From the Twin Cities to the Twin Ports, Minnesota’s tourist railroads, museums, and displays preserve a vast history of iron and steel that crisscrossed the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” With help from Trains Magazine’s Tourist Trains Guidebook, let’s explore the Gopher State’s must-visits. Minnesota Tourist Railroads and Museums Minneapolis-St. Paul Minnesota Transportation Museum – 193 […]
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Oklahoma Railway Museum has taken delivery of a historic alternative fuel testbed locomotive, donated by BNSF Railway after use as a hydrogen fuel cell switcher in Southern California. Built as Canadian Pacific GP9 No. 8637 in 1957, the unit was rebuilt by CP in the mid-1980s and utilized in regular […]
WILLIAMS, Ariz. — Grand Canyon Railway and Hotel’s 2-8-2 No. 4960 returned to service after a month-and-a-half absence to lead the “First Saturday” steam excursion from Williams to the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park on Aug. 5. The scheduled July 1 trip was canceled due to high fire danger in the area, according […]
NORTH JUDSON, Ind. — The Monon Railroad Historical-Technical Society has donated Monon business car No. 2, also known as the Lynne, and Monon wide-vision caboose No. 81532 to the Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum, the two organizations have announced. Plans call for operating the business car in excursion service as an upscale experience, with a portion […]
Norfolk & Western No. 611 has a new place to run. The Virginia Museum of Transportation and Virginia Scenic Railway — the excursion operation of the short line Buckingham Branch Railroad — have announced the Class J 4-8-4 will run weekend excursions this fall on the Virginia Scenic Railway. The steam-powered Shenandoah Valley Limited will […]
LUDINGTON, Mich. — Loading-ramp damage has brought an early end to the 2023 season for Lake Michigan car ferry S.S. Badger. “We have made the difficult, and unfortunately unavoidable, decision to suspend our daily crossings for the remainder of the season,” Mark W. Barker, President of Interlake Maritime Services, parent company of the Lake Michigan […]
LOS ANGELES — Santa Fe No. 5704, the SD45-2 locomotive cosmetically restored to its bicentennial paint scheme, will make its California public debut at Los Angeles Union Station’s Train Festival 2023: A Celebration of Past, Present & Future on September 9-10. The locomotive, which was donated by BNSF to the Southern California Railway Museum in […]
IRVIN, Ky. — The sound of dozens of steam whistles will echo across Estill County as the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation is set to host the 2023 Whistle Blow on Oct. 7. This free-admission event will take place at the non-profit organization’s campus in Irvin, which is currently home to the ongoing restoration of steam […]
HUDSON, Ind. — The locomotive maintenance facility of the Indiana Northeastern Railroad Co. in Hudson was a beehive of activity over the weekend as historic steam locomotives, vintage diesels, and over 2,500 attendees swarmed around what was the first Railroad Open House. The July 29-30 event headlined the summer for the 2023 Indiana Rail Experience, […]
OSCEOLA, Wis. — Trains Magazine is sponsoring a two-day photo charter in September featuring vintage diesel locomotives from the Minnesota Transportation Museum (MTM) collection. Trains will run Sept.11-12 out of Osceola on MTM’s Osceola & St. Croix Valley Railway, which operates over Canadian National’s 25-mile former Soo Line Dresser Subdivision. Trains will be pulled by […]
WATERLOO, Ontario — The Southern Ontario Locomotive Restoration Society, operator of the Waterloo Central Railway heritage operation, is seeking funds to support its effort to purchase former Canadian Pacific Railway No. 1238, a G5c class 4-6-2 locomotive. The locomotive, built in 1946 by the Montreal Locomotive Works, operated in excursion and tourist rail service in […]
In an industry that focuses on looking back on the past, being forward-thinking helps ensure the future of the rail preservation movement. At the Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, Shop Foreman Brian Tenaglia is no stranger to that concept, utilizing new skills to help manage the traction collection. The incorporation of computer-aided design (CAD) […]
