Trains.com
Train of Thought
35

Is a Big Boy locomotive a he or a she?

Posted 10 years ago by Jim Wrinn
Photo by Paul Guercio. The staff and I are hard at work on our special magazine, “Big Boy on the road to restoration,” due out in early April. Writing and editing this 100-page tribute to Union Pacific’s largest steam locomotives and the effort to restore Big Boy No. 4014 makes me wonder about a common term we often use when referring to steam locomotives, and the Big Boy in particular. Somewhere between the story about the history of the 4-8-8-4s on Union Pacific between 1941...
3

‘80s steam star 1385 starts time in rehab

Posted 10 years ago by Jim Wrinn
We're looking at the front truck of a a Ten-Wheeler, the "4" in 4-6-0, but it is sitting under the rear of the frame where the cab goes in this shop view. All photos, Jim Wrinn. MIDDLETON, Wis. – I checked in on one of the Midwest’s most famous locomotives of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, Chicago & North Western 4-6-0 No. 1385. Back then, she was a famous museum engine and later a mainline starlet. But the years caught up with her, and it’s time for her keepers to put miles...
20

What's in a name?

Posted 10 years ago by Brian Schmidt
Much is made about the names—or lack thereof—for the railroads of the 21st century. Typically, the biggest target is Burlington Northern Santa Fe, err... I mean, BNSF Railway. Somewhere along the line, the full name fell out of favor and was replaced simply by initials. In doing so, the railroad left behind years of tradition brought to it by merger partners Burlington Northern (itself a combination of older names) and Santa Fe Railway. Santa Fe, of course, had the famous warbo...
15

Foreign power invades Norfolk Southern

Posted 10 years ago by Samuel Phillips
A splash of fresh color has swept across Norfolk Southern in recent weeks, as foreign power has invaded Virginia and West Virginia. Everything from old and new, and BNSF to Canadian power, is roaming rails of the former Norfolk & Western and Virginian. Going trackside is nothing short of a guessing game; one never knows what might show up. Not only has foreign power made things interesting, but older NS power on mainline trains has made railfanning in the last month intriguing. I've been...
5

Chasing A Night Train

Posted 10 years ago by Robert Jordan
Weather predictions of light blowing snow and moderate temperatures led me to head out for winter night photography on the evening of Jan. 15, 2014. The light snow would provide a bright fresh covering without the dangers of a big storm. Care would still be needed as the forecast also predicted high winds and drifting. My destination was the Wisconsin & Southern hub at Janesville, Wis. The still active former Milwaukee Road roundhouse and yards are adjacent to downtown and have good public ...
30

News Wire: Your thoughts

Posted 10 years ago by Brian Schmidt
I'm working to make News Wire better this winter: more stories, more videos, more photos, more exclusives. But to make News Wire serve its readers the best it can, I want to hear from you, the News Wire readers. We've got some big ideas, but we want to make sure they are what the readers want. What would you like to see more of on News Wire? What would you like to see less of? Should the stories be longer, or shorter? Do we need more each day? Are we covering your neighborhood as well as we cou...
18

What does "Content Unavailable" mean with live streaming video?

Posted 10 years ago by Steve Sweeney
The single biggest, most important question we get at Trains when working with Live Streaming Video is, "What does 'content unavailable' mean?" In short, it means the streaming video camera is not connected to our company's main computers and there is no video to show. But there are many reasons for this. The first reason is that, for safety reasons, we've turned the camera "off" to get out of the way of big, potentially dangerous equipment. Another reason why content would be unavailable is ...
16

Cajon calling: Go home

Posted 10 years ago by Jim Wrinn
A westbound baretable departs Summit, Calif., dawn Saturday. Jim Wrinn photo CAJON PASS, Calif. – I startle awake in my hotel room around 5 a.m. to a glowing green light on my smart phone lying next to the TV remote. I dismiss it as a late greeting from a pal or a message from my girlfriend that I can look at later. But something nags me to glance anyway. And there it is: My flight home to Milwaukee Saturday has been cancelled. I go immediately to wide awake and dial the customer service ...
2

