The Keokuk Bridge, also known as the Keokuk Municipal Bridge, is a double-deck, single-track railway and highway bridge across the Mississippi River in the United States between Keokuk, Iowa, and Hamilton, Illinois, just downstream of Mississippi Lock and Dam number 19. It was designed by Ralph Modjeski and constructed 1915–1916 on the piers of its predecessor that was constructed in 1869–1871.


Following the completion of the Keokuk-Hamilton Bridge, the upper deck of this bridge, on the Keokuk side, was converted to an observation deck to view the nearby lock and dam; this deck is no longer used for road traffic, but the lower deck is still used for rail traffic. The bridge was originally owned by the Keokuk & Hamilton Bridge Company, but following financial problems in the 1940s, the bridge was given to the City of Keokuk in late 1948.


The bridge was originally the western terminus of the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad. Today, it serves the Keokuk Junction Railway with occasional train crossings for interconnection and river terminal services. Only the Keokuk side of the highway bridge has been converted, the bridge's upper highway deck is abandoned. The river traffic (barges and boats) have the right-of-way, so the swing section remains open until a train needs to cross the river.


On the Illinois side of the bridge, two precast concrete barriers prevent auto traffic from driving on to the old highway section.


The bridge was documented as survey number IA-3 by the Historic American Engineering Record, archived in the Library of Congress.


The New Geneva Bridge is a truss bridge that carries the Norfolk Southern Railway across the Monongahela River between Nicholson Township and Monongahela Township, Pennsylvania. The bridge was originally built to serve the Monongahela Railroad; it has long been part of a heavily traveled coal route. At the time of construction, it was the largest bridge ever constructed using end launching. The structure is just upriver from Friendship Hill National Historic Site.


The Cincinnati Southern Bridge, originally the Cincinnati Southern Railroad Swinging Truss Bridge, is a vertical lift bridge that carries the Norfolk Southern Railway over the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio and Ludlow, Kentucky in the United States. The bridge is composed of four through truss spans: a main span on the northern side of the bridge, a currently unused vertical lift span on the southern side, and two additional spans over the main shipping channels in the center of the bridge. The bridge crosses the Ohio River just downstream from downtown Cincinnati, and can be seen clearly from the lower level of the nearby Brent Spence Bridge.


The Cincinnati Southern Railway Bridge was begun in 1875; construction was completed in December, 1877, and the bridge immediately opened to traffic. Its cost exclusive of right of way was $811,683. The truss bridge was the longest bridge of its type when it was completed.


It was extensively modernized in 1922, and it remains the busiest railroad bridge in the city of Cincinnati today. The modernization replaced a swing span with a vertical lift span that was designed to rise only 13 feet. That was all that was considered necessary for clearance during periods of high water. The span was visually unique in that the swing pier from the original structure was left in place even though it was no longer physically connected to the bridge. Since 1976, the bridge's vertical lift span has been abandoned in its closed position, forcing all ships to pass under the center truss spans. For extensively tall ships, the bridge marks the end of their Ohio River voyage.


The Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge (also known as the Northampton Lattice Truss Bridge) is a former crossing of Boston and Maine Railroad over the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts, connecting the towns of Northampton and Hadley, by the Norwottuck Rail Trail, which is currently used for bicycle and foot traffic.


The Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge is an eight-span steel lattice truss bridge. It crosses Elwell Island in the middle of the river, providing no access to the island in an attempt to keep the island otherwise untouched. Riding over the bridge shows eight spans, with two of them over Elwell Island. It was built by the R. F. Hawkins Ironworks Company.


To survive the 1936 flood, railroad cars loaded with scrap metal were placed on the bridge to weigh it down.


The bridge was redesigned by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. of Watertown, rebuilt by MassHighway, and opened in 1992 to bicycle and foot traffic as part of the Norwottuck Rail Trail.


The CSX Bellwood Subdivision James River Bridge is a plate girder bridge that carries the Bellwood Subdivision over the James River in Richmond, Virginia. The bridge was built by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad between 1897 and 1900.


The bridge begins just south of the Main Street Station and constitutes the middle part of the Triple Crossing, going under the Rivanna Subdivision and over the Richmond District (Norfolk Southern) prior to crossing the James River.


The Meldrim trestle disaster occurred at Meldrim, Georgia, on June 28, 1959. Involved was a Seaboard Air Line mixed freight train that derailed over the Ogeechee River. Loaded LPG tank cars from the train plunged into the river below and ruptured. The resulting BLEVE and fire killed 23 people--including entire families and a woman who was eight months pregnant--who were at the river that day as it was a popular area to swim and picnic at.


The derailment was caused by the movement of rails on the trestle, as they were compressed by the moving train.


An ICC investigation faulted the railroad for not installing guard rails along the trestle, which might have helped to keep the derailed equipment on the trestle deck, minimizing the risk of a hazardous materials release.


The Texas Mexican Railway International Bridge is an international railway bridge across the Rio Grande and U.S.-Mexico border between Laredo, Texas, and Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, the only rail link between these cities. Owned and operated by Texas Mexican Railway (KCS) and Kansas City Southern de México, the single-track bridge is the busiest rail border crossing in North America. It is also known as the Laredo International Railway Bridge and Puente Negro (The Black Bridge).


On January 1, 2005, Kansas City Southern (KCS) took control of The Texas Mexican Railway Company and the U.S. portion of the International Bridge in Laredo, Texas. The railroad is a vital link in KCS's rail network, connecting The KCS and TFM, S.A. de C.V.


On the U.S. side the Bridge is located in the western termini of the Texas-Mexican Railway in Laredo, Texas. In Mexico it is located in the northern termini of the Kansas City Southern Railway in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.


When the Laredo International Railway Bridge 2 is completed the Texas-Mexican Railway International Bridge will be converted to either a northbound express lane for trailers and buses, or a railroad track for passenger trains.


The Union Railroad Port Perry Bridge it is a truss bridge that carries the Pennsylvania Union Railroad across the Monongahela River between North Braddock, Pennsylvania and Duquesne, Pennsylvania. Industrial pipelines also adorn the bridge, as natural gas is transported between the communities. Union Railroad is owned and operated by Transtar, Inc., a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation.


The Peninsula Subdivision Trestle is a railroad trestle in Richmond, Virginia on the Peninsula Subdivision of CSX Transportation.


Starting in the north, the bridge begins to rise and cross East Marshall Street and East Broad Street (U.S. Route 250 and State Route 33). It then passes the Main Street Station. Then it crosses East Main Street (U.S. Routes 60 and 360), East Cary Street, South 17th Street, and Dock Street before connecting to the Rivanna Subdivision Trestle at Rivanna Junction. The bridge parallels the James River and runs between the river and the large buildings of Tobacco Row before it crosses the Norfolk Southern Railway, Dock Street, Pear Street and Main Street again before finally returning to ground level.


The Anacostia Railroad Bridge is a vertical lift railroad bridge crossing the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., United States. The bridge is owned by CSX Transportation.


The Baltimore and Potomac Rail Road, a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad, built the first railroad bridge on this site, which opened on July 2, 1872. Successor Penn Central Railroad rebuilt the bridge in 1972.


The bridge currently carries freight trains. It is near the point where the RF&P Subdivision becomes the Landover Subdivision, with a connection to the Alexandria Extension just to the east of the bridge. Originally the bridge supported three tracks. This was later reduced to two tracks, and then one track in 2006.


The lift span is occasionally raised for boat traffic. The lift is controlled by a CSX bridge tender located nearby at Benning Rail Yard.


On November 10, 2007, a unit train carrying coal derailed and caused the collapse of the northern span of the bridge.


CSX had briefly closed the bridge in 2006 after it found high levels of corrosion and made repairs, and after the 2007 accident it again closed the bridge. The southern span was reopened 24 hours after the accident.


The Rivanna Subdivision Trestle is a trestle in Richmond, Virginia at the end of the Rivanna Subdivision. The bridge is the upper level of Triple Crossing, and also crosses United States Routes 360. It parallels the James River, and actually "steps" into it at one section. The bridge connects to the Peninsula Subdivision Trestle.


The Thebes Bridge is a five span cantilever truss bridge carrying the Union Pacific Railroad (previously carried the Missouri Pacific and Southern Pacific, in a joint operation) across the Mississippi River between Illmo, Missouri and Thebes, Illinois. It is owned by the Southern Illinois and Missouri Bridge Company, now a Union Pacific subsidiary.


The Southern Illinois and Missouri Bridge Company was incorporated in Illinois on December 28, 1900 to own the bridge and of connecting rail line. It was initially owned equally by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad, Illinois Central Railroad, Missouri Pacific Railway, St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway, and St. Louis Southwestern Railway.


Following approval of the bridge plans in 1902, limited construction activities began that year. Following litigation over right of way that prevented certain work from proceeding from May 1902 to April 1903, construction continued with the concrete arch approach structures in 1903, and the bridge superstructure itself in 1904. The legal issues "delayed considerably" the completion of the Missouri approach work, one of the main river piers, and led to an increased expense in constructing the superstructure. The bridge was dedicated in May 1905.


The designer of the bridge was Polish-American engineer Ralph Modjeski. Contractors included C. Macdonald & Co. of New York, J.S. Paterson Construction Company of Chicago, MacArthur Brothers of Chicago, and American Bridge Company of New York. The American Bridge Company in turn subcontracted the superstructure's erection to Kelley-Atkinson Construction Co of Chicago.


The Missouri Pacific and SLIM&S merged in 1917, and in 1945 the C&EI sold its 1/5 share to the Missouri Pacific, giving the latter company, since merged into the UP, a majority interest.


The rail crossing of the Connecticut River (United States) at this location originates from the Vermont and Massachusetts Railroad. The V&MRR was chartered in 1844 and completed an extension between Millers Falls, Massachusetts and Brattleboro, Vermont by 1850. Alvah Crocker, a paper and railroad magnate and U.S. Representative, was the first president of the V&MRR. Initially, the V&MRR was operated by Crocker's Fitchburg Railroad.


