Nevada Northern launches fundraising sweepstakes

black locomotive No. 93 with gray smoke

ELY, NEVADA — With all three of its restored steam locomotives down for repair and the busy summer season in full-swing, Nevada Northern Railway in Ely, Nev., has launched a “Steam Up Sweepstakes” to fund needed repairs and restore its iconic locomotives to full steam before the season slips away. More than $100,000 in prizes […]

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C&NW No. 1385 returns to Mid-Continent museum

Flat car with steam locomotive on top breaks banner

NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. — The long wait for Chicago & North Western steam locomotive No. 1385 to return to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum is over. The Alco 4-6-0 returned home Saturday, July 12, after 12 years at Spec Machine LLC in Middleton, Wis., and a multi-day move from Middleton, sparking a homecoming celebration at the […]

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News Wire recommended reading: Inside the Ames Monument

Stone pyramid-like building under threatening skies

Our wide-ranging latest installment of News Wire Recommended Reading includes articles on a Wyoming landmark; a massive space under San Francisco built for currently nonexistent train service;, and how things went wrong for a deal to involve German’s Deutsche Bahn to remake Toronto’s GO Transit commuter rail operations. — You may be familiar with the […]

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Classic Trains Film Archive | Riding on the Norfolk & Western and Grand Trunk Western, J. David Ingles Reel 0051

Classic Trains Film Archive | Riding on the Norfolk & Western and Grand Trunk Western, J. David Ingles Reel 0051 – Ride trains on the Norfolk & Western, see colorful operations around Kansas City, and explore little-known lines in western Illinois with J. David Ingles. Plus, experience a Michigan snowstorm from the train and ride […]

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Galesburg, Ill., council approves lease for National Railroad Hall of Fame

Rectangular building with adjacent locomotive and passenger car.

GALESBURG, Ill. — The National Railroad Hall of Fame is one step closer to having an actual Hall. The Galesburg, Ill., city council on Monday approved an agreement for a 99-year lease on approximately 25,000 square feet of land in Colton Park, near the city’s Amtrak station, for construction of the Hall of Fame, a […]

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Mid-Continent announces details on July 12 return of No. 1385

Steam Chicago & North Western locomotives approaching brick station

NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. — The Mid-Continent Railway Museum’s rescheduled “homecoming” ceremony for its Chicago & North Western Ten-Wheeler, No. 1385, will be held Saturday, July 12, at 4:30 p.m. at the museum in North Freedom. The starting time for the public event has been moved forward from what had previously been reported [see “C&NW No. […]

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Twilight of the dome cars

Stainless steel dome car outside brick roundhouse at museum

Following the delivery of dome cars constructed for the Union Pacific and Wabash for the City of St. Louis in 1958, U.S. intercity passenger rail service entered into what turned out to be a terminal illness; thereafter, no more new dome cars were ordered. However, a different factor in the U.S. railroad industry — mergers […]

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Colorado Railroad Museum, Durango & Silverton announce plans for locomotive loans (updated)

Man riding on pilot of steam locomotive

The Colorado Railroad Museum, Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, and Durango Railroad Historical Society have announced plans for locomotive loans this fall and winter that will see locomotives from the museum and D&SNGR visiting the other partner in the agreement. The Durango & Silverton announced Wednesday (July 2) that the museum’s Rio Grande Southern […]

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Spots remain on Trains/Special Interest Tours UK event

Senior Editor David Lassen is now scheduled to serve as the Trains Magazine host on the Trains/Special Interest Tours “UK Celebration Steam Bicentennial Tour,” a 10-day, nine-night event set for Sept. 23-Oct. 2, 2025. Space remains available for the tour, which begins in London and ends in Manchester. It includes private-car excursions on the Ffestiniog […]

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Two former Amtrak diesels donated to Illinois Railway Museum

Restored Amtrak F40 locomotive

UNION, Ill. — The Illinois Railway Museum has added two former Amtrak diesels — an F40PHR and SDP40F — to its collection. Dynamic Rail Preservation, or DynaRail, has donated F40PHR No. 231 and SDP40F No. 644. The latter unit went to BNSF where it was known as SDF40-2 No. 6975. No. 231 is one of […]

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