American-Rails.com Blog
Here is your one-stop shop for learning about all of the newest additions or changes happening at American-Rails.com. Listed below is every page that is either new or which was updated within the last few days. Simply click on the link "Continue Reading..." under each heading to visit the page in question. With new articles added on a regular basis be sure and either check back here often or subscribe to the website's RSS feed to keep up with the latest.
Mar 08, 2020
Alco RSD-15 "Alligator" Locomotives
The RSD15 Alligator was a railfan favorite although railroads were less enthusiastic about them in service. A few remain preserved today.
Feb 16, 2020
New York, Ontario And Western Railway
The New York, Ontario & Western was a regional system linking Weehawken, New Jersey with Scranton, Pennsylvania and Oswego, New York. It shutdown in 1957.
Feb 16, 2020
Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 #261
Milwaukee Road #261 is a 4-8-4 locomotive part of its S-3 Class built by Alco in 1943. Today, it is in owned by the Friends Of The 261.
Feb 15, 2020
Lehigh And New England Railroad
The Lehigh & New England was another Northeastern anthracite coal hauler. An early victim of the times it shutdown in 1961.
Feb 15, 2020
Gensets/Green Goats
RailPower's Green Goats and gensets were first introduced in 2001. Owned by RJ Corman since 2009 the operation was shutdown in 2020.
Feb 14, 2020
East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company
The East Broad Top Railroad & Coal Company is a historic narrow-gauge coal-hauler dating to 1856 located in Pennsylvania.
Feb 11, 2020
Easter Train Rides
Provided here is a list of museums and tourist railroads that offer Easter train rides, including schedules and dates in 2020.
Jan 03, 2020
BNSF Railway: How America's Second Largest Railroad Was Born
The BNSF Railway is the nation's second-largest system, behind only Union Pacific.
Continue reading "BNSF Railway: How America's Second Largest Railroad Was Born"
Dec 19, 2019
Regional Services
Amtrak provides several regional services to complement its long-distance trains. Many are state-sponsored or subsidized.
Dec 18, 2019
Fall Foliage Train Rides
As the leaves begin to turn fall foliage train rides have become a popular way to see the vibrant colors. Find out where you can find these excursions here in 2020.
Dec 08, 2019
Dinner Train Rides: Locations In 2020
Dinner trains have become a popular attraction in recent years. Here, you can find dates and locations for these events in 2020.
Dec 05, 2019
Thomas Train Rides In 2020: Locations And Dates
Here you can find a complete schedule regarding where Thomas The Train/Day Out With Thomas train rides will be operating for the 2020 season.
Continue reading "Thomas Train Rides In 2020: Locations And Dates"
Oct 29, 2019
Polar Express Train Rides, 2020
Looking for official Polar Express train rides in 2020? You can find them all the dates and locations here.
Sep 29, 2019
Lindale, Georgia Railfan Park
The city of Lindale, Georgia will soon be opening a new attraction, a railfan park which is expected to be finished by October or November, 2019. The town sits along Norfolk Southern's former Central of Georgia and Southern main lines.
Aug 12, 2019
Central Railroad Of New Jersey (CNJ): A Corporate History
The Central Railroad of New Jersey was a classic fallen flag that served its home state and eastern Pennsylvania.
Continue reading "Central Railroad Of New Jersey (CNJ): A Corporate History"
Aug 12, 2019
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway is one of North America's oldest Class Is still in operation and the oldest in its home country.
Aug 12, 2019
Class I Railroads
In railroad jargon, Class I railroads refer to the largest companies in the industry and all seven in North America are highlighted here.
Aug 09, 2019
Great Northern Railway
The Great Northern Railway was the second company to reach Seattle doing so in 1893. It was part of the James Hill's vast empire.
Aug 09, 2019
Chicago, Burlington And Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), "The Burlington"
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy served much of the Midwest and Texas. It helped kickoff the streamliner era in 1934 and later formed Burlington Northern.