This rail bridge was used by Amtrak's Vermonter passenger service until December 2014.


The CSX A-Line Bridge is a double-track concrete bridge that carries the North End Subdivision of CSX Transportation over the James River in Richmond, Virginia. The bridge was built jointly by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad in 1919. Designed by John E. Greiner, this bridge was one of many he drew up for the RF&P, and brought early success to his recently established private consulting business. The purpose of this "million dollar bridge" was to create a quicker, more direct route around Richmond by passing over east-west tracks on both sides of the river.


The Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain Railway was a historic, railroad that operated in the southeastern United States.


The company was chartered in 1887 and started operations in 1889, running from Chattanooga, Tennessee to the Lookout Inn, a hotel at the summit of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.


The railroad was apparently not a financial success as it was abandoned in 1899. It was subsequently purchased by the Chattanooga Railway and Light Company and rebuilt for electric streetcar operation in 1913. Regular daily services ran on this line until 1920, when services were reduced to operating only on days that the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway was shut down for essential repairs. This substitute service ended in 1924, but the line remained in place until sometime after August 28, 1928, when mountaintop car service was discontinued.


This line should not be confused with the Lookout Mountain Incline Railway, a heritage railroad that opened in 1895 nearby, and is still in operation.


The Black Hills and Fort Pierre Railroad (BH&FP) was a narrow gauge railroad in the Black Hills of the U.S. state of South Dakota. It was created by the Homestake Mining Company and initially ran from Lead to Calcite and Piedmont by way of Elk Creek. An alternate route was established to Piedmont and Calcite by way of Nemo and Stagebarn Canyon after numerous washouts made the Elk Creek route unviable. There was also a branch from the Nemo line connecting Este with a logging camp at Merritt. The railroad had of dual gauge track (with trackage) and another of track; the total amount of track was .


The line was originally intended to haul timber to the Homestake Mining Company in Lead. On June 15, 1881, the railroad company was incorporated under the name Black Hills Railroad Company. The name was changed to the Black Hills and Fort Pierre Railroad on July 10, 1882. On November 29, 1881, a mule team hauled the first locomotive, a Porter 2-6-0, from Fort Pierre to Lead. The first track was laid from Lead to Woodville in 1881, and in 1886, the track was extended to Bucks. In 1890, the line was extended to Piedmont. A line long that ran from Bucks to Este was built in 1898.


The Alaska-Alberta Railway Development Corporation (also known as A2A Rail) is an entity created to build, own, and operate a proposed railroad between Delta Junction, Alaska, and Fort McMurray, Alberta. The railroad will interchange with and operate on part of the Alaska Railroad, in order to access Southcentral Alaska and its ports. the project is estimated to cost CA$20 billion.


A rival enterprise, G7G Railway, estimated in 2020 the capital cost to be just under US$20 billion. They proposed shipping oil, via the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, from rail cars in Delta Junction to the coast.


The proposed A2A railway would connect to the Alaska Railroad at Delta Junction, Alaska, and run through the Yukon to Fort Nelson, British Columbia, and from there to a terminus at Fort McMurray, Alberta. The A2A Railway had also been negotiating with the Mat-Su Borough on an agreement to complete the Port Mackenzie Railway Extension.


The Van Horne Institute studied the route in 2013. A survey of the proposed route by the development corporation began in July 2020.


On September 25, 2020, US President Donald Trump announced he would issue a presidential permit to the railway, which has an agreement with Alaska Railway to develop a joint operating plan for the rail connection to Canada.


Early field activities and detailed engineering design is expected to start by Q1 2021. Construction is expected to take three years.


10 refers to two streetcar lines in Los Angeles, California. They operated by the Los Angeles Railway for a combined period from 1932 to 1946.


The route started in 1932 as a combination of two former lines: the M on Arlington Avenue and the A Line Broadway segment. It ran from Vernon and Arlington in the south to Lincoln and Mission in Lincoln Heights. In 1939 the Broadway line was reassigned to the W and service was rerouted all the way to the Edgeware line in Angelino Heights, but this was cut back to 39th on New Year's Day 1943.


At the time of its closure, the route ran from Grand Avenue and 39th Street to the intersection of Vernon and Arlington Avenues, by way of Grand Avenue, Santa Barbara Avenue, Dalton Avenue, and Vernon Avenue. The service ended on November 30, 1942; the Edgeware Road Line continued to operate as a shuttle, designated number 37, until mid-1946.


A wholly new route was assigned the number 10 on June 21, 1943, running over Vernon, Dalton, and Santa Barabara and extending to Vermont and 39th at rush hours. This 10 ran until January 17, 1946.


The Coastal Classic is a passenger and semi-luxury train operated by the Alaska Railroad between the cities of Anchorage and Seward, Alaska. It is a seasonal train, only operating between the months of May and September. Despite its seasonality, the "Coastal Classic" was the Alaska Railroad's most popular route in 2019.


In 2020, summer services began in July in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.


The "Coastal Classic" makes the following station stops:


American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association


The American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA) is an association of North American short line and regional railroads. Founded in 1913, the ASLRRA has a range of members, include a variety of Class II and Class III railroads. The association comprises approximately 550 small businesses, all within the railway transportation industry. The ASLRRA acts as a lobbying group for member railroads, representing them for both legislation and regulation. They are often charged with conducting compliance assessments for their members. Since 1998, they have also been awarding the Jake Award - recognizing railroads for their safety record which had originally been started by L. S. “Jake” Jacobson.


The Rail Passengers Association (RPA), formerly the National Association of Railroad Passengers, is the largest advocacy organization for rail passengers in the United States.


The organization was founded by Anthony Haswell on May 18, 1967, to lobby for the continuation of passenger trains in the United States.


RPA's small paid staff in Washington, D.C., spends most of its time educating members of Congress and their staffs about the value of passenger rail.


RPA publishes a newsletter eleven times a year detailing news in the passenger rail world. It often includes stories about related legislation in Congress, Traveler's Advisories, and Travel Tips, with a particular focus on Amtrak.


Members benefit from discounts on Amtrak, Via Rail, Alaska Railroad, Grand Canyon Railway, Nevada Northern Railway, and Brightline.


The governing body of RPA is the Council of Representatives, consisting of 112 members from fifty states plus the District of Columbia, apportioned by the number of RPA members in each state. Up to an additional ten "At-Large" Council Representatives may hold office at any one time.


RPA is divided into ten regional divisions, each headed by a Division Leader, who is also a Council Representative for one of the states included in his/her Division.


Council Representatives and Division Leaders report to a liaison on the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors includes one Chair, four Vice Chairs, one Secretary, one Treasurer, and eight Directors, for a total of fifteen members. The immediate past Chair and Treasurer hold non-voting, ex-officio, advisory roles on the Board. The Board sets the agenda for RPA's activities and the hiring of staff.


In addition to the elected leadership, the small paid staff in Washington, D.C. includes a President, Vice Presidents for Policy, Operations, and Resource Development, Directors for Policy Research and Customer Advisory Committee Services, two regional Field Coordinators (based in Massachusetts and Alabama), and an Office Manager.


Jim Mathews, formerly Executive Editor of the Aviation Week Intelligence Network, has served as RPA President and CEO since August 2014.


The North Jersey Rail Commuter Association is a not for profit (501(c)(3)) railroad advocacy organization that was formed and incorporated in the United States in 1980. During its history, the organization and its members have been involved in the successful advocacy of a number of projects involving NJ Transit Rail Operations. NJRCA's headquarters are located in Knowlton Township, New Jersey.


NJRCA's mission is to advocate, in a non-partisan manner, rail projects that benefit New Jersey by educating public officials and the general public. This advocacy includes the preservation of existing rail infrastructure wherever possible; and the initiation, reactivation or augmentation of rail service wherever practicable.


The first NJRCA president, Frederick H. Wertz, helped establish the organization in 1980, which was initially headquartered in Sparta, New Jersey. Since that time, the organization has helped advocate a number of rail projects in New Jersey, particularly northern New Jersey. Charles Walsh assumed the presidency of the organization in 1988, and has held that position since that time. The organization's vice-president is Donald J. Barnickel, P.E., who also assumed the vice presidency in 1988.


Since its creation in 1980, NJRCA has spearheaded the effort to preserve and reactivate the Lackawanna Cut-Off. In 1979, as a result of a consolidation of Conrail's east-west rail routes, freight service was discontinued on the Cut-Off. This occurred in the aftermath of Conrail's taking over the operation of the line from the Erie Lackawanna Railroad in 1976. Passenger service on the line ceased in January 1970. The discontinuation of freight service on the Cut-Off opened the door for possible abandonment of the route and removal of the tracks on the line.


In 1985, Conrail announced that it had sold the right-of-way of the Cut-Off to two developers, Gerald Turco and Burton Goldmeier. Goldmeier had acquired the easternmost mile (1.6 km) of the Cut-Off, while Turco had acquired the remaining 26-mile (44 km) section of the line in New Jersey and approximately one-mile (1.6 km) section in Pennsylvania. By 1986, Turco had announced a proposal to use the Cut-Off as a source for fill material and to use the "cuts" on the Cut-Off as construction landfills. This triggered a negative public reaction, and a push to have the State of New Jersey acquire the Cut-Off through eminent domain.


Starting in 1990, the New Jersey Department of Transportation initiated the use of eminent domain against Turco and Goldmeier, resulting in the State of New Jersey acquiring the right-of-way for a total of $21 million in 2001.


At present, NJRCA continues to work with public officials in advocacy for the reactivation of the Lackawanna Cut-Off, specifically, at this point, the extension of rail service to Andover, New Jersey. However, the group will continue to be involved in the advocacy for the extension of service along the entire length of the Cut-Off in New Jersey for the foreseeable future.


