Q Certain states require fueling stations to blend biodiesel into diesel fuel for cars and trucks at different times of the year. Do railroads use biodiesel in their locomotives? – Brett Schmidt, Madison, Wis. A Class I railroads, regionals, short lines, and commuter agencies have tried biodiesel with a variety of blends from a 10-percent […]
Tag: Railroads
Return trip to Tucumcari
Tucumcari, July 1963: Nameless Los Angeles–Chicago train 40 has arrived with SP power and will depart behind Rock Island FP7 409. The RDC foreground is on the rear of Rock Island 22 for Memphis. Richard J. Anderson It was a hot day in the summer of 1963. I was driving from my home in Iowa […]
Big Steam is Back DVD preview
See how your favorite big steam locomotives are rebuilt and run — from Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum’s Southern Railway No. 4501, to the big steam story of 2016: the return of Union Pacific No. 844. You can now watch a preview of this new video production, which features popular steam locomotives from coast to coast! […]
Video Review: Big Steam is Back
Big Steam is Back Kalmbach Publishing, P.O. Box 1612, Waukesha, WI 53187-1612. Approx. 90 minutes kalmbachhobbystore.com In Spring 2009, Union Pacific’s never-retired 4-8-4 No. 844 visited Nevada, California, and Utah on its “Western Heritage Tour.” This event provided ample evidence, as if any was needed, of the appeal of “Big Steam,” loosely defined as the […]
Trains Presents: D & I Railroad
Join Trains for a look at the unique D & I Railroad. You’ll see EMD power move heavy stone trains between Dell Rapids, S.D., and Sioux City, Iowa, on this shipper-owned line. Be sure to check out our feature story on the railroad in the September 2017 issue! […]
Charlie’s Trackside Postcards: Charlie’s New Office
When we first met Charlie, his temporary office was located at a metro Seattle airport. Nowadays, he’s happily situated in a new downtown waterfront office with all of the essential creature comforts – including a rooftop view of BNSF freight, Amtrak passenger, and Sound Transit commuter trains. It’s enough to make Drew and many other railfans […]
Locomotives’ minimum speed
An ammeter in a GP40-2 with the short-time rating plate below. Note the duplicate time chart listed on the gauge as well. Chris Guss Q Why is it that a D.C. traction locomotive can stay below its continuous full-power minimum speed limit for only 30 minutes while an A.C. traction unit can grind away in […]
Trains Presents: Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum steam double header
Watch a steam doubleheader with former Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 630 and 2-8-2 No. 4501 in fall 2016. You’ll see the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum excursion run on former Central of Georgia trackage out of Chattanooga with both locomotives under steam. Be sure to look for our special issue, Big Steam is Back, available now, […]
Rail brands deciphered
This line of numbers and letters is a rail brand. Deciphered correctly, they show railroads the weight, maker, treatment, design, and manufacture date of a rail. Ed Funkhouser Q I saw these numbers and letters on the side of a rail near Mebane, N.C. Can you tell me what they mean? – Ed Funkhouser, Raleigh, […]
Santa Fe train 76 and 17 tons of sand
Santa Fe PA No. 61, whose long nose may have saved its crew 14 years later, in 1951 flies green flags on the point of First 24, the Grand Canyon, at Caliente, Calif. Stan Kistler On December 22, 1965, I was the engineer on Santa Fe Railway Los Angeles–San Diego train 76, one of the […]
Trains Presents: Train Festival 2009
Train Festival 2009 brought together some of the best U.S. steam in central Michigan for an unforgettable weekend of railroading. You’ll see locomotives big and small, from saddletank switchers all the way up to the famed Daylight 4-8-4 No. 4449. Be sure to look for our special issue, Big Steam is Back, available now, along […]
Minneapolis & St. Louis – Image Gallery
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