OWOSSO, Mich. — The 2024 debut of Pere Marquette steam locomotive No. 1225 in June offered multiple firsts for the 2-8-4 and its owner, the Steam Railroading Institute (SRI). Ultimately, it was the first time since 2019 that the Berkshire-type operated for the public outside of its regular holiday-season North Pole Express schedule. But for […]
PENINSULA, Ohio — The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad announced it has acquired an Alco FPA4 and an FPB4 from the Grand Canyon Railway, and aims to purchase one more of each unit from the Grand Canyon. The two diesels will join three FPA4 units already on the Cuyahoga Valley roster and are part of what […]
EDON, Ohio — In its third year with the Indiana Rail Experience, the 2024 Tri-State Scenic steam excursion had new wrinkles for its Father’s Day weekend treks along the Indiana Northeastern Railroad between Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. What hasn’t changed was steam locomotive No. 765 as the star for the all-day trips out of Edon. […]
CLEVELAND — Construction of the oil firing system is the latest step in restoration work of Reading Co. T1 4-8-4 No. 2100, the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association reports. “With the funding received this spring, work is well underway in regard to the construction of the oil pan,” Forrest Nace, the non-profit organization’s treasurer and […]
The Pere Marquette Railway’s 40 Berkshires, built by Lima during 1937–44, were the road’s last and best steam power. In this 1940s view, No. 1229 darkens the sky as it heads out of Plymouth, Mich., with a freight bound for Grand Rapids. Robert A. Hadley photo […]
SAGINAW, Mich. — Mike Stickel will become president and CEO of Lake State Railway, and current president and CEO John Rickoff will become chairman of the board of directors, as part of leadership changes announced today (June 18) by the Michigan-based regional railroad. The changes are effective July 15. Stickel is currently executive vice president […]
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific has announced plans for its second tour this year with Big Boy No. 4014, which will cover 10 states in eight weeks beginning Aug. 29. The “Heartland of America Tour” will launch from Cheyenne on that date and also include Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas, […]
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad has received approval for a rezoning request allowing it to build a new freight terminal near New Carlisle, Ind., the South Bend Tribune reports. At a meeting last week, the St. Joseph County Council voted 9-0 to rezone four parcels of land from […]
Steam from Milwaukee Road class A 4-4-2 No. 2’s cylinder cocks envelops a bystander just outside Chicago Union Station as the Hiawatha begins its dash to Minneapolis in 1935. Alexander Maxwell photo […]
Chicago & Eastern Illinois locomotives served the road well through many decades of operation. C&EI was a coal-hauling railroad and, other than some early switchers, stuck with steam through World War II. Three E7s and a bunch of F3s made quick work of dieselizing the line from 1946 onward, with the last steam […]
Walking out the 15th Street side entrance to Detroit’s Michigan Central Station last Friday morning, I found myself channeling the great baseball play-by-play man Jack Buck. “I can’t believe what I just saw!” Buck’s epic quote came, of course, when Dodger Kirk Gibson launched his epic home run off A’s reliever Dennis Eckersley in game […]
UNION, Neb. — More than 20 cars of a Union Pacific train derailed Tuesday afternoon near the Nebraska-Iowa state line, with one tank car spilling its contents into an adjacent waterway, KLKN-TV reports. The derailment occurred about 4 p.m. near Union, about 4 miles west of the state line and 30 miles south of Omaha […]
