Charlie’s Trackside Postcards – Columbia Gorge: Where East meets West

An orange-painted locomotive bathed in low angle sunlight with rugged mountains and a river in the background.

Charlie Conway and Tom Danneman launch into their exploration of the Columbia River Gorge. In addition to capturing images of spectacular scenery and engineering, the two find plenty of Union Pacific and BNSF freight trains snaking along the curvaceous riverfront main line. […]

Read More…

Charlie’s Trackside Postcards – Columbia Gorge: Where East meets West

An orange-painted locomotive bathed in low angle sunlight with rugged mountains and a river in the background.

Charlie Conway and Tom Danneman launch into their exploration of the Columbia River Gorge. In addition to capturing images of spectacular scenery and engineering, the two find plenty of Union Pacific and BNSF freight trains snaking along the curvaceous riverfront main line. […]

Read More…

UP 844 has a date with Memphis on Oct. 22 NEWSWIRE

steam locomotive on track

Union Pacific 4-8-4 Northern-type No. 844 pictured at LaSalle, Colo., in 2009. The famed locomotive is set to arrive in Memphis, Tenn., in steam on Oct. 22. Bruce A. Daugherty OMAHA — Union Pacific says its 4-8-4 No. 844 steam locomotive will cross the Mississippi River to Memphis, Tenn., on Oct. 22 and cross back […]

Read More…

UP stakes claim to first Martian railroad NEWSWIRE

We call dibs on the first Martian railroad. pic.twitter.com/YaGUnbpvhO — Union Pacific (@UnionPacific) September 28, 2016 MARS (the planet) — Union Pacific called “dibs” this week on building the first Martian railroad. The surprise announcement came just hours after SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk unveiled his dreams of building a fleet of spaceships to put […]

Read More…

Drew’s Trackside Adventures: Episode 32 – Going to Chicago, Ill.

No summertime blues for host Drew Halverson this year! That’s because he managed to begin his summer of trackside treks with a day trip to the Windy City. Upon arrival in West Chicago, Ill., Drew, Kent, Ben, and special guest Kevin P. Keefe, chased Union Pacific freight and a parade of Metra commuter trains along […]

Read More…

Drew’s Trackside Adventures: Episode 32 – Going to Chicago, Ill.

No summertime blues for host Drew Halverson this year! That’s because he managed to begin his summer of trackside treks with a day trip to the Windy City. Upon arrival in West Chicago, Ill., Drew, Kent, Ben, and special guest Kevin P. Keefe, chased Union Pacific freight and a parade of Metra commuter trains along […]

Read More…

Early Amtrak trains in color

FULL SCREEN John F. Bjorklund, Collection of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art In its early days, Amtrak relied solely on equipment provided by its member railroads. The passenger carrier is barely two months old in this Independence Day view from Chicago in 1971, where train No. 18, the eastbound Super Chief-El Capitan, still […]

Read More…

The big picture

  A westbound Union Pacific manifest freight works its way toward Los Angeles in October 2013 in the “Blue Cut” section of California’s famed Cajon Pass. With the lead locomotives a mile away in the distance, you gain a better perspective of magnitude of the San Gabriel Mountains and the challenges railroads overcame more than […]

Read More…

BIG BOY WORK BEGINS NEWSWIRE

4014move

Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844 acts as a shop switcher to place 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 on a turntable at the railroad’s Cheyenne, Wyo., shops in July. Hayley Enoch CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Two weeks after Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844’s successful excursion for the 2016 Cheyenne Frontier Days, the railroad says that the Heritage Operations team […]

Read More…

Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844 arrives in Denver for Cheyenne Frontier Days Train NEWSWIRE

CSC_0030

Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844 rolls south through northern Colorado Thursday on its way to Denver. Hayley Enoch photo Denver, Colo. — Today, the hills and valleys in northern Colorado echoed with the long-awaited sound of whistles and pistons as Union Pacific’s flagship steam locomotive, 4-8-4 No. 844, made its first public excursion in almost […]

Read More…

UP No. 844 moved under her own power Thursday NEWSWIRE

steam locomotive on track

Union Pacific 4-8-4 Northern-type No. 844 pictured at LaSalle, Colo., in 2009. Sources in Cheyenne, Wyo., say the giant locomotive had a steam test this week in preparation for a July return to mainline operation. Bruce A. Daugherty CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Working toward returning their much loved 4-8-4 to the high iron, the Union Pacific […]

Read More…