A thrilling 90 mph steam locomotive ride

A magazine spread from the June 1950 issue of Trains Magazine featuring a photo of a fast-moving Milwaukee Road steam locomotive

A thrilling ride on a high-steed steam locomotive is featured in this article from June 1950 Trains Magazine by then-Editor David P. Morgan. Engineer Valentine Ureda pulls up the drop seat within the door of his Hudson’s vestibuled cab, wipes it off with cotton waste, then pauses for a logical question: “Ever ride a steam […]

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Durango & Silverton loses land-use case at Colorado Supreme Court

Steam-powered passenger train approaching curve

DENVER — The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has lost a land-use fight stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic before the Colorado Supreme Court. The court, in a group of decisions announced May 27, upheld a ruling that LaPlata County had the right to regulate the railroad, as the Colorado Public Utilities Commission had previously […]

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4-6-4 Hudson steam locomotives

4-6-4 Hudson type steam locomotive on turntable outside roundhouse

  While growing up in Cleveland and Buffalo after World War II, a close encounter with a 4-6-4 Hudson-type locomotive was just a train ride away. My first memory was as a four-year-old. My family had taken the New York Central to Chicago, and as we walked forward at La Salle Street Station, I was […]

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Fund-raiser to help longtime steam expert Gary Bensman recover

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A benefit for steam expert Gary Bensman — whose fingerprints are on virtually every major steam locomotive restoration project — is being held to help defray medical costs as he recovers from a heart attack, stroke, and cardiac surgery. Bensman suffered a major cardiac event in February while working at a […]

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Doug Tagsold’s Colorado & Southern in 1:72 scale

Doug Tagsold’s Colorado & Southern in 1:72 scale | Model Railroader Editor Eric White stops to visit with frequent MR contributor Doug Tagsold and his unique 40 x 52-foot 1:72 scale narrow gauge layout. The C&S Clear Creek District is a double-deck model railroad, set between Denver, Colo., and the Rocky Mountains during the 1920s. […]

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N&W standard

20200505

Rare elsewhere, the 4-8-0 was Norfolk & Western’s top freight engine until 1910, when the first articulateds arrived. Out of an original fleet of 286 Twelve-Wheelers, by 1954, three dozen remained, including 1906-built 475, switching at Potts Valley Junction on the Radford Division. Today this engine hauls tourists, and sometimes freight, at the Strasburg Rail […]

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Nevada State Railroad Museum to host ‘Star Spangled Steam Up’

Steam locomotive operating on a summer day

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada State Railroad Museum will be hosting its “Star Spangled Steam Up” during the Fourth of July weekend, July 3-6, 2025. The headliner during the event will be a guest appearance by Nevada County Narrow Gauge 2-6-0 No. 5, Tahoe, returning to the museum for the first time since the 2022 […]

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Union Pacific Big Boy-Lincoln diesel trip set for July

Large black steam locomotive with train against a dark blue sky.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 and the railroad’s diesel honoring Abraham Lincoln will make a round trip between Cheyenne and Denver in July, with a public whistle-stop appearance in Greeley, Colo., in each direction. The railroad will also auction off four cab rides to support the Union Pacific Railroad Museum in […]

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N&W heritage locomotive to join No. 611 anniversary celebration

Blue diesel with yellow trim

ROANOKE, Va. — Norfolk Southern’s Norfolk & Western heritage locomotive, ES44AC No. 8103, will take part in the 75th anniversary celebration for Class J 4-8-4 No. 611 at the Virginia Museum of Transportation, the museum has announced. The event is set for May 30-31, 2025, at the museum in Roanoke. “This is a powerful homecoming,” […]

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