Features

The 'Magnificent Six' Mingle
In a nod to its rich heritage, America's largest railroad gathers some very special locomotives for a class photo.
A Trains Staff Report

Map of the Month: Illinois Central's Roots
See the 88 different railroads that made up the 'Main Line of Mid-America' by 1971. Matt Van Hattem

Pocahotas Nights
When day is done, these color position lights come alive. At least, they used to ... Garland McKee

Building Dreams
The story of Colorado Railcar's dazzling domes, DMUs, and more.
Bob Johnston

Railroad Reading
Bad day at Bitter Creek: Amtrak's Pioneer has the starring role as Union Pacific takes the sidings, and that was 'just the way it happened.'
Doug Harrop

Gallery
The Milwaukee Road in Washington in 1978, Union Pacific in Wisconsin this year, and Southern Pacific 4449 near the end of her revenue service days.
Assorted Photographers

News

News & Photos
Why do railroads close mountain passes?

Don Phillips

Technology
'New' tie treatment resists decay in the Southeast

Tom Murray

Locomotive
Cab units still find themselves on regular freights

Passenger
Plenty of plans, but little money, for passenger trains

City Rail
Long Island Rail Road digs toward Grand Central

Departments

Fantrip
Foamin' among the foliage

Preservation
Should this roudhouse survive?

Ask Trains

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Features

Perlman's Seventies Success
After leaving a tattered Penn Central, Alfred Perlman showed the industry what he could do by turning around the Western Pacific.
Rush Loving Jr.

Map of the Month: Tennessee's Railroads, 1949 / 2007
None of the railroad names from 1949 survive, but many important routes still remain in service.
Ralcon Wagner

Facing the Future
Chattanooga-based Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum looks toward the future with a new mantra: 'Go big, or go home.'
Jim Wrinn

Railroading in the Woods and Lakes, One Car at a Time
Finger Lakes Railway fights to win business in Upstate New York.
Karl Zimmermann

Railroad Reading
My life on 611: I was lucky - very lucky to get experiences like few others had with Norfolk Southern's steam program.
Cheri George

Gallery
Canadian National near Chicago at night, Southern Railway F units in Tennessee, and BNSF in storm light in Williams Junction, Ariz.
Various photographers

News

News & Photos
DM&E up for sale; women land top rail promotions

Don Phillips

Roy Blanchard

Technology
Visit rail testing's Ground Zero in Pueblo, Colo.

Locomotive
GE's diesel/battery hybrid test trip a success

Passenger
Nothing quite like the retro-plush Canadian

City Rail
Is there an answer to SEPTA's annual funding crisis?

Departments

From the Editor
'JDI' has left his mark on us all

Ask Trains

Preservation
It's time to turn back the clock

Fantrip
Flatonia: a 'moving' experience

Features
Ethanol: Rail Boom or Bust?
Confidence and uncertainty mark railroading's 200-proof growth spurt.
Andy Cummings

Parallel Dreams
I met my first steam locomotive and TRAINS magazine within a year of each other. In both cases, I was hooked. The rest is history.
Jim Wrinn

Map of the Month:
Milwaukee Road, 1969 and 2007
From a Chicago-Pacific Coast trunk to a Midwestern "core" to Soo Line to a collection of carriers.
J. David Ingles

Riding the Back End
For railroad officials, business-car trips are most valuable when they are used to build teamwork, hash out problems, and push for a better property.
Thomas P. Schmidt

Railroad Reading
Oh, those kids! When stationmasters in neighboring towns fell gravely ill, their children kept the Union Pacific's main line up and running.
Robert W. Kellogg

Gallery
Mononahela Railway near Time, Pa.; BNSF on Cajon Pass; and Erie Lackawanna in Secaucus, N.J.
Assorted photographers

News

News & Photos
Crew fatigue enters House radar

Don Phillips

Dan Ranger

Technology
GE uses GPS to monitor its units from Erie, Pa.

Locomotive
MotivePower's MP20C-3 only looks like an SD40

Passenger
Amtrak riders are paying higher fares on some routes

City Rail
What's lost on BART is generally found

Departments

From the Editor
Under 30? How'd you get here?

Ask Trains

Preservation
Steam teachers foster new ties

Fantrip
Find unbridled action at Ponderosa

Products

Features
Thinking Local
Local freight was the manifestation of a larger struggle to unite an immense continent into one common market and diverse people into one nation.
John P. Hankey

Moving the Merchandise
Class I railroads are changing the way they handle carload freight, while shorter railroads find opportunities for growth.
Michael W. Blaszak

Local Freight Where It Shouldn't Be
See how peddlers and passenger trains mix on America's fastest railroad: the Northeast Corridor.
Scott A. Hartley

Dodging Bullets and Other Assorted Tales
The last freight serving San Francisco is the mouse to Caltrain's cat.
David Lustig

Against the Current
Norfolk Southern train H33, the weekday local out of Reading, Pa., is a classic wayfreight in a mainline world.
Kevin P. Keefe

How I Learned to Love Life on the Local
To a greenhorn conductor, local freights just weren't that cool.
Andy Cummings

Map of the Month: Follow That Car!
On this foldout map, we plot the journeys of four freight cars as they cross the eastern portion of the continent.

