Manned helpers still labor on Norfolk Southern’s Pocahontas Division

Norfolk Southern’s Pocahontas Division is one of the most challenging areas of railroading in the United States. The division is host to several coal trains a day between Bluefield and Williamson, W.Va. The Pocahontas Division is one of the last manned helper districts, and the tonnage moved on the railroad is something to behold. Be […]

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Indiana Northeastern locomotive roster

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Indiana Northeastern GP30s Nos. 2185 and 2230 approach the Fox Lake Road overpass at Angola, Ind. Steve Smedley Veteran photojournalist Steve Smedley documents the history and operations of shortline Indiana Northeastern, and pays tribute to the line’s hand-me-down GP30s and hard-working railroaders in “Second-generation Sojourn” in Locomotive 2014. Explore the line’s entire all-EMD roster here […]

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A hard way to make a living

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Illinois Central 2-8-2 Mikado 1544 is eastbound at Villa Park, Ill., on a cold day in 1951. Henry M. Stange Some years ago, after a reunion of my old 10th Engineer Battalion at Springfield, Ill., I boarded Amtrak’s Statehouse for Chicago. I’d never ridden the former Chicago & Alton before, but I was eager to […]

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Campaigning to preserve the route of the Southwest Chief

FULL SCREEN Bob Johnston A 120-car BNSF empty coal train slinks west through a 30-mph speed restriction 10 miles east of Syracuse, Kan., on July 13. Once a raceway for the Super Chief and other streamliners, the Kansas portion of the line was downgraded under the current operating contract to 60 mph maximum passenger speeds […]

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Drew’s Trackside Adventures: Episode 18 – Montana Rail Link local operations

A blue and white-striped diesel locomotive hauls a freight train through a green Montana field under blue skies and white clouds.

Drew’s “Epic” Trackside Adventure now heads into Montana, home of the Montana Rail Link. Drew’s expedition guide and Trains art director Tom “Sherpa” Danneman knows this regional railroad success story like the back of his hand, so join the MRVP crew as they trace the MRL main line from Billings, Mont., to the shops and […]

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Drew’s Trackside Adventures: Episode 17 – Powder River Basin, Wyoming

Freight train winds through wide open prairie.

And so the epic Drew’s Trackside Adventure to Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota begins! After drawing up plans for this three-state railfan trip, Drew and Trains art director Tom Danneman hit the road for their first stop in Wyoming coal country. MRVP cameras are there as BNSF and Union Pacific coal traffic keeps the rails of the […]

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