established to design, market, and maintain gas-electric railcars for light-density passenger service, the modest enterprise could hardly be considered a threat to […]
Wabtec to modernize locomotives for Australian mining railroad
Wabtec will modernize Fortescue Metals Group’s 28 C44-9W locomotives into AC44C6Ms, the companies announced on June 5. The first dozen upgraded units, completed at Wabtec’s plant in Fort Worth, Texas, are already en route to the western Australian iron ore railroad. The remaining locomotives will be delivered over the next two years. “While we have […]
CB&Q and PRR diesels in Chicago
A Burlington Route switcher prepares to move several baggage-express cars at the Railway Express terminal near Chicago’s Union Station in 1961. In the foreground, a Pennsy switcher moves motive power — two E8As and an E7B — for a train into position at the station. J. David Ingles photo […]
