DECATUR, Ill. — Decatur was not within the narrow 13-state path of totality for the solar eclipse today (April 8, 2024) but — as shown above, in an image taken just before totality — the community did not miss by much, experiencing a 97.6% partial eclipse. The effect of the eclipse is visible as a […]
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — After 63 years operating at the Milwaukee County Zoo, steam locomotive No. 1916 Harry J. Grant went back home to the Riverside & Great Northern Railway in Wisconsin Dells. The Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works built the 15-inch gauge 4-4-2 at what is now the R&GN shops in 1960-61. Today, a crew […]
CARBONDALE, Ill. — For a few hours Thursday, travelers along Illinois’ Chicago-Carbondale Amtrak corridor could book a daytime round trip to next Monday’s solar eclipse “path of totality,” thereby avoiding monumental traffic jams along parallel highways that occurred during a similar event in August 2017. But that window of opportunity closed when seats that briefly […]
INDIANAPOLIS — Michael D. Engel and Larry F. Kaelin, who played key roles in the success of the Indiana Rail Road during their tenure as executives, have retired, the railroad has announced. Both men retired as of March 31. Engel held the position of senior vice president and chief financial officer; Kaelin was vice president, […]
CHICAGO — With spring having arrived, at least according to the calendar, commuter operator Metra on Wednesday outlined plans for capital projects planned for the 2024 construction season. The Metra budget calls for $332.4 million in projects this fiscal year, including $140.7 million for bridge projects; $81.6 million for station and parking improvements; $66.2 million […]
Conrail train COSY-4 eases through Berea, Ohio, on Aug. 14, 1979. The train came up the old Big Four route from Columbus and will continue east to Syracuse, N.Y. Albert D. Saleker photo […]
Most offset-side hoppers were built to AAR common designs. This two-bay Minneapolis & St. Louis 2,081-cubic-foot-capacity car, built in 1936, is typical of those in service through the 1960s. Classic Trains collection […]
Our host Gerry Leone heads for the hills in this episode of Spaces to Places! More specifically, he works a bit on the topography of the underpass area and how the highway routes through it all. Wisely, Gerry elects to make a template of his initial design, and then uses it to guide his efforts shaping up […]
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, commonly known as the Burlington Route, had many Zephyrs. But out of all the streamlined trainsets and services famously named after the Greek God of the West Wind, which of the five where considered the most prestigious? Pioneer Zephyr Rolled out on April 7, 1934, by the […]
ST. PAUL, Minn. — BNSF Railway and CPKC, the two largest railroads in Minnesota, do not plan to make payments of approximately $1 million to the state required by a law passed last year, saying the state legislation is “pre-empted by federal law.” KSTP-TV reports the two railroads notified the Minnesota Department of Public Safety […]
CHICAGO — Three cars making their first appearance will highlight the tours of Pullman-built railcars offered as part of Pullman Railroad Days, set for June 1-2 at Pullman National Historic Park. Dover Harbor, built in 1923, is the only heavyweight car still in an original Pullman configuration that is fully operational for use on Amtrak […]
New Chesapeake & Ohio GP7s hustle a southbound freight out of Plymouth, Mich., in the early 1950s. Robert A. Hadley photo […]