Shortly thereafter, NJRCA helped establish the Netcong-Port Morris (N-PM) Site Committee. The N-PM Site Committee's main responsibility was to act as a liaison between the museum commission and the towns—Netcong, NJ and Roxbury Township, New Jersey—that would be home to the museum. In addition to representatives from NJRCA, the committee had representatives from Netcong Boro and Roxbury Township, members of the railfan community, canal enthusiasts, Amtrak, preservationists, and other ad hoc members from the region.


In October, 1998, the commission's chairman, Assemblyman Alex DeCroce, announced that the choice had been narrowed down to three sites in New Jersey: Phillipsburg, Plainfield and Netcong-Port Morris. By the time this announcement was made, it had become clear that the majority of members on the NJ State Railroad & Transportation Museum Commission were in favor of placing the museum in Phillipsburg. Subsequently, in early 1999, DeCroce permitted a vote to take place that designated Phillipsburg as the museum site. Walsh, however, continued to openly support the Netcong-Port Morris site, leading to his not being reappointed to the commission when his term expired later that year. Walsh's seat on the commission was filled by transportation magnate Anthony Imperatore.


As such, Walsh, in conjunction with NJRCA and the N-PM Site Committee continued to advocate for the Netcong-Port Morris site and in the process gained the support of New Jersey State Senate leader Robert Littell, who at that time was the chairman of the New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, and who struck an agreement with DeCroce to amend proposed legislation from the New Jersey General Assembly to designate both Phillipsburg and Netcong-Port Morris as joint sites for the museum. The legislation was subsequently signed into law in 2001.


Since that time, there has been activity within Phillipsburg to attempt to build the museum there, although the originally envisioned site, which is privately owned, was never acquired by the state of New Jersey and has since been designated for other purposes. In Netcong, there has been little activity thus far, although with the reactivation of the Lackawanna Cut-Off it is envisioned that the train station in Netcong could act as the eastern terminus for Steamtown train excursions from Scranton, Pennsylvania.


In addition to the Lackawanna Cut-Off project, NJRCA has advocated the Gateway Tunnel (formerly known as the ARC Tunnel), including the proposal for run-through tracks at Penn Station, New York, with a connection to Grand Central Station. NJRCA has also proposed weekend rail service be instituted along the entire length of NJ Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line; that the Montclair-Boonton Line between Great Notch, NJ and Denville, New Jersey be electrified; and that all or part of NJ Transit's Gladstone Branch be double-tracked.


The High Speed Rail Alliance (HSRA) (until late 2019, named the Midwest High Speed Rail Association (MHSRA)) was founded in 1993 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. The association is a non-profit, member-supported organization that primarily advocates for world-class 220-mph high-speed trains linking major cities and supports fast, frequent and dependable trains on other routes that connect with 220-mph corridors to form a modern national rail network.


The High Speed Rail Alliance's executive director, Richard Harnish, believes it is time for America to “catch up” with European and Asian countries in terms of using high-speed rail systems.


The HSRA views the Chicago-St. Louis link as the first of a regional 220-mph high-speed rail network that would link Chicago, St. Louis, the Twin Cities, Milwaukee, Detroit, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh, putting more than 35 million people within a three-hour train ride of Chicago.


In a proposal to the U.S. Department of Transportation, SNCF, operator of the TGV high-speed rail network in France, estimated that a Midwestern 220-mph high-speed rail network would create 677,000 permanent jobs and 316,000 construction jobs. Automobile trips would be reduced by 4.3 billion vehicle miles each year, saving 3 million barrels of oil each year, and additionally reduce CO2 and other pollutant emissions by 1.4 million tons in 2030. The total estimated cost for the network is $68.5 billion. Advocates for high-speed rail put that cost in perspective by pointing out that the Interstate Highway System cost 450 billion in 2008 dollars.


The High Speed Rail Alliance has been a vocal critic of libertarian and conservative activists who view HSRA as distorting the record and facts on high-speed rail. In July 2009, it released a document responding to statements by the Cato Institute and the Reason Foundation about high-speed rail.


Railroader of the Year is an annual award presented to a North American railroad industry worker by trade journal "Railway Age". The award was first presented in 1964 by trade journal "Modern Railroads" and has continued through the magazine acquisition in 1992 to the present.


The Surface Transportation Board (STB) of the United States is a federal, bipartisan, independent adjudicatory board. The STB was established on January 1, 1996, to assume some of the regulatory functions that had been administered by the Interstate Commerce Commission when the ICC was abolished. Other ICC regulatory functions were either eliminated or transferred to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or Bureau of Transportation Statistics within DOT.


The STB has broad economic regulatory oversight of railroads, including rates, service, the construction, acquisition, and abandonment of rail lines, carrier mergers, and interchange of traffic among carriers. The STB also has oversight of pipeline carriers, intercity bus carriers, moving van companies, trucking companies involved in collective activities, and water carriers engaged in non-contiguous domestic trade. The Board has wide discretion, through its exemption authority from federal, state, and local laws, to tailor its regulatory activities to meet the nation's changing transportation needs.


The Board provides a forum for the resolution of surface-transportation disputes and other matters within its jurisdiction. It has the authority to limit or remove regulatory requirements where appropriate.


The Board is composed of five members nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate for five-year terms. The Surface Transportation Board Reauthorization Act expanded the Board from three to five members in 2015.


The Board's chairman is designated by the President from among the members. As its chief executive, the chairman coordinates and organizes the agency's work and acts as its representative in legislative matters and in relations with other governmental bodies. Chairman Daniel R. Elliott III was nominated to the Surface Transportation Board by President Barack Obama on January 13, 2015, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 22, 2015, and was sworn in as the Board's chairman on June 26, 2015, for a term of office expiring December 31, 2018. Chairman Elliott is in his second term at the Board, having previously served as the agency's chairman from August 13, 2009, until December 31, 2014.


The vice chairman represents the Board and assumes the chairman's duties as appropriate. Additionally, the vice chairman oversees matters involving the admission, discipline, and disbarment of non-attorney Board practitioners. Deb Miller was sworn in on April 28, 2014, as a Member of the Board for a term of office expiring on December 31, 2017, following her September 25, 2013, nomination to the Board by President Obama and her confirmation by the United States Senate on April 9, 2014. She was designated vice chairman (May 27, 2014 – December 31, 2014); served as acting chairman (January 1, 2015 – June 26, 2015); and was again designated vice chairman on January 7, 2016, in the agency's annual rotation of the vice chairmanship.


Ann D. Begeman was sworn in May 2, 2011, as a member of the Board. She currently serves as chairperson.


Martin J. Oberman was confirmed to the Board on January 3, 2019, by a voice vote in the United States Senate.


Patrick Fuchs was confirmed to the Board on January 2, 2019, by a voice vote in the United States Senate. He currently serves as vice-chairperson.


Assisting the Board in carrying out its responsibilities is a staff of 150 with experience in economics, law, accounting, transportation analysis, finance and administration.


Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance.


The Office of Public Assistance, Governmental Affairs, and Compliance serves as the agency's principal point of contact with Congress, state and local governments, the media, industry stakeholders and the general public. This office includes the Rail Customer and Public Assistance Program, where Board staff solves problems in ways ranging from a simple answer to a telephone inquiry to lengthy informal dispute resolution efforts between railroads and shippers.


The Office of Economics analyzes rate cases, conducts economic and financial analyses of the railroad industry, and audits Class I railroads.


Office of Economics, Environmental Analysis and Administration.


The Office of Economics, Environmental Analysis and Administration is responsible for undertaking environmental reviews of proposed STB actions in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act and other environmental laws and making environmental recommendations to the STB.


The Office of the Managing Director handles administrative matters such as personnel, budget and information technology.


The Office of Proceedings (OP) is the office with primary responsibility for developing the public record in formal cases (or proceedings) filed with the STB, making recommendations regarding the resolution of issues presented in those cases, and preparing the decisions issued by the Board.


The Office of Proceedings is a legal office, consisting almost entirely of attorneys and paralegal specialists, responsible for the majority of the cases at the STB. The office applies the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended by the ICC Termination Act of 1995, as well as the Board's own regulations. In carrying out its responsibilities, the Office of Proceedings obtains and applies any necessary input from economic, financial, operational, environmental, and other legal staff experts throughout the agency.


The Office of Proceedings includes a clearance unit responsible for tabulating votes on STB cases and recording the official outcome of those votes, and a recordations unit that enters data about a filing's primary and secondary documents into the STB Recordations database, which is accessible to the public on the STB web site.


In performing defensibility assessments, OGC attorneys meet with other STB staff to discuss cases before draft decisions are prepared. Defensibility assessments are key to issuing sound decisions that are less likely to be challenged and, if challenged, are more likely to be upheld.


Steamtown, U.S.A., was a steam locomotive museum that ran steam excursions out of North Walpole, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls, Vermont, from the 1960s to 1983. The museum was founded by millionaire seafood industrialist F. Nelson Blount. The non-profit Steamtown Foundation took over operations following his death in 1967. Because of Vermont's air quality regulations restricting steam excursions, declining visitor attendance, and disputes over the use of track, some pieces of the collection were relocated to Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the mid-1980s and the rest were auctioned off. After the move, Steamtown continued to operate in Scranton but failed to attract the expected 200,000–400,000 visitors. Within two years the tourist attraction was facing bankruptcy, and more pieces of the collection were sold to pay off debt.


In 1986, the United States House of Representatives, under the urging of Pennsylvania Representative Joseph M. McDade, voted to approve $8 million to study the collection and to begin the process of making it a National Historic Site. As a result, the National Park Service (NPS) conducted historical research on the equipment that remained in the Foundation's possession. This research was used as a "Scope of Collections Statement" for the Steamtown National Historic Site. The scope was published in 1991 under the title "Steamtown Special History Study". The report provided concise histories of each piece of equipment and made recommendations as to whether or not each piece belonged in the soon-to-be government-funded collection.


By 1995, Steamtown had been acquired and developed by the NPS with a $66 million allocation. Several more pieces have been removed from the collection as a result of the government acquisition. Part of the Blount collection is still on display at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton.