California dreamin’ – railroad style

Posted 10 years ago by Jim Wrinn
An eastbound Union Pacific stack train climbs California's Beaumont Hill from Loma Linda to Beaumont, Calif., on Tuesday. It was followed closely by a merchandise train on the former Southern Pacific Sunset Route. Jim Wrinn photo PALM DESERT, Calif. – While much of the nation has suffered mightily through dangerously bitter cold that would test anyone’s patience, 1,100 people have been in this southern California desert town for the annual meeting of the National Railroad Constructi...
1

This year's Trains' Photo Contest

Posted 10 years ago by Angela Pusztai-Pasternak
I'm neither a professional photographer nor an amateur photographer, but I know a well composed shot when I see one. My art background coupled with more than a decade of sifting through your train photos, I've come to know great photography. I recently acquired a "good" camera. My definition of good is it's not just a point and shoot. And, like many other people, I tend to use the camera built into my phone to take many shots of … my kids. Between my new camera, my phone's camera, and hav...
7

CNJ in 4 separate states in two months

Posted 10 years ago by Samuel Phillips
Ever had a particular locomotive follow you around? Or have you ever made a trip and photograph unit, then see it in your home turf weeks later? I have, and that is Norfolk Southern's Central of New Jersey heritage unit, SD70ACe No. 1071. Starting with a trip to Pennsylvania in late October, I photographed the unit in four different states and on four separate former railroad lines: Monongahela, Pennsylvania, Southern, and Norfolk & Western. The CNJ is one of my favorite heritage units, so...
14

New Zealand: Land of Variety

Posted 10 years ago by Tom Murray
Above: Map and statistics from KiwiRail Annual Report 2013 Before my wife and I traveled to New Zealand for the first time in 2012, I had studied the online timetables of KiwiRail Scenic Journeys, the passenger arm of the country's national railway, and I had identified other rail operations that I wanted to see or ride while in the country. But I never found an up-to-date guide to New Zealand's railways – freight, passenger, and tourist – that would tell me (or any other overseas...
4

Lac-Mégantic fallout continues for crude oil shippers

Posted 10 years ago by Paul Burgess
A Canadian Pacific train of empty tank cars heads west for reloading. The train is passing Hammond, Ind., on Norfolk Southern’s Chicago Line, over which CP has trackage rights. Photo by Paul Burgess The effects from the summer’s deadly oil train derailment at Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, continue to ripple across the railroad industry, and crude oil shippers may be the next ones to feel the heat. On July 6, 2013, an unmanned and unattended Montreal, Maine, & Atlantic freigh...
1

Let’s refine crude oil carload numbers: Going inside the industry

Posted 10 years ago by Roy Blanchard
Crude oil empties roll west through Western Springs, Ill., on BNSF Railway tracks in September 2013. Jim Wrinn photo All Class I railroads post weekly car-counts on their websites. The categories are straight from the Association of American Railroads’s classification list and so are pretty much self-explanatory. The exception is “Petroleum Products.” This category shows all crude-oil carloads plus all petroleum products from liquefied petroleum gas to asphalt.Let’s loo...
7

Norfolk Southern's cab units: Among the most technologically advanced streamliners around

Posted 10 years ago by Jim Wrinn
Norfolk Southern's four executive cab units roll through Harrisburg, Pa., in August 2012. The units have seen substantial internal upgrades since their debut in 2007. Jim Wrinn photoALTOONA, Pa. — We’ve all come to admire Norfolk Southern's set of four tuxedoed cab units' two As and two Bs that create that "perfect" ABBA set of streamlined Electro-Motive Division engines that were the norm in the 1940s and 1950s. Lovingly restored with great attention to exterior details' they look r...
7

