Minnesota steam engine to use Big Boy fire grates NEWSWIRE

Gratesfrom40142

Grates from the firebox of Union Pacific Big Boy 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 are going to use in the firebox of Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261. Though of different size and design, they were both built by the American Locomotive Co. in the 1940s and can share certain components. Erik Hoofnagel MINNEAPOLIS — In an example […]

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New Union Pacific mother-slug sets coming NEWSWIRE

UPslug

Locomotives lined up in East St. Louis, Ill., to become mother-slug sets for Union Pacific. Kevin Burkholder EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Union Pacific is embarking on a program to modernize its hump yard locomotives system-wide as the first in a new generation of mother-slug sets take shape. The railroad already uses two SD38-2s or […]

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Union Pacific’s Feather River Canyon route still closed NEWSWIRE

rotarysnow

Union Pacific’s former Southern Pacific rotary snow plow SPMW 207 is back to work sending snow skyward over Donner Pass in California on Feb. 25. The plow last operated over the pass in 2016, when it returned from rebuilding. Mike Haire SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Union Pacific’s route through the Feather River Canyon is still closed […]

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Charlie’s Trackside Postcards: The Red Canyon

A blue-and-silver-painted Amtrak diesel locomotive leads a passenger train on a shelf with track through a snowy mountain scene.

An ongoing chase into Colorado’s Rocky Mountain Range leads Charlie Conway to various mountain canyons. That’s where he discovers Union Pacific freight, long-distance Amtrak trains, and snow-covered roads winding along the Colorado River. […]

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Rivarossi HO scale UP Big Boy 4-8-8-4

Rivarossi HO scale UP Big Boy silver and black.

Rivarossi HO scale UP Big Boy The Big Boy’s tender features an operating backup light. The detailed pilot deck includes a swingout scale-size coupler One of the largest and most powerful steam locomotives ever built is now available in HO scale equipped with a top-of-the-line Digital Command Control sound decoder. Just like the prototype, Rivarossi’s […]

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Donner Pass snows clog highways but delay trains little NEWSWIRE

NordenCalif

Norden, Calif. Google Maps ROSEVILLE, Calif. — While snow and zero visibility shut down numerous highways, Union Pacific and Amtrak soldiered on over California’s Donner Pass this week. But now flooding is the threat as the forecast calls for heavy rain, some of it on several feet of snow. “In preparation of the coming weather […]

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Trains Top 10 stories for 2016: No. 3, RETURN OF THE 844 NEWSWIRE

steam locomotive on track

Union Pacific 4-8-4 Northern-type No. 844 pictured at LaSalle, Colo., in 2009. The famed locomotive made a triumphant come back in 2016 after repairs and a 1,472-day overhaul. Bruce A. Daugherty WAUKESHA, Wis. — When Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844 returned to the rails under its own power this year, we were reminded of what […]

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SPECIAL EXPANDED REVIEW: ScaleTrains.com HO scale Union Pacific GTEL

ScaleTrains.com HO scale Union Pacific GTEL

ScaleTrains.com HO scale Union Pacific GTEL The GTEL includes (from left to right): a fuel tender, a B (turbine) unit, and an A (control) unit. The Museum-Quality series B unit features sliding access doors that reveal an accurate model of the General Electric gas turbine within. The detailed fuel tender includes a directional backup light […]

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