Continue reading "Chicago, Burlington And Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), "The Burlington""
Aug 09, 2019
The Milwaukee Road: A History And System Map
The Milwaukee Road, whose official name was the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific, dates to the mid-19th century and disappeared in 1985.
Continue reading "The Milwaukee Road: A History And System Map"
Aug 05, 2019
Railroad Tycoons List (USA): Men Of The Gilded Age (1800's)
Railroad tycoons, moguls, and barons were titans of 19th and early 20th century American commerce who laid the foundation of the modern industry we know today.
Continue reading "Railroad Tycoons List (USA): Men Of The Gilded Age (1800's)"
Aug 05, 2019
"Fallen Flags": Classic American Railroads (Corporate Histories)
Featured here are detailed histories of more than 100 classic railroads, or "fallen flags," from the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad to the small Monon.
Continue reading ""Fallen Flags": Classic American Railroads (Corporate Histories)"
Jul 23, 2019
American "Streamliners" (Passenger Trains): A History
Read about many of the most well known streamliners here and why the period of the 1930s to 1960s is often considered the "Silver Age" of rail travel.
Continue reading "American "Streamliners" (Passenger Trains): A History"
Jul 11, 2019
Railroads During World War II: Facts And Statistics
Railroads in World War II were critical to winning the conflict and were prepared unlike with the World War I crisis. Unfortunately, the historic traffic numbers declined after the war.
Continue reading "Railroads During World War II: Facts And Statistics"
Jun 10, 2019
U.S. Railroad History: Timeline, Facts, And Statistics
Interested in learning much more about out nation's rail history as well who invented the iron horse and when? Find it all here.
Continue reading "U.S. Railroad History: Timeline, Facts, And Statistics"
Jun 10, 2019
Lehigh Valley Railroad (LV): "Route Of The Black Diamond"
The Lehigh Valley dates as far back as 1853. At its height the anthracite road connected Buffalo with eastern New Jersey.
Continue reading "Lehigh Valley Railroad (LV): "Route Of The Black Diamond""
May 28, 2019
The 70 Year Train Ride
"The 70 Year Train Ride," published in 2019, is authored by Frank Heppner detailing his life's adventures by rail. These trips were not exclusive to the United States as the professor has traveled around the world riding trains. A fascinating, comical, and engaging story you are sure to enjoy!
May 13, 2019
Union Pacific 4014
Union Pacific 4014 is the latest star in the railroad's growing collection of heritage steam locomotives. It returned to active service on May 2, 2019.
May 13, 2019
4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" Locomotives
The 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" was designed by Alco and Union Pacific's Otto Jabelman to handle freight over the Wasatch Mountains. Today, several survive.
Top Of Page
Home
›
Blog
Header Photo: Drew Jacksich
Researching Rights-Of-Way
A popular pastime for many is studying and/or exploring abandoned rights-of-way. Today, there are tens of thousands of miles scattered throughout the country. Many were pulled up in the 1970's and 1980's although others were removed long before that. If you are researching active or abandoned corridors you might want to check out the United States Geological Survery's (USGS) Historical Topographic Map Explorer. It is an excellent resource with thousands of historic maps on file throughout the country. Just type in a town or city and click on the timeline of maps at the bottom of the page!
Studying Diesels
You will be hard pressed at finding a better online resource regarding diesel locomotives than Craig Rutherford's TheDieselShop.us. The website contains everything from historic (fallen flags) to contemporary (Class I's, regionals, short lines, and even some museums/tourist lines) rosters, locomotive production information, technical data, all notable models cataloged by the five major builders (American Locomotive, Electro-Motive, General Electric, Fairbanks-Morse, and Baldwin), and much more. A highly recommended database!
Electro-Motive Database
In 1998 a gentleman by the name of Andre Kristopans put together a web page highlighting virtually every unit every out-shopped by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division. Alas, in 2013 the site closed by thankfully Don Strack rescued the data and transferred it over to his UtahRails.net site (another fine resource). If you are researching anything EMD related please visit this page first. The information includes original numbers, serials, and order numbers.