As the Wheel Turns, Part Two

Posted 10 years ago by John Hankey
A Radio Story in Search of a Point Wednesday, Dec. 4, 5:25 PM EST I’ve just finished listening to a feature story on National Public Radio's afternoon news program “All Things Considered.” It was about the boom in new oil traffic on America's railroads. I enjoy and support public radio. It is an oasis in the desert that passes for contemporary broadcasting. But I found the story “Pipeline on Wheels: Trains are Winning Big Off U.S. Oil” deeply troubling. It offers...
5

As the wheel turns, part 1

Posted 10 years ago by John Hankey
This post will end up with a hard-to-answer question. Eventually, I plan to write a string of posts about railroading in the 21st century, and what kinds of roles people fascinated by railroading might play in its dynamic and unpredictable future. Getting from here to there may be a bit of a wild ride. I hope you will hear me out.  It may take a while to convince you, and the railroad industry, that Sunday's tragic Metro North derailment in the Bronx, along with the ghastly derailment and ...
7

Winter photography

Posted 10 years ago by Samuel Phillips
The leaves have fallen, cold temperatures are the norm, and white-stuff is beginning to fly: yes, Winter has arrived! We saw all of these conditions in Virginia within the last month and snow is actually falling as I write this. As I look out my window, I see a beautiful layer of white covering everything. Even though it's not much, it still is enough snow to yield beautiful photographic results. A little snow can make an image really pop. Road conditions can be a huge deterrent at times, bu...
34

What railroad are you thankful for?

Posted 10 years ago by Angela Pusztai-Pasternak
During this month of thankfulness, I can't help but think about what railroad I'm thankful for. As I rode into work this morning, I had plenty of time to think about it. At 5 mph on the highway, my mind wandered.  My first thought? I'm thankful for the Canadian Pacific. The railroad runs right through my small town of Oconomowoc, Wis., carrying oil, grain, auto parts, and other goods. We see about 20 freights a day. Amtrak's Empire Builder makes its way through town on these tracks, too....
1

How to understand the Association of American Railroads weekly report on carload freight

Posted 11 years ago by Roy Blanchard
It’s one thing to look down the list of commodities and carloads on the Association of American Railroads reports of weekly rail traffic; it’s something else to know what goes where and why. Let’s take the recent Week 42 report apart. First, the Standard Transportation Commodity Code, STCC for short, assigns a seven-digit number to every conceivable commodity that might be moved across any segment of railroad. The first two digits represent the broad commodity group: 01 for ...
3

Steam into History digs deep into the American story

Posted 11 years ago by Brian Plant
On the early afternoon of Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, 2013, Leviathan’s whistle blows for the Kirchner Road crossing on the north side of New Freedom, Pa., as the York follows closely behind. Photo by Brian Plant. NEW FREEDOM, Pa. — The once-familiar sound of steam whistles again echo down the valley between Hanover Junction and New Freedom, Pa., on the rails of the former Northern Central Railway. The Northern Central connected Baltimore, Md., with Sunbury, Pa., with constructi...
5

Big Boy, thy strength is already mighty

Posted 11 years ago by Jim Wrinn
The crowd watches as the Big Boy is prepared for more movement on panel tracks. Jim Wrinn photo POMONA, Calif.- The emotions that Union Pacific’s newly repatriated Big Boy steam locomotive No. 4014 stirs, even without it being restored and in steam, is powerful indeed. On Thursday, as the UP steam crew pulled the engine out of the Rail Giants museum at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, more than 200 people appeared. Many had heard about the move from our social media and News Wire po...
6

Frequently Asked Questions on Trains' Big Boy coverage

Posted 11 years ago by Steve Sweeney
Throughout the day on Wednesday and Thursday, we've noticed certain questions appearing regularly. We hope that posting answers will help some of our viewers enjoy the live streaming video even more. Frequently Asked Questions: Q: When will Big Boy No. 4014 be restored to operating condition?A: Union Pacific needs to return the Big Boy to Cheyenne, Wyo., where the locomotive will receive a complete overhaul. Although the railroad’s heritage operations department has a good idea of what w...
5