F. Nelson Blount, the heir to the largest seafood processor in the United States, was an avid railroad enthusiast. When he was just seventeen years old he wrote a book on steam power. Acquiring the narrow-gauge Edaville Railroad in Carver, Massachusetts in 1955, he began amassing one of the largest collections of antique steam locomotives in the United States. In addition to the Edaville Railroad, Blount also ran excursions at Pleasure Island in Wakefield, Massachusetts and Freedomland U.S.A. in New York City. By 1964, another part of his collection housed at an engine facility purchased from the Boston & Maine at North Walpole, New Hampshire consisted of 25 steam locomotives from the United States and Canada, 10 other locomotives, and 25 pieces of rolling stock.


The next year in 1964 Blount founded the Green Mountain Railroad to assume freight duties on the former Rutland line between Bellows Falls and Rutland. The MS&N began operating excursions over that trackage in 1964, and Green Mountain freight service began on April 3, 1965. Meanwhile, pieces of the Steamtown collection began to make their way from North Walpole to Riverside.


F. Nelson Blount was killed when his private airplane collided with a tree during an emergency landing, in Marlboro, New Hampshire, on August 31, 1967. By that time a good deal of Blount's collection was controlled by the Steamtown Foundation and had been relocated to Riverside. The Green Mountain Railroad controlled the tracks that lay between Walpole, Bellows Falls and Chester, Vermont, which Steamtown was to use for its excursions. When Blount died most of the controlling stock of the GMRC was transferred to the president of the railroad, Robert W. Adams. The Green Mountain temporarily assumed passenger excursion operations from the MS&N. Now redundant, the Monadnock, Steamtown & Amusement Corporation ceased operations in December 1967 and was later dissolved in August 1971.


In 1971, the Board of Health of Vermont issued a waiver to the GMRC for Vermont's air pollution regulations. The waiver permitted the operation of steam locomotive excursions between Steamtown's Riverside station at Bellows Falls, and Chester depot. In 1974, as the state of Vermont prepared for its celebration of the country's bicentenary, in which the Steamtown excursion featured prominently, the subject of the air pollution regulations came up again. The tourist attraction was operating on temporary permits that allowed it to operate excursions in Vermont. By 1976, the relationship between Steamtown and GMRC deteriorated as the two organizations fought over maintenance of the tracks, which were owned by the state of Vermont.


When asked by McManus to describe the value of the Steamtown collection, Jim Boyd, editor of "Railfan" magazine said, "Everything there is no longer obtainable anywhere, whether it is the "Big Boy" Union Pacific No. 4012 or the Rahway Valley No. 15, a nice-sized locomotive any museum would give a right arm for. Most of the other large collections do not have any serviceable equipment." McManus closed his argument for the relocation of Steamtown by pointing out, "What is at stake is more than tourism and jobs. It is a significant part of America's past before the welder's torch is turned on the likes of the 1877 'Prince of Liege', the rare Union Pacific diamond stack, etc. The steel alone is worth $3 million."


In June 1983, McManus wrote about Steamtown again, this time announcing that Scranton had taken his suggestion. He said that other cities in contention for the relocation were Springfield, Massachusetts, and Willimantic, Connecticut. "But on May 24, Scranton signed a contract to get it, pledging to raise $2 million to cover the cost of moving 40 ancient steam engines and 60 cars, few of which are operable, and to create a museum." Steamtown sponsored its last Vermont excursion on October 23, 1983, using Canadian Pacific 1246 to pull a "dozen or so cars" on a round trip from Riverside station to Ludlow, Vermont.


Before its move to Scranton, Steamtown, U.S.A. sold several pieces of the collection. After the facility was nationalized, several other pieces were sold or traded for pieces that were significant to the Scranton area. Some examples of the original collection are profiled below. In some cases, the pieces of equipment discussed here are still in the collection in Scranton, but several others are not. When possible the most recent information on the location of the equipment is provided.


Rahway Valley No. 15 was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works, June 1916. It is a 2-8-0 Consolidation type locomotive. It was built for the Oneida & Western Railroad and wore the number 20 for that company. The railroad's initial purpose was to develop Tennessee's coal and lumber industry, but it became a short line that connected the Cincinnati, New Orleans and the Texas Pacific Railways between Oneida and Jamestown, Tennessee.


In the mid-1930s the engine was purchased by Rahway Valley Railroad in New Jersey. Renumbered 15, the locomotive served primarily while the company's other locomotives were being serviced. The locomotive was the favorite of master mechanic Charles Nees. "Perhaps not the most efficient engine, Rahway Valley No. 15 qualified as the line's most attractive." When it was retired in 1953, having been replaced with diesel power, No. 15 was put into well-protected storage until it was purchased by F. Nelson Blount in 1959.


In 1979, the locomotive was renumbered "1881", painted black with silver stripes, and leased to a Hollywood company for use in the filming of the horror movie "Terror Train" (1979), starring Jamie Lee Curtis. In 1980, the locomotive was repainted with a color scheme used by Canadian Pacific in the 1930s. The black, gold, and Tuscan red paint job was popular with railroad enthusiasts and photographers. The number 1293 was also restored to the engine. In February 1982, the headlights, handrails, and cab roof of 1293 were damaged when the roof of a Steamtown storage building gave way to heavy snow.


Although the "Steamtown Special History Study" reasoned that, since this type of locomotive had historically operated in New England, perhaps as far south as Boston, it qualified to be part of the federal government's collection, the Canadian native sat unused for 12 years following the move to Scranton. Ohio Central Railroad System purchased it in 1996, and it underwent a 13-month restoration. As of July 2010, Ohio Central Railroad has lost control of most of its holdings, but former owner, Jerry Joe Jacobson, maintained a collection of vintage equipment including CPR 1293 and her sister, CRP 1278, which is also a veteran of Steamtown, U.S.A. operational locomotives. No. 1293 is still operational as of October 2011.


"Big Boy", a 4-8-8-4 type locomotive built by American Locomotive Company in November 1941, is among the world's largest steam locomotives and weighs . The Steamtown Special History Study recommended that it remain at Steamtown as it is the only articulated type in the collection. It also recommended that it remain on static display, as it was doubtful that the "track, switches, culverts, trestles, bridges, wyes, turntables, and other facilities that would have to carry her [could] bear her great weight". In fact, since the Steamtown turntable and roundhouse were inadequate for its size, Big Boy has remained out-of-doors since its arrival at Scranton, where it was still on display as of May 2015. As of 2019, the locomotive is undergoing cosmetic restoration.


While at Steamtown, the Shay locomotive endured extensive damage when the building it was stored in collapsed under heavy snow in February 1982. The Shay's wooden cab was destroyed, but "its sand dome, its headlight, its front number plate, its bell and bell hanger, whistle, and other components" were missing before this incident. It was determined that it would remain at the National Historic Site as it was the only Shay and the only geared locomotive in the collection.


Bevier & Southern Railroad No. 109 was built by Brooks in 1900. This 2-6-0 type locomotive served the Illinois Central Railroad under several numbers: 560, 3706 and 3719. As of July 2010 it is located at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union and referred to as Illinois Central 3719.


This locomotive was built in 1903 by American Locomotive Company as a 2-8-0 Consolidation type. It was originally owned by Chicago Union Transfer Railway and numbered 100. It was sold to Illinois Central Railroad Company in 1904 and renumbered 641. The railroad, which dated back to 1851, operated miles of track between Chicago, Illinois and New Orleans, Louisiana. This locomotive pulled heavy freight in Tennessee and "must have seen hard service, for reportedly the Illinois Central rebuilt it in 1918, modernizing it with a superheater, and possibly replacing the boiler and firebox".


The only surviving locomotive of the Chicago Union Transfer Railway, No. 790 is the only Illinois Central 2-8-0 Consolidation type of its class to survive. "About 146 standard gauge 2-8-0s survive in the United States, including Illinois Central No. 790". The Steamtown National Historic Site retained this locomotive on the suggestion of the Steamtown Special History Study.


No. 1 was once part of the Steamtown, U.S.A. collection. This type of locomotive was originally developed for use on the flat terrain of the prairie, such as the Great Plains of Kansas and surrounding states, and thus it was referred to as a Prairie-type locomotive. The Prairie locomotives were later used by lumber companies which operated on flat forest terrain. This locomotive was built specifically for the lumber industry and served several lumber firms in Florida.


The Carpenter-O'Brien Lumber Company was incorporated in Delaware in 1913. The company, which operated in Florida, ordered this locomotive from Baldwin Locomotive Works, which completed it in 1914. Locomotive No. 1 was put into service at the company's Eastport sawmill in Florida. The locomotive, which could burn either coal or wood, was likely originally outfitted with a Rushton, or cabbage cinder catching stack. "If so, a later owner apparently replaced the Rushton stack with the 'shotgun' stack now on the locomotive."


After the United States entered World War I in 1917, the Carpenter-O'Brien Lumber Company was sold to Brooks-Scanlon Corporation. By 1928, Brooks-Scanlon was operating in four Florida counties and producing of lumber. This locomotive was probably used to haul logs into the mill from the woods or to switch the yard around the Eastport plant, or both. In the following years the locomotive changed hands four of five times between several interconnected Florida lumber firms.


In 1959, locomotive No.1 was taken out of service by its then owner, Lee Tidewater Cypress, in Perry, Florida. It was sold to F. Nelson Blount in 1962 by the Lee Tidewater Cypress parent company, J.C. Turner Company. It was moved to Walpole, New Hampshire and then, across the Connecticut River, to Bellows Falls, Vermont where it stayed until the Blount collection was relocated to Scranton, Pennsylvania.


Simons Wrecking Company No. 2 is an H.K. Porter, 0-6-0T steam engine built in 1941. The tank engine, which is oil fired, worked for the US Navy during World War II in Virginia as #14. Later the engine was put into service with Simons Wrecking Co. as No. 2.