Railroad Reading
Greenhorn on patrol: My rookie months on the Milwaukee Road's Morton Grove Patrol were tough, but Toby, Chipmunk, and I survived.
Jim Smith

Gallery
Railcars on a barge in New York harbor,
BNSF in North Dakota,
Camas Prairie Railnet, and
Canadian Pacific
Assorted photographers

News
News & Photos
Could electrics cut costs for rails?

Columnist Don Phillips

Columnist Tom Murray

Technology
How railroads try to deal with sun kinks

Locomotive
What does dynamic braking do?

Passenger
Vermont considers Diesel Multiple Units

City Rail
Is an end near for the last bar cars?

Departments
From the Editor
The enduring allure of the local

Preservation
Steam's 2007 Western roundup

Fantrip
Are you ready to 'Think Small'?

Ask Trains

Products

Features
Back to the Future with Progressive Rail
This twin cities railroad is using old techniques, and some new ones, to win freight back to the rails.
Steve Glischinski

Who is R.J. Corman?
R.J. Corman runs short lines, rebuilds railroads, picks up wrecks, and dazzles 'em with a dinner train. Find out how he got here and where he''s going.
Bob Withers

Working for Peanuts (and Other Things)
Two Fs help Georgia Southwestern, the Peach State's third-largest railroad, keep growing.
Erik Fedde

Map of the Month: Canadian Pacific in 1974
Join us on a hypothetical trip around the globe on the "world's greatest transportation system."
Matt Van Hattem

Railroad Reading
A Father's Day apparition: My favorite regional came through for my son and me with a huge Father's Day gift.
Sam Richards

Gallery
Conrail on Horseshoe Curve in 1977,
Chicago & North Western 4-6-0 No. 1385 pulls antique cirucs wagons in 1987, and
Georgia Northern FT No. 14 pauses at Bridgeboro, Ga., in 1969.
Assorted photographers

News
News & Photos
DM&E mulls coal line funding

Columnist Don Phillips

Columnist Roy Blanchard

Technology
A&M uses video cameras as defense tools

Locomotive
Finding the right used diesel takes work

Passenger
A winter's tale on the westbound Empire Builder

City Rail
Insights from L.A. into light-rail dispatching

Departments
From the Editor
Meet one incredible short line

Preservation
The little steam engine that can

Fantrip
Where are those darn trains?

Ask Trains

This year's all-new 100 page collectors's issue from Trains magazine will show you the latest trends and developments in the locomotive business.

In Locomotive 2007 you'll learn about:

• Norfolk Southern's Juniata Shop, one of the most famous locomotive repair shops in the land.
  
• Genset locomotives at work
  
• Electric locomotives and commuter service on the North East Corridor as well as new dual-mode locomotives and MU's under development for NJT and Montreal's AMT
  
• And more!
  
  If you liked Locomotive, you'll enjoy Locomotive 2007 (Arrives Late September)!

Features
Mountain Railroad Empire
Thanks to one man and his wife, and the state, West Virginia has a successful tourist operation with three personalities
Alan Byer

Is Stuff Enough?
Railroad museums seek relevance for new generations. What happens in 20 years when only a small number of senior citizens can recall steam engines or passenger trains?
Peter A. Hansen

MAX at night
While Portland commuters sleep, TriMet works hard through the Oregon night
Alexander B. Craghead and Dan Haneckow

The Survivor
On numbers, a Penn Central E7, and long odds
Ed King

Map of the Month: Looping Through the Front Range
Georgetown Loop is a fascinating twist and a dramatic lesson in how to gain 500 feet in three miles
Jim Wrinn

Railroad Reading
The veteran's charge: On Memorial Day we honor the military, but a veteran brakeman reminded me how we honor the railroaders who've gone before
Jeff Reynolds

Gallery
Shovel-nose diesels, bridges, Cincinnati Union Terminal

FREE Recreational Railroading Pullout
Your guide to tourist trains and museums

News
News & Photos
How Norfolk Southern makes RoadRailer work

Columnist Don Phillips

Columnist Dan Ranger

Technology
LEADER is a coach in a cab

Locomotive
A truck question for you: Radial or not?

Passenger
Amtrak is poised for growth - or is it?

City Rail
Kansas City light rail faces engineering and political hurdles

Departments
From the Editor
Is this window clean or dirty?

