Cumbres & Toltec 2-8-2 No. 489 lifts a train out of Antonito, Colo., in August 2011. Jim Wrinn photo CHAMA, N.M. — Anyone who has set foot on this hallowed ground knows just how special the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic is thanks to its heritage...

An eastbound BNSF train on the Montana Rail Link rolls through a moonlit Lombard, Montana. I'll be sharing at least one photo of my trip every week until I head out to Montana once again. I guess I look at it like my way of holding a protest, or...

The DPU of a westbound BNSF coal train streaks through the Montana night at Lombard, Montana. I'll be sharing at least one photo of my trip every week until I head out to Montana once again. I guess I look at it like my way of holding a protest...

Southern 2-8-0 No. 630 and executive Fs rest together at the end of Sunday's trip. A special departs Knoxville's 1904 station. View from NS theater car Buena Vista while rolling toward Knoxville along the French Broad River. Knoxville...

At Carlisle, England, a Northern Rail Class 142 Pacer DMU awaits its next trip on the right, while across the platform a Virgin Trains Class 221 Super Voyager tilting DMU arrives on an Edinburgh-Birmingham train. In Part 1 of this report I described...

This is a sequence of a coal train heading east through Lombard, Montana in the late evening. (click to view larger) I'll be sharing at least one photo of my trip every week until I head out to Montana once again. I guess I look at it like my way...

After emergency repairs that lasted until 2 a.m., Southern No. 630 clears her cylinder cocks as she backs out of Soule Shops and onto her train bound for Knoxville, Tenn. Jim Wrinn photo CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — On Tuesday, I watched Southern Railway...

A BNSF westbound windmill extra rolls west along the Missouri River near Lombard, Montana. (click to view larger) I'll be sharing one photo of my trip every week until I head out to Montana once again. I guess I look at it like my way of holding...

A Freightliner Heavy Haul train waits at a signal at Shrewsbury, England, on May 3, 2011. The EMD JT42CWR (known as Class 66 in the U.K.) was introduced by English Welsh and Scottish Railway in the late 1990s. This model has proven very popular in both...

A BNSF eastbound manifest rolls east along the Missouri River near Lombard, Montana. (click to view larger) I'll be sharing one photo of my trip every week until I head out to Montana once again. I guess I look at it like my way of holding a protest...

Montana Rail Link's Helena Local heads back to its namesake city. (click to view larger) I'll be sharing one photo of my trip every week until I head out to Montana once again. I guess I look at it like my way of holding a protest, or going...

Uniforms, posters, models, china, and more fill out Amtrak's 40th anniversary display train. Jim Wrinn photo MILWAUKEE – Amtrak’s 40th anniversary display train spent last weekend at the downtown Milwaukee depot at the corner of...

A BNSF ballast train loads at Pipestone Ballast. (click to view larger) I’ll be sharing one photo of my trip every week until I head out to Montana once again. I guess I look at it like my way of holding a protest, or going on strike, until I...

A three-car Paradise local rolls through Quinns, Mont. I'll be sharing one photo of my trip every week until I head out to Montana once again. I guess I look at it like my way of holding a protest, or going on strike, until I get my way and I depart...

Welsh Highland Railway Garratt number 87 at Pont Croesor, Wales My wife and I traveled to Europe this past spring and summer. Our journey took us to Iceland, Ireland, the United Kingdom, the three Scandinavian countries (plus neighbor Finland, where...

Bennett Levin enjoys time on board the Susquehannock passenger excursion on Oct. 1, 2011. A pair of NS light helpers pace the rear of the excursion train descending into Altoona, Pa. from Horseshoe Curve on Oct. 1. Descending Pennsylvania's...

A Montana Rail Link GP9 awaits the call to duty in Paradise, Montana. Well, I’m back from Montana. What a wonderful trip it was! Of course, we saw trains, but we also caught plenty of fish, and we even camped a couple of nights. It simply...

The Southeast isn't known for its narrow gauge heritage. Slim-gauge lines here were primarily industrial in nature. The last of these is Palmetto Brick, near Wallace, S.C., which operates a 2-foot-gauge clay-hauling railroad. But this week and...

The general consensus is that the loops that enable Norfolk Southern to climb the Blue Ridge near Old Fort, N.C., are less busy today than in the past. Before the 1982 NS merger, Southern sent more traffic up and down the mountain that stretches a 3-mile...

My final post in this series came from a wonderful conversation with Kevin Keefe, former Trains editor and now the vice president of Kalmbach's editorial division. As we were talking about the blog, Kevin helped me find some photos that Al Kalmbach...

Earlier in my trip to Switzerland, I had enjoyed train rides through the countryside, a ride in a cable car, a zipline, a trottie bike, and an amazing journey to Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe. On this day, we slowed down a bit and visited Harder Kulm...

The next morning was one I was most excited about. We were headed for Jungfraujoch, the Top of Europe. The railroad to the station, which at 11,333 feet is the highest elevation train station in Europe, was built nearly 100 years ago. Specifically, Adolf...

Ears pinned back, Southern No. 630 rolls at 40 mph on Sunday on the NS main line at Chattanooga, Tenn., on one of the first trips of NS's new 21st Century Steam program. Photo by Jim Wrinn I saw something I thought I'd never see last...

This month, I want to try a photography project that focuses on the trains in TRAINS Magazine's backyard. How many different pictures can be taken in a circle extending 10.27 miles from downtown Waukesha, Wis.? One of the questions we get most often...

This month, I want to try a photography project that focuses on the trains in TRAINS Magazine's backyard. How many different pictures can be taken in a circle extending 10.27 miles from downtown Waukesha, Wis.? I've really enjoyed this chance...