Ehernberger Collection at American Heritage Center expands

Page from September 1958 Trains Magazine with two steam locomotive photos.

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Jim Ehernberger, 88, has now been retired longer than his time working for the Union Pacific. Yet, Ehernberger still considers himself a railroad man. Over the years, he has amassed a collection of documents, maps and photographs detailing western U.S. railroad activity. While he previously donated a portion of his collection to […]

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East Broad Top: America’s Oldest Narrow Gauge Railroad

A steam locomotive sits inside a roundhouse

Time capsule When construction of Pennsylvania’s iron ore and coal-hauling East Broad Top began in 1872, more than 150 years ago, its builders decided it would be a narrow gauge line, with rails set 3-feet apart instead of the North American standard gauge of 4-feet, 8.5-inches. Narrow gauge offered significant advantages, as the smaller locomotives […]

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Doubleheaded C&O Mallets

Doubleheaded C&O Mallets

Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 Mallets 1309 and 1302 are departing Scarlet, West Virginia, in June 1950 with a loaded coal train. The 10 members of C&O’s H-6 class were the last steam locomotives built for domestic use by Baldwin Locomotive Works (1949). Engine 1309 is being restored for service on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad […]

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Discover the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad

Sideview of an old steam locomotive being looked over by a crewman wearing bib overalls

Steam over Cumbres Pass On a sunny June morning in Antonito, Colorado, Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad’s 4-6-0 No. 168, built by Baldwin in 1883, is readied for another run over the mountains. Its relatively tall 46-inch drivers made it suitable for fast passenger service. Carl Swanson The 64-mile-long Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is […]

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Tru-Vue stereoscopic model train filmstrips

Black and white image on toy train layout

Tru-Vue was a stereoscopic viewing system and line of films first marketed in the 1930s. Two simultaneous exposures of the same object or scene were made from slightly different angles. When seen through a special viewer, the paired photos com­bined to form a three-dimen­sional image. Although stereo­scopic photo cards and viewers had been around since […]

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Tickets for upcoming fall excursions behind N&W No. 611 now available

Streamlined steam locomotive running through the fall foliage.

STAUNTON, Va. — Tickets for the upcoming Shenandoah Valley Limited fall excursions behind Norfolk & Western No. 611 are now available for purchase, ranging from $128 to $318 per person. The J-class 4-8-4 is poised to return to the Buckingham Branch Railroad for the first time since 2023 [See “Norfolk & Western No. 611 to […]

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Lionel releases 2025 Volume 2 catalog

catalog page with locomotive set

Lionel Trains has released a 2025 Volume II catalog. The 44-page book includes new items in the Legacy, LionChief, Star Wars, and Accessory lines. Highlights include a Santa Fe Super Chief set (No. 2622020), which includes two F3A locomotives, two F3Bs (one unpowered), baggage car, Pullman sleeper car, dome car, diner, three sleeping cars, and […]

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EBT opens more trackage, returns steam locomotive No. 16 to service

Low-angle view of steam locomotive

ROCKHILL FURNACE, Pa. — The East Broad Top Railroad celebrated two notable events on Friday (Aug. 8, 2025), returning 2-8-2 No. 16 to operation after it was sidelined for several months, with the locomotive bringing ta train to the campus of Southern Huntingdon County High School adjacent to the railroad. It is the first train […]

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50 years ago in Trains: Tribute to Santa Fe’s 2-10-4s

The front of a steam locomotive in a railroad yard, the word Trains appears in red on a white box

In introducing the issue-length article on Santa Fe’s 2-10-4s dominating the August 1975 issue of Trains Magazine, Editor David P. Morgan wrote: “We broke our word. We promised you after our single-subject issues in 1972 on L&Ns “Big Emma” 2-8-4 and Electro-Motive’s 50th anniversary that Trains would not publish any more all-steam or all-diesel editions. […]

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