Preservation
Black Hills Central's many faces

Fantrip
Track down a nice place to stay

Ask Trains

Products

Features
2006 Trains/Canon Photo Contest: Against the Elements
From bitter cold to scorching heat, from time to rain and snow, our readers sent their finest

Why the 'green train' ran ... and doesn't anymore
Learn about the reasons for starting - and ending - Shamrock Coal's Oneida & Western unit coal train
Ron Flanary

1 man, 1 locomotive, 70 years together!
From his youth to his occupation, then hobby and passion, Harold Borovec has kept No. 15 close by and steaming in Washington state
Kurt F. Anders

Map of the Month: West Coast passenger trains
From San Diego to Vancouver, the short-haul passenger train has taken root, and riders have embraced it with fervor and style
Matt Van Hattem

Railroad Reading
A set of discarded dentures seemed to grow feet in pursuit of an engineer being pranked by his head brakeman
Jim Cyphers, as told to Joe Detrixhe

Gallery
History comes alive in color with an Illinois Terminal Class D freight motor in 1953, a Wabash F7A in 1962, and Chicago & North Western semaphores in 2000

News
News & Photos
Railroads work on ''greener'' image for the future

Columnist Don Phillips

Columnist Dan Ranger

Technology
New shop cleans and repairs cars faster and better

Locomotive
UP equips an SD60M to test emissions reduction

Passenger
Get back to nature on a dome-car ride in Canada

City Rail
Transit systems explore using biodiesel as fuel

Departments
From the Editor
Isn't Point A to Point B safest?

Preservation
Can steam really be made clean?

Fantrip
Cyber-size your submissions

Ask Trains

Features
Trains versus trucks: the decisive decade
In the 1950s, the trucking industry got the upper hand on the ralroading business and sent a stern message: Adapt or die
Jim Gibling

Deccan Odyssey, India by deluxe train
A week spent on board a luxury train in India provides a window into a fascinating country and railroading as it is nowhere else on the planet
Jeffrey T. Schultz

Saturday night fever
The night CSX ran Amtrak''s Auto Train ran on time, from Sanford, Fla., to Lorton, Va.
Fred W. Frailey

Map of the Month: Whatever became of New York Central?
The fate of the jade green team - Cornelius Vanderbilt's jewel - rests mostly with two coal roads from Virginia

Railroad Reading
A phone call and a confrontation are enough to make a Burlington Northern clerk change jobs in the late '70s
Charles W. Randolph

Gallery
Readers' photographs of the New Haven atop Poughkeepsie Bridge, a nighttime domecar ride, Canadian Pacific approaching a tunnel, and Chinese steam in silhouette

News
News & Photos
Increasing ethanol traffic raises safety concerns

Columnist Don Phillips

Columnist Dan Ranger

Technology
Paving the way for the rails with asphalt sub-ballast

Locomotive
Union Pacific experiments with ways to clean diesel exhaust; Canadian Pacific gets more GEs

Passenger
Amtrak gives passengers a taste of the future with a prototype diner-lounge car

City Rail
Must all commuter-rail stations look the same? California's Metrolink doesn't think so

Departments
From the Editor
Saving urban corridors for transit

Preservation
Want to run a museum?
Fantrip
Digital photography for dinosaurs

Ask Trains

Products

Features
Riding High at 10 Miles Per Hour
The San Luis Central may appear off the beaten track, but Burkhardt's first investment is still dear to his heart
David Lustig

Burkhardt's Bangor Baby
The Montreal, Maine & Atlantic had a rocky start. But keep watching MM&A's people don't give up easily
Kathi Kube

Where Will Ed Burkhardt Go Next?
A good railroad investment could take you anywhere in the world
David Lustig and Matt Van Hattem

Coming to America
The behind-the-scenes tale of two Chinese 2-10-2s that immigrated to Iowa Ron Olsen

Map of the Month:
Mainline Tonnage, 1980/2005
American railroads are moving nearly twice as much tonnage today as they did in 1980. We compare the busiest routes
Curtis W. Richards

Railroad Reading
A ''standard-issue'' jackhammer helps New York & Ogdensburg railroaders dig their tracks out of frozen mud
Walter Weart

Gallery
Readers' photographs of VIA Rail in Manitoba, Western Maryland in West Virginia, BNSF in Idaho, Naugatuck Railroad in Connecticut, and Arizona & Eastern in Arizona

News
News & Photos
November elections show strong support for transit

Columnist Don Phillips
U nion Pacific ends its costly licensing battle

Columnist Dan Ranger
A lesson for a new hire on the Calistoga branch

Technology
New standards for tank cars go into effect Jan. 1

Locomotive
BNSF's Comerce, Calif., fuel facility hits high gear

Passenger
Florida, Amtrak want to boost intrastate rail travel

City Rail
Caltrain introduces Project 2025 expansion plan

Departments
From the Editor
A new member of the Trains gang

Preservation
Across the country, several engines are making progress toward operational status in 2007 or beyond

Fantrip
More fans - now - need to work on estate planning for their photos, books, and paper items