No. 1551 is a 4-6-0 type locomotive, was built by Montreal Locomotive Works, March 1912, and originally was numbered 1354 for the Canadian Northern Railway. Used primarily on Canadian commuter lines, the locomotive was renumbered 1551 in October 1956 and retired in 1958. Blount bought the engine and restoration was begun, but never completed. In 1986, Jerry Joe Jacobson traded a 1929 Baldwin Locomotive Works built shop switcher, Iron and Steel Company No. 3, 0-6-0, for No. 1551. It was restored and ran excursions for the Ohio Central Railroad until Jacobson lost control of the railroad. Jacobson still owns the locomotive. It is stored at Jacobson's "Age of Steam Roundhouse" in Ohio and remains operational.


Canadian National Railways No. 96, 2-6-0 Mogul type, is also owned by Jerry Joe Jacobson. It was built in 1910 by the Canadian Locomotive Company and originally numbered 1024 for the Grand Trunk Railway, then 926 when Canadian National obtained it in a merger in 1923, CN renumbered it 96 in 1951. While owned by Blount, the locomotive was used for its parts. It was sold in the 1980s and went to Ontario. It was purchased by Jacobson in 1994 and as of 2009 is stored out of service.


Canadian Pacific Railway No. 2816 was acquired by Blount in January 1964. It was built by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1930. The 4-6-4 Hudson, H1b class locomotive had logged over in 30 years of service pulling passenger trains between Winnipeg and Calgary, and Winnipeg and Fort William, Ontario. Later, 2816 served on the Windsor-to-Quebec City corridor. The locomotive's final run was on May 26, 1960, pulling a Montreal–Rigaud commuter train. The "Steamtown Special History Study" recommended that the locomotive be kept in the collection, as it was the only 4-6-4 in the group, but the National Park Service sold it back to Canadian Pacific Railway, who restored it and put it back into service.


In 1998, the Steamtown National Historic Site, which is funded by the federal government, began divesting itself of foreign equipment, including CPR 2816. Canadian Pacific Railway acquired it and undertook a 3-year, $1 million restoration which included converting it from coal-burning to oil. In 2001, renamed the "Empress", 2816 was used for pricy excursions between Calgary and Vancouver, British Columbia. After taking a year off in 2009, the Empress went on tour in 2010 offering rides to the general public across Canada. CPR donated the ticket proceeds to the Children's Wish Foundation. It subsequently remained in service until 2012, when then-CEO E. Hunter Harrison discontinued the steam program.


The engine was removed from the Steamtown collection in 1995 and was moved to the Nevada Southern Railroad Museum at Boulder City, Nevada. The NSRM then loaned (and later transferred ownership to) the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California.


In 2004, the Western Pacific Railroad Museum traded the 737 to the Double T Ranch in Stevinson, California. The Double T has cosmetically restored the engine to its 1914 (SP #216) appearance, and placed it on display along with some antique passenger cars. This exhibit was dubbed as the "History Train", and offers "excursion rides". During these excursions, the train does not actually move, but sounds and motions that simulate a train ride are produced to create an illusion that the train is in motion.


The National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the United States to promote interest in, and appreciation for the historical development of railroads. It is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and organized into 16 regions and 170 local chapters located in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The NRHS sponsors the popular RailCamp summer orientation program in partnership with Amtrak and the National Park Service, offering high school youth hands-on experience in the railroad industry.


The NRHS was formed in Baltimore, Maryland on August 18, 1935, when railfans from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Trenton, New Jersey, and New York City gathered there for a farewell excursion on the then soon-to-be-abandoned Washington, Baltimore and Annapolis Electric Railway. Officers from railfan clubs in those cities decided to merge and form a national organization, which they dubbed the "National Railway Historical Society".


Leon Franks of the Lancaster club was elected the first chairman of the NRHS and William P. Hamilton III of Trenton was the first NRHS president.


The NRHS has around 10,000 members as of October 2015 and is one of the largest rail historical societies in the U.S. The NRHS is a non-profit section 501(c)(3) organization. Al Weber of St Louis, Missouri, is currently national president . Its mailing address is: c/o John K Fiorilla, Esq., Capehart & Scatchard PA, P.O Box 5016, Mt.Laurel, NJ 08054. The NRHS is "a historical preservation charity", with its future focus on education and preservation.


The Society holds an annual national convention, featuring exhibits and excursions using historic railroad locomotives and rolling stock. It publishes the "National Railway Bulletin", a bimonthly membership newsletter containing articles, photos, and news about railroads, both past and present, as well as coverage of local chapter activities.


The organization began a "Railway Heritage Grants Program" in 1991, to provide financial grants to "organizations that educate, publish, and preserve railroad history to benefit future generations", according to an NRHS news release. As described by the NRHS, projects assisted by the Railway Heritage Grants Program "range from refurbishing historic railroad stations and restoring vintage steam locomotives for operating and museum display, to the cataloging and storage of historic railroad archives".


The NRHS conducts two week-long "Railcamps" each summer for high school-age youth. The program offers firsthand experience of rail history and operations, offered in partnership with the National Park Service and Amtrak and other organizations and companies in the rail industry. In 2008, participants toured Steamtown's roundhouse and shops, operating some of the shop machinery. The youth also visited Amtrak's massive Wilmington, Delaware, maintenance facility, where they went inside locomotives and met with Amtrak employees to learn about railroad careers. One participant wrote afterwards in "Trains" magazine that, "The experience truly increased my respect for the men and women who ... care for these huge machines."


Typically, local NRHS chapters concentrate on railroad history in their specific geographic area. For example, Mid-Atlantic Region chapters are particularly interested in such lines as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Western Maryland Railway, and the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad, all of which once operated in the region.


In addition to the study and preservation of railroad artifacts, NRHS chapter activities may include periodic excursions using historic railroad equipment, such as steam locomotives. Some chapters are involved in restoration of rail equipment and structures . Others operate rail museums or own locomotives, such as the Central New York Chapter's two former Pennsylvania Railroad EMD E8 diesel locomotives. A few chapters even own and operate entire short-line railroads, such as the New Hope Valley Railway.


The HeritageRail Alliance is an organization for promoting the interests of and sharing information among railway preservation groups and tourist railroads.


This is a placeholder. Please describe the group's programs and services here.


ARM was dedicated to the interests of railway preservation across North America in museums and other non-profit organizations.


ARM published a quarterly newsletter, "Railway Museum Quarterly". ARM held periodic conventions in various locations around the United States and Canada to share information among the member organizations. Issues addressed included insurance, regulations, fund raising, marketing, operations, volunteers, restoration, maintenance, safety and recommended museum practices.


TRAIN was formed to benefit tourist railways in the United States. It also had its own newsletter ("Trainline") and held regular conferences.


Since there was overlap in the interests of railway preservation and tourist railroads, the ARM and TRAIN began a program of holding joint conferences. First begun as a pilot program with the 2006 ARM-TRAIN conference hosted by the California State Railroad Museum, beginning in 2010 all Spring and Fall meetings scheduled for the future will be held jointly.


In 2011, it was decided to merge the two organizations into a single organization, the Association of Tourist Railways and Railway Museums (ATR&RM). In November 2012, a formal vote on the proposal was held, with the majority of the members voting in favor of the merger. In 2013, the Association of Railway Museums formally merged with the Tourist Railway Association, Inc. to become the Association of Tourist Railways and Railway Museums. The first Fall meeting of the new organization was hosted by the Orange Empire Railway Museum at Riverside, California in October 2013.


It was quickly acknowledged that the name Association of Tourist Railways and Railway Museums while descriptive, was also ungainly. In 2017 it was decided to change the organization's name to the HeritageRail Alliance and update the branding and website accordingly.


The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation (ORHF) is a registered non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Composed of several all-volunteer groups dedicated to maintaining vintage railroad equipment, the ORHF is committed "to secure a permanent home for the City of Portland’s steam locomotives, preserve the Brooklyn Roundhouse, and establish a Rail and Industrial Heritage Museum.”


At present, the ORHF is constructing a new restoration shop for the city's steam locomotives, the first of a multi-phase project aimed at housing them permanently. When the new Oregon Rail Heritage Center is completed, this will permit the ORHF to continue operating steam-powered excursions while openly displaying the locomotives to the public. Access to the locomotives is currently limited as the equipment is stored on the private property of the Union Pacific Railroad, out of visitors' reach. The ORHF is tasked with completing the construction of the engine house and moving the locomotives before UP razes its current roundhouse in mid-2012.


The ORHF oversees the preservation of three city-owned steam locomotives: Southern Pacific 4449 (SP 4449), Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700 (SP&S 700), and Oregon Railroad & Navigation 197 (OR&N 197). All three engines were donated to the city in 1958 and displayed in Oaks Park in Southeast Portland until restored to operation (the 197's restoration is a work in progress). Each engine has its own cadre of volunteers dedicated to its upkeep. They also give Portland the distinction of being the only city in the United States to own operating mainline steam locomotives.


In addition to these engines, several vintage passenger cars, formerly owned and operated by the Great Northern Railway and the Southern Pacific Railroad, are owned and maintained by Northwest Rail Museum and the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.


The steam locomotives are stored in the Brooklyn Roundhouse (located in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Southeast Portland), in the middle of a former Southern Pacific yard now owned by Union Pacific. The roundhouse is in the midst of a needed expansion by UP on its intermodal facilities, necessitating the movement of the locomotives to a permanent location and the eventual demolition of the roundhouse. UP has stipulated that the roundhouse must be vacated by the end of June 2012, underscoring the ORHF's determination to build a new facility.


The ORHF and its member groups are constantly working to organize an excursion train or special appearance by one of the steam locomotives, usually originating in Portland and running distances of up to 2,000 or more miles over the course of several days, weeks, or even months. Excursions are often planned months or years in advance in accordance with the destination, and dependent upon the approval of the host railroad(s). An excursion may be as brief as never leaving the Portland city limits, or as long as the SP 4449's journey to Owosso, Michigan for TrainFestival 2009, hosted by the Steam Railroading Institute.


