GARY, Ind. — Few rail rehabilitation projects can truthfully claim “better than ever” when physical plant and service improvements are completed, but South Shore Line commuter service appears to be one. As Northern Indiana Commuter Transit District President Mike Noland told the crowd of gathered in a tent in the parking lot of the newly […]
Host Gerry Leone sets his sights on highway construction for his HO scale Bona Vista model railroad. Catch up with his off-camera preliminary efforts, before following his technique for making authentic roads and streets using medium-grit sandpaper. As he notes, even more insights regarding this technique can be viewed in a prior Trains.com video series, […]
DULUTH, Minn. — It was a scene right out of the early 1950s: a Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range steam locomotive pulling a string of ore cars and a caboose on the line between Two Harbors, Minn., and Duluth. But the date wasn’t 1952, but May 12, 2024, as the Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s DM&IR […]
DAVENPORT, Iowa — Canadian Pacific Kansas City obviously won many fans, especially young visitors, during its three-hour display of the Final Spike Steam Tour train at Davenport’s Quinlan Court riverfront park on Friday, May 10, 2024. The display featuring 4-6-4 No. 2816, known as “the Empress” was free to the public, with many visitors walking […]
GALESBURG, Ill. — Railfans seeking former Santa Fe Railway “Warbonnet” locomotives — who do not mind that they are now “pink bonnets” because of faded paint — should take a drive along the Thirwell Road overpass at BNSF Railway’s hump yard in Galesburg. At least six former Santa Fe C44-9W units have been modified for […]
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, commonly known as the Burlington Route, had many other Zephyrs. While not as prestigious as the Pioneer, Twin Cities, Mark Twain, Denver and California Zephyrs, these other streamlined trainsets and services, famously named after the Greek God of the West Wind, deserve a spotlight. Sam Houston Zephyr Fort […]
Rock Island passenger trains: All through May 2024, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Rock Island passenger trains, originally published online in July 2017. […]
Welcome to Canada! It’s April 26th, 2024, and Canadian Pacific 4-6-4 No. 2816 is on its way to Mexico. The preserved vintage steam locomotive is on a public relations tour to celebrate the one year anniversary of the merger between the Canadian Pacific and the Kansas City Southern to create the CPKC railroad, operating a […]
Canadian Pacific Railway Class H1-b Hudson No. 2816 continued its Final Spike Steam tour on Thursday, May 9, operating over former Milwaukee Road trackage into Iowa following a display day in Franklin Park, Ill., on Wednesday. The 4-6-4 and the CPKC executive train rolled west across the former Milwaukee Road D&I (Dubuque and Illinois) Division […]
FORT MADISON, Iowa — BNSF Railway’s bridge across the Mississippi River between Fort Madison and Niota, Ill., was briefly closed today after having been struck by a barge, but has been reopened, according to authorities. The Hancock County (Ill.) Sheriff’s Office reported the closure at about 1:40 p.m.; police in Fort Madison posted on Facebook […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Transportation has awarded a total of $9.6 million to 11 freight rail projects under the Minnesota Rail Service improvement program, the agency announced this week. Funding, approved during the 2023 legislative special session, supports economic development in regions across the state. “Improving Minnesota’s rail service gives local […]
DETROIT — “Iconic Detroit performers” will headline the opening-night concert for the revitalized Michigan Central station, the company in charge of the facility announced Tuesday, although no specific acts have been announced. The Detroit Free Press reports that the lineup is not yet set as producers continue to nail down commitments, but names “circulating in […]