Great beginnings: Big Boy No. 4014 comes from out of nowhere to dazzle us

Posted 11 years ago by Jim Wrinn
Big Boy No. 4014 spent her last night inside the Rail Giants Museum at the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds Wednesday. Today, she begins her trip toward restoration. Jim Wrinn photo POMONA, Calif. – Steam locomotives, whether running all out at full gait or at rest, command attention. One that is tantalizingly close to going onto the stage, even if the occasion is a trip to the restoration shop, is often a mystery. What is its personality going to be? We’re about to find out. On We...
3

So where can a Big Boy go?

Posted 11 years ago by Steve Sweeney
Distinguished observers like to point out that Big Boys only ever operated in revenue service on the Union Pacific in select mountain areas, mostly Utah and Wyoming. It was what they were designed to do – all they ever did. A kind of logic dictates the original routings are the only ones Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 will ever run again.So when I visited Union Pacific’s steam boss, Ed Dickens, on the last leg of an official Trains trip to Los Angeles three weeks ago, I asked him, &l...
9

Waking up Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014

Posted 11 years ago by Jim Wrinn
POMONA, Calif. – Good morning. If you’re reading this on Wednesday morning, I am probably in a hotel room putting on my well-worn steel-toed boots, orange safety vest, and lime green hard hat, or more likely, I am already dressed and out witnessing a true miracle, something those of us who love steam locomotives never expected to live to see happen: The first baby steps of a Union Pacific Big Boy steam locomotive that’s headed toward restoration. Full restoration. Given my exci...
4

Train-watching in the Two Percent Economy

Posted 11 years ago by Roy Blanchard
Intermodal traffic and other freight sectors are up, but carload traffic is off, thus yielding a 2 percent railroad. A BNSF Railway intermodal train heads west out of Chicago through Western Springs, Ill., on Oct. 27, 2013. Jim Wrinn photo  If you think the manifest freight trains you’re seeing today are less frequent and not as big as they were a few years ago, you’re right, and I can explain. We’re in what might be called a The Two-percent Economy, i.e., the gross dom...
4

Autumn and all its glory

Posted 11 years ago by Samuel Phillips
Autumn is special time of year for me. When I starting taking pictures in 2002, autumn’s potential for photography was apparent for me. My dad and I started a tradition by attending the Bluefield, W.Va., model train show when I was just five and continuing nine years. There is nothing better than spending a day trackside with friends in the fall: the cool temperatures, a slight breeze, crystal clear days, and the glow of leaves never fail to disappoint. Some of my best and most memorable ...
6

Join me for a ride on Amtrak's rare mileage excursion in Pennsylvania

Posted 11 years ago by Roy Blanchard
We’re on Platform 7 at Amtrak’s 30th Street Station at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Nov 3. In front of us is one of the biggest Amtrak trains I’ve ever seen: 16 cars -- four Amfleet and nine Horizon coaches plus two cafe cars and office car No. 9800 bringing up the markers. On the point are Phase III P42 Heritage unit No. 145 and P40 No. 822, properly positioned back to back. The occasion is the second of two Amtrak Autumn Express (the first ran yesterday) excursions to Harrisburg and bac...
2

Did the railroad club or the railroad get a good deal in Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014?

Posted 11 years ago by Jim Wrinn
Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 is being worked on by Union Pacific crews to ready it for a ride to Cheyenne, Wyo., in the near future. Photo by Steve Sweeney. The Southern California Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society was the owner and custodian of Union Pacific Big Boy No. 4014 for more than 50 years until earlier this summer. That’s when the club and UP struck a deal to put the giant 4-8-8-4, one of the largest and most famous steam locomotives ever built, back...
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