The holiday season is perhaps the most popular time for both viewing and riding, as the ORHF operates "Holiday Express" excursion trains pulled by the 4449 and/or 700 on weekends in December. The Holiday Express has enjoyed enormous success to date with as many as 10,000 passengers each year; it has, in fact, recently become something of a tradition for many Portland-area families. Holiday Express trains run along the Oregon Pacific main line near the bank of the Willamette River, while children on board are greeted by Santa Claus and company.


Over its seven years of operation, the Holiday Express has been instrumental in raising the needed capital for construction of the rail heritage museum. In 2011, the Holiday Express operated on the first two weekends of December, raising almost $75,000.


The ORHF consists of the following groups:


Retired SP/UP locomotive engineer Doyle McCormack serves as the ORHF's president; he has been the engineer and chief mechanical officer of the SP 4449 since its restoration in 1975. Former State of Oregon rail planner Ed Immel, who founded the Northwest Rail Museum in 1986, serves as vice-president. The volunteer members of the restoration groups spend several hundred hours each week doing mechanical or cosmetic work on the locomotives and rolling stock. The estimated value and quantity of volunteer labor comes to $2.5 million over 115,000 hours since 1975, and it has been often stated that every hour of operation is the result of 100 volunteer hours of work.


About 150 people volunteer for the ORHF itself every year, mainly with the Holiday Express, National Train Day celebrations, and mainline excursion trains. While the ORHF on its own has no active part in equipment maintenance, it serves as a single point of contact with the City of Portland regarding the steam locomotives.


Other partners supportive of ORHF's mission are Union Pacific and its Foundation, the Oregon Pacific Railroad, the Portland & Western Railroad, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the Oregon Cultural Trust, the City of Portland, TriMet, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Collins Foundation, BNSF Foundation, Candelaria Fund, Fred Meyer Corporation, Swindells Charitable Trust, Lamb Baldwin Foundation, and individual donors who have contributed over $1.23 million to date.


The ORHF was formed in 1998 as the "Roundhouse Task Force" following UP's desire to expand its recently acquired Portland intermodal facilities, putting the future of the Brooklyn Roundhouse and its tenants at stake. Faced with the grim possibility of the locomotives being returned to non-operational outdoor display exposed to weather and vandalism, the foundation set about searching for a new piece of property upon which to construct a new engine house and visitors' center. The ORHF was granted 501(c)3 status in 2002 and began actively raising awareness of its mission at various public events, in addition to operating a number of excursions with the SP 4449 and SP&S 700.


2003 saw many meetings and dialogues with parties concerned, including Portland city planners, community leaders, UP, and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). Also in 2003, the ORHF partnered with Portland development firm Shiels-Obletz-Johnsen to examine the desired properties and develop a master plan for construction. The ORHF began work on its business plan, including an inventory of all equipment at the Brooklyn Roundhouse, in 2004. 2005 was the first year for the annual Holiday Express trains, operated over the OPR main line between Oaks Park and OMSI on December weekends; it was an immediate success with 5,200 passengers.


At first it was hoped that the roundhouse could be dismantled and reassembled on the new site, but it has since been learned that a full preservation of the roundhouse will not be possible. However, the turntable – vital to the locomotives' operation – was slated to be moved to the new engine house. When the Portland City Council approved a loan of nearly $1 million for the purchase of the site on October 28, 2009, the ORHF hired the architectural services of Hennebery Eddy to design the new facilities. Portland Parks & Recreation then joined hands with the ORHF, with Lorentz Bruun Construction being hired as the engine house contractor.


On October 22, 2010, ORHF President McCormack broke ground on Site 1 across the street from OMSI, for a new track to be laid for temporary storage of the Holiday Express train consist of vintage rail passenger cars. One year later, on October 21, 2011, Parks Commissioner Nick Fish, alongside McCormack and other Portland dignitaries, held a groundbreaking ceremony on Site 2 for the engine house itself with about 200 people in attendance.


Since UP's decree to vacate the roundhouse, the ORHF has been actively seeking the support of the City of Portland, the general population, and rail enthusiasts worldwide to raise over $5 million for the new heritage center. A donation of the land from UP could not be agreed upon, prompting the ORHF to commence its "All Aboard" fundraising campaign in June 2009. Response has been greatly positive thus far, with the City of Portland providing a substantial loan and an anonymous donor giving $1 million to the campaign. Other foundations, grants, corporations and individuals have contributed thousands more.


On July 27, 2011, the Portland City Council voted unanimously to extend the repayment of its loan through 2016 and approve new leases for property and parking.


As of June 2012, the construction of the engine house has progressed steadily with foundation work, the pouring of the concrete floor, and in most recent weeks, the erection of the frame. The member groups are in the process of moving lighter equipment out of the Brooklyn Roundhouse and preparing to move the locomotives themselves by the end of the month. UP initially intended to close the roundhouse in January, but extended the deadline to June 30 to allow more time for the new house to be completed. When construction and move-in have been completed over the summer, the grand opening of the Oregon Rail Heritage Center is anticipated for early fall 2012.


The center opened to the public on September 22, 2012.


The Golden State Model Railroad Museum is an operating model railroad exhibit located in Point Richmond, California, within the boundary of the Miller/Knox Regional Shoreline park. It is located in the Brickyard Cove area and features dozens of realistic city and country scenes, with trains from different eras running on several layouts in different scales. It is on the US National Register of Historic Places.


As of September 28 2020, the museum remains closed indefinitely, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. No projected date of re-opening has been released.


Previously based in Oakland, the East Bay Model Engineers Society, which builds and operates the layouts in the Museum, was founded in 1933 and is one of the oldest continually operating model railroad clubs in the country. Construction of the museum began in 1986.


The Museum operates models ranging from the steam engines and classic passenger trains to today's modern diesel behemoths and Amtrak passenger trains.


The 10,000 square foot exhibit includes O scale, HO scale and N scale models, replicating many California railroading locations.


Track layouts include historic scenes such as the Oakland Mole, Oakland 16th Street stations ca. 1955, Martinez' John Muir trestle, Tehachapi Loop, Niles Canyon, and Donner Pass.


The San Francisco Railway Museum is a local railway museum located in the South of Market area of San Francisco.


This small museum features exhibits on the antique streetcars of the F Market & Wharves and national landmark cable cars that continue to run along the city's major arteries. The museum is located at the Don Chee Way and Steuart Station, across the street from the Ferry Building. Admission to the museum is free.


In addition to the permanent collection of San Francisco railway artifacts from Market Street Railway Company and San Francisco Municipal Railway, the museum features exhibits such as a retrospective on the 1906 earthquake and a replicated end of the now extinct MSR '100-Class streetcar'.


The museum is a project of the nonprofit Market Street Railway, Muni's historic transportation advocacy group and was opened on October 7, 2006.


The Galveston Railroad Museum is a railroad museum owned and operated by the Center for Transportation and Commerce, a non-profit organization. The museum was established with funds from Galveston businesswoman and philanthropist Mary Moody Northen and the Moody Foundation.


The museum is located at 25th and Strand in Galveston, Texas. It is housed in the former Santa Fe Railroad station, at the head of The Strand.


The museum was damaged during Hurricane Ike, but has since reopened.


North Texas Historic Transportation (NTHT) is an American non-profit volunteer organization focusing on the history of trolleys in the Fort Worth, Texas, area.


The business address of NTHT is Post Office Box 861, Fort Worth, Texas 76101. NTHT does not have a public museum or operation yet, but seeks volunteers to help preserve its collection of authentic Fort Worth trolleys.


When the Vought Airtrans automated people mover system that operated at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport between 1974 and 2005 was retired, Cars #30 and #82 were donated to NTHT. The group also has cars and other equipment from the Tandy Center Subway which operated in downtown Fort Worth from 1963 to 2002.


The George R. Henderson Medal was an award established by the Franklin Institute in honor of George R. Henderson in 1924, coinciding with a $2,500 fund for the award contributed by his wife. George R. Henderson served on the Franklin Institute's Committee on Science and the Arts from 1912 until 1921. The award was designated to go to individuals who made significant contributions to railroad engineering.


In 1964, SRI International's William K. MacCurdy and Southern Pacific's William E. Thomford received the medal for achievements "in the field of railway impact control and associated car design, with resulting benefits in reducing lading and rolling stock damage".


Santa Susana Depot is a train station building located near the Santa Susana Pass in Simi Valley, California. Originally located on Los Angeles Avenue at Tapo Street, the depot opened in 1903. The Santa Susana Tunnel opened the next year, reducing the distance and transit time between Montalvo and Burbank on the Coast Route linking Los Angeles and San Francisco. Plans and construction for the building were based on Southern Pacific Railroad standard design Two Story Combination Depot No. 22. The depot served the community of Rancho Simi as a passenger station, telegraph office, and freight depot where farmers could deliver crops for shipping and pick up farming equipment delivered by the railroad.


Due to lessening passenger traffic and changes in the shipment of freight, Southern Pacific closed the station in the early 1970s, leaving Santa Susana Depot empty and destined for demolition. The County of Ventura purchased the depot from the railroad for $1.06. In May 1975 the building was divided into three parts and moved by truck to county property two miles east of the site it was built on. The County of Ventura designated the building Landmark #29 in January, 1976.


The current location is next to the same railroad right of way it once served. The building sat abandoned for several years suffering vandalism, and arson caused fire damage. A nonprofit organization was formed to restore the building and ready it for public use in conjunction with the Rancho Simi Parks and Recreation Department.


The museum was opened to the public in 2000. The depot building now houses a railroad museum, an HO scale model railroad layout, and a public meeting room. The museum focuses on railroad history in the region and has many artifacts and historic photos on display. Along with the railroad related features, the museum also has a collection of materials related to the nearby Corriganville Movie Ranch. The railroad layout models the coast route between Los Angeles, California, and Portland, Oregon, with scenery that targets the early 1950s. The Santa Susana Railroad Historical Society designs, maintains, and operates the layout. Both the museum and the model layout are open on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. with the exception of holidays.


United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey


The United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey, Inc. (or URHS of NJ) is a non profit educational organization directed at supporting the preservation of New Jersey's historical railroad equipment and artifacts for the proposed New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center or in its absence, another railroad museum in New Jersey.


In order to coordinate resources, representatives from most of New Jersey's major railroad-interest organizations formed the URHS of NJ in 1987. URHS of NJ has been working toward rescuing potential items from scrapping and has been assisting in searching for the location of The New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center. The URHS of NJ expects to play a major role in its design, content and operation.


The United Railroad Historical Society of NJ Inc. is located at 104 Morris Avenue in Boonton, NJ. The zip code is 07005–1314.


The URHS board of directors is composed of representatives of 15 member groups. The purpose of this is to assure all participate equally in the decision making and activities and will be representative of all of the local railroad history community. Individuals may join any member organization or The Friends of the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center to participate in URHS efforts. The URHS comprises the following 15 member groups:


A large part of the URHS collection was moved from the Lebanon and Ridgefield Park NJ storage locations to Boonton in 2010. With that accomplished the ability to do cosmetic restoration was greatly enhanced.


The South Bay Historical Railroad Society is located in Santa Clara, California and operates the Edward Peterman Museum of Railroad History in the Santa Clara Depot, as well as the Santa Clara Tower and two other buildings.


The depot is the oldest train station on the west coast. The track in front of the depot is the former Southern Pacific, currently Union Pacific, "Coast Line", and also UP's Newhall Yard, where freight trains are made up and change crews. Both passenger and freight trains pass the depot. They include Caltrain, the Altamont Corridor Express, the Amtrak "Capitol Corridor", the Amtrak "Coast Starlight", and various UP freight trains.


Inside the museum there is a library, artifact displays, 2 large model railroad layouts (HO and N scale), and a boardroom that is available to rent. The museum is open on Tuesdays from 5PM to 8PM, and Saturdays from 10AM to 3PM.


The Northern California Bluegrass Society (NCBS) and the South Bay Historic Railroad Society sponsor a free bluegrass and related music jam at the Edward Peterman Museum at the Santa Clara Historic Train Depot on most 2nd Saturdays of the month from 12-3pm.


The US National Railroad Hall of Fame was established in 2003 and recognized by Congressional resolutions in 2003 and 2004. The main offices of the hall of fame are in Galesburg, Illinois.


The National Railroad Hall of Fame has three categories for inductees:


Established in 1982, the California Trolley and Railroad Corporation (CTRC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to preserve and reflect the rich legacy of rail transportation in the Santa Clara Valley for the educational and recreational benefit of current and future generations.


Among the numerous projects underway is the complete restoration of Southern Pacific 2479 and the static restoration of Southern Pacific 1215. The California Trolley and Railroad Corporation has restored for operation a number of historic trolley cars at History Park at Kelley Park. In August 2009 the Corporation opened the Happy Hollow line extension allowing trolley service to the Japanese Friendship Garden and the Happy Hollow Zoo in Kelley Park.


A major undertaking is the creation of the San Jose Steam Railroad Museum with the focal point becoming the former six-stall Lenzen Roundhouse and turntable.


The Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society (PRRTHS) is a railroad historical society founded in 1974 and organized as a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation and recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization by the United States Internal Revenue Service.


The Society defines its mission as bringing together those interested in the Pennsylvania Railroad and its predecessors and subsidiaries for the purpose of preserving and recording all information available about them.


The society is recognized as the source for PRR information by railroad periodicals such as RailModel Journal,


The PRRTHS has published a quarterly illustrated journal, "The Keystone", since 1968. The journal contains researched articles on topics related to the PRR, as well as reader questions and answers, news items of PRR interest, and reviews of PRR-related publications.


Volunteer Railroaders Association (aka VRA) is a New Jersey-based non-profit group of volunteers. The VRA runs fund-raising train rides for children in NJ. They operate and own six motor cars. One, is a rare Lehigh & New England Railroad Sheffield Corporation model 40B.


The VRA members operate motor cars trips. The children's events are fundraiser are to benefit the creation of the NJ State Transportation Museum and other railroad related preservation activities. The VRA is a member of the NJ-based United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey, aka URHS of NJ. Many local (NJ) chapters of the National Railway Historical Society are also members of the URHS of NJ.


The VRA has quarterly meetings at 7:00 pm on the third Thursday of the month (February, May, August and November). Meetings are held at the St. Clements Church in Hawthorne, New Jersey.


In the beginning this group had the honor of being the exclusive volunteer group for the Susquehanna 142 steam program in New Jersey in 1993 and were known as the Susquehanna Volunteer Association. When the New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway moved the program to New York this group was left with nothing to do. So the group decided to run passenger trains for the enjoyment of the public and to raise funds for local historic railroad related items. Since that time the group has run many trips carrying thousands of people. In 1997 the group changed its name to what it is today. This change was to better reflect what they are all about.


The Boca Express Train Museum, operated by the Boca Raton Historical Society, is housed in a restored 1930 Florida East Coast Railway train station in Boca Raton, Florida. designed by Chester G. Henninger, built for Clarence H. Geist. It is located at 747 South Dixie Highway, off U.S. 1 (Federal Highway). On October 24, 1980, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.


Service on the line is planned to be restored by Virgin Trains USA (operating as Brightline), with a station north of the museum, scheduled to open in 2021.


The Museum contains two restored and unique 1947 Seaboard Air Line streamlined rail cars, a dining and a lounge car, built by the Budd Company and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Boca Express Train Museum also includes a 1946 Atlantic Coast Line caboose and a 1930 Baldwin steam switch engine.


The Boca Raton Historical Society put the Train Museum up for sale in 2017, saying that maintaining two historic buildings (the other is the Society's home, Boca Raton's first city hall) is draining the nonprofit's resources.


PRR 460, nicknamed the "Lindbergh Engine", is a Pennsylvania Railroad E6s steam locomotive now located in the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was built in 1914 and became famous after racing an aircraft to New York City carrying newsreels of Charles Lindbergh's return to the United States after his transatlantic flight in 1927. In the late 1930s, No. 460 was operated by the Long Island Rail Road, and the Pennsylvania–Reading Seashore Lines in the early 1950s, before being retired in 1953. No. 460 is the only surviving locomotive of its class and was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1979. From 2010 to 2016, No. 460 underwent a restoration at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.


An experimental Model E6 was developed in 1910 and, after two other "sample" locomotives and four years of tests, it was found that the 4-4-2 Atlantic's speed equaled that of the larger 4-6-2 Pacific's. An additional 80 E6 locomotives were ordered with superheaters and classified as the E6s.


No. 460 was the last of the E6s model to be built, out of a total of 80 locomotives. From their construction in 1914 until 1920, the E6s ran mostly on the corridor between New York City and Washington, D.C. After being replaced by the K4s model, the E6s locomotives were relegated to charter services because of their high speed.


McCloud Railway No. 18 is a 2-8-2 "Mikado" type steam locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. The locomotive was purchased new by the McCloud River Railway Company in 1914 as a standalone purchase. No. 18 was bought by the Yreka Western Railroad in 1956 and bought back by the McCloud in 1998. It was restored to operation in McCloud during 1998 and operated there until it was sold in 2005 to Virginia and Truckee Railroad. The unit operated on the V&T until it was slated for FRA inspection in 2015. It is currently under restoration at the Virginia and Truckee.


McCloud Railway #18 was built in October 1914 at the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The unit was sent to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco during 1915. The display was jointly sponsored by McCloud Railway, Weed Lumber Company and Red River Lumber Company. The unit was then returned to McCloud, where it lived out most of its life. It has since been used in the film Water for Elephants.


In 1956, as McCloud Railway was acquiring newer diesels from Baldwin, they retired their elderly steam locomotive fleet (including 18). The unit was sold (like many McCloud steam locomotives at the time) to Yreka Western Railroad, a small, power-starved railroad also in Northern California. The unit was operated with sister #19 at Yreka until 1964, when the unit suffered a cylinder failure on a special trip and was sidelined. The unit languished in Yreka until 1998, when the McCloud Railway bought the unit to assist 25 in railfan trips.


The locomotive was restored to operation at McCloud in 1998, and quickly became the favorite unit as it was bigger and stronger than #25 and handled the large grades on the road better. In 2005, with the imminent demise of the McCloud Railway as a financial entity, the unit was sold to Virginia and Truckee Railroad as an excursion unit. They acquired the #18 in 2007, and it has been in use since 2010. It is slated to be renumbered to #31.


Milwaukee Road 261 is a class "S3" 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) in Schenectady, New York in July 1944 for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road".


It was used for heavy mainline freight work until being retired by the railroad in 1956. Instead of being cut up for scrap, 261 was preserved and donated to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1958. Today, the locomotive is owned, operated and maintained by Minneapolis-based nonprofit organization Friends of the 261, which runs occasional and seasonal excursion trains using the locomotive. The steam engine, restored in 1993, has logged more than under its own power since that time.


Built by the American Locomotive Company in July 1944, 261 was originally operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, which was also known as the Milwaukee Road. The locomotive, weighing , is rated at a maximum of and maximum speed of , is coal fueled. It operated with the railroad pulling mostly freight trains on the eastern portions of the route and was assigned to the Milwaukee Division by March 1954. It was then retired in August 1956 and was eventually donated to the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin. As the new museum's first acquisition, 261 was moved to the museum site in 1958.


In 1991, the newly formed "North Star Rail" selected 261 for restoration for mainline excursions. It was selected for a variety of reasons. The engine was large enough to handle the expected trains at track speed. It featured several modern features for a steam locomotive, including easier to maintain roller bearings. It also already had its asbestos lagging removed, which is very expensive to remove for environmental and safety reasons. Finally, 261's relatively short 10 year service life meant that the engine's boiler is more pristine, meaning it would take less work to rebuild the engine.


North Star Rail and the National Railroad Museum came to an agreement in November 1991 for a ten-year lease, which was later renewed ten years later. 261 was moved from Green Bay to Minneapolis to the GE shops at Humboldt Yard in September 1992. There, a full-time staff rebuilt the engine. Work progressed quickly, allowing for a hydrostatic test in June 1993, a test fireup in July, and the eventual restoration completion in September. After passing the FRA inspection on September 14, the engine deadheaded over Wisconsin Central Ltd. in time for its first public excursions on September 18–19, 1993. The engine later returned to its new home at the leased Burlington Northern Minneapolis Junction.


The following year, 261 had an extensive season, including excursions on Wisconsin Central and the Twin Cities and Western Railroad. Notable events included "Chocolate City Days" excursions, campaign trains, a movie shoot painted as "Lackawanna 1661", running over CSX tracks for the famed "New River Train", and a wrap up celebrating the engine's 50th birthday in 1994.


The year of 1998 presented 261 on its biggest assignment yet as it was the first steam engine to pull BNSF's Employee Appreciation Special. The engine led a BNSF locomotive and a dozen of BNSF's business fleet around the upper Midwest portion of BNSF's route. This brought the engine back to Chicago before heading north to North Dakota and Montana, then through Minneapolis into Iowa before the EAS concluded at Topeka Railroad Days. 261 ended the 1998 operating season after a few more days on BNSF tracks.


In the following months, some major changes were made to the Friends of the 261's operations. With insurance being too high to charge reasonable ticket prices, the group decided to team up with Amtrak. Amtrak is self insured, so the added cost of excursion insurance was much less. However, Amtrak requires that all equipment meet Amtrak certification. The engine became the second steam engine to become Amtrak certified, and the Friends of the 261 began to buy or rebuild coaches that would meet Amtrak specifications. The first team up with Amtrak occurred in October 2003 with the engine's return to old Milwaukee Road tracks between Minneapolis to Winona, Minnesota. These trips have been repeated each year until 2011.


261 ran an excursion from Minneapolis to Duluth via BNSF trackage in both 2005 and 2007.


Three June 2006 excursions were launched from Milwaukee: A dinner train in Friday 23 to Sturtevant, Wisconsin, and Saturday and Sunday excursions (24th and 25th) to Wisconsin Dells. For these runs, the train was turned at New Lisbon. These excursions would be repeated in August 2008.


In September 2006, 261 and its train visited Rock Island, Illinois as part of RiverWay 2006, a Quad Cities celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River in 1856. As part of the festivities, 261's train was coupled to a pair of Chinese-built QJ 2-10-2 steam locomotives for a trip to Homestead, Iowa, on September 15, 2006. The next day, 261 was added to run a "triple-header" from Rock Island to Bureau Junction, Illinois; then, on the following day, the QJs pulled the train, without 261, to Muscatine, Iowa, and back. Diesels were not used on any of these excursions.


In September 2007, Canadian Pacific 2816 and 261 reunited for another doubleheader to Winona. No diesels or water cars were used on the trip. The Friends of the 261 had helped the Canadian Pacific Railway plan 2816's return to the United States, as well as providing half of the consist 2816 led.


In 2009, the work on 261 was halted to concentrate efforts on Southern Pacific 4449. The famed "Daylight" was to participate in TrainFestival 2009, and the Friends of the 261 played a major part in the engine being able to participate. The group provided several passenger cars for 4449's excursion from Portland, Oregon, to Owosso, Michigan, that started on July 3, 2009, as well as TrainFestival 2009. After being away for three months, the 4449 arrived in Portland on October 20, 2009.


In November 2009, the Friends of the 261 and the National Railroad Museum had problems with negotiations over lease agreements. The museum was asking too much for the Friends to pay, especially while in the middle of a large overhaul. The Friends of the 261 decided to end the lease with the National Railroad Museum citing the high costs, and began looking for another locomotive to restore.


On September 29, 2012, 261 was test fired and ran under its own power once again for the first time since 2008.


In April 2013, it successfully operated a test train on the Twin Cities and Western Railroad. It ran normally from Minneapolis and then operated tender-first back to Minneapolis.


On May 11, 2013 (National Train Day), 261 ran on an excursion north from Minneapolis to Duluth, where it met Soo Line 2719 for the first time. 261 stayed in Duluth overnight and had a photo shoot with 2719. On May 12, 261 returned to Minneapolis. Amtrak P42DC #17 joined 261 for this trip.


On October 12, 2013 261 made a round trip fall color excursion to Willmar, Minnesota. On October 13, 2013, 261 made a second round trip excursion to Boylston, Wisconsin. Amtrak P40DC #824 joined 261 for these trips.


On September 27, 2014, 261 ran on a round trip Fall Colors Excursion to Duluth, returning to Minneapolis on September 28. The excursion traveled on BNSF's Hinckley Subdivision. Amtrak P42DC #174 joined 261 for this trip.


In 2014, it operated the Inaugural "North Pole Express" in St. Paul.


In October 2015, 261 attended the 2015 Railway Interchange Show in Minneapolis on October 4–7. On October 10, 261 pulled a daytime round-trip excursion to Boylston, WI, where it was wyed and returned to Minneapolis. The next day 261 did the same to Willmar, MN on October 11, but used a turntable to face forward for the return to Minneapolis. Amtrak's Phase IV heritage unit #184 joined 261 for both trips.


261 traveled to St. Paul Union Depot under steam to be displayed along other equipment for "Union Depot Train Days", celebrating the 90th anniversary of the building. It was featured in a night photo shoot with Soo Line 2500, an EMD FP7.


On June 4, 2016, 261 ran a round trip to Duluth, Minnesota, returning to Minneapolis on June 5. Amtrak has been power short as of recent, so 261 performed this trip on its own. In September 2016, 261 operated on Twin Cities and Western Railroad and Minnesota Prairie Line trackage. The Minnesota Prairie Line is former Chicago and North Western Railway trackage that originally belonged to the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway. 261 operated as far west as Winthrop, Minnesota. It was the first time in 60 years that a steam engine operated on the Minnesota Prairie Line. The same route was operated in the fall of 2017.


In October 2016, 261 operated three round trips from Minneapolis on the Twin Cities and Western Railroad, running on former Milwaukee Road tracks. 261 operated without a diesel helper except to be pulled back to Minneapolis as there were no places to turn the train around.


In June 2017, 261 operated on the Red River Valley and Western Railroad in North Dakota.


Due to changes made to Amtrak's policy for charter trains in 2018, 261 was unable to perform a majority of excursions, including an excursion to Duluth that was supposed to take place in June of that year.


On September 8 and 9, 2018, Friends of the 261 operated two excursions for Fall Color and Gourmet Express where they operates west from Minneapolis to Glencoe, Minnesota on Twin Cities and Western trackage with a stop near Norwood Young America, Minnesota for the gourmet food and wine and a photo runby.


On September 22, 2018, for the 25th anniversary of the first excursion in 1993, 261 pulled a special train for the annual convention of the American Association of Railroad Private Car Owners or AAPRCO.


In May 2019, after an agreement settled in January, Friends of the 261 acquired former Milwaukee Road EMD E9 #32A from the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad, which is owned by Watco Companies. First showcased at Union Depot Day from May 31 to June 2, it pulled its first excursion on June 22, still painted in Wisconsin and Southern colors minus the former lettering.


In June 2019, 261 pulled two excursions for the Milwaukee Road Historical Association convention being held in Minneapolis called 261 Hiawatha. On June 22, 2019, the train operated from Minneapolis to Brownton, Minnesota on the Twin Cities and Western. On June 23, 2019, the train traveled between Minneapolis and Norwood Young America on TC&W, then from Norwood to Winthrop on TC&W subsidiary Minnesota Prairie Line, a rare mileage trip for 261.


On September 21 and 22, 2019, there were two excursions for the Gourmet Express.


On March 11, 2021, a $200,000 proposal was made to convert 261 from burning coal to burning oil. However, this is not the first time an S3 class was converted to oil, as Nos. 262, 263, 267 and 269 were converted to oil in their revenue career.


In December 2014, for two weekends, 261 operated out of St. Paul Union Depot pulling short trips decorated as the "North Pole Express". The train consisted of 4 coach class cars and operated on a long track on the Depot grounds. 261 even posed next to Canadian Pacific's Holiday Train when it also visited the depot.


It reprised its role as the locomotive for the "North Pole Express at St. Paul Union Depot" in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, operating two weekends in December.


The Milwaukee Road's 4-8-4's were known for their distinctive Mars Light above the headlight, and 261 was no exception. When its second restoration was completed in 2013, it was put in its "as delivered" appearance, meaning that the Mars Light was not included on 261. In 2016, the light was reinstalled.


Most 261 excursions are assisted by modern diesel-electric locomotives, required by Amtrak. These engines can help pull longer trains or provide motive power if 261 were to break down en route. The diesel also provides head end power for the passenger cars. In recent years, these have usually been GE P42DC locomotives. Sometimes, Amtrak heritage locomotives are requested, though such locomotives are not always available. In 2019, The Friends of 261 purchased a former Milwaukee Road EMD E9 to assist 261 for future non Amtrak insured excursions.


Part of the success of the Friends of the 261 has been the purchase of numerous passenger cars for use on excursions. One that fans might recognize is the first tool car, the "Earling". The car was built by the Milwaukee Road as a "Beaver-tail" observation car in 1939, but was rebuilt into a tool car in 1959. The car was donated in 1992, and was the main tool car until 2003. The car's age made it expensive to upgrade to Amtrak specifications, so a new tool car, "Grand Canyon", was bought and repainted.


Another notable passenger car is the "Silver Palace" Dome coach. It was formerly owned by Western Pacific for use on the California Zephyr. All of the Western Pacific dome coaches were sold to the original Auto-Train where the car worked, until service was discontinued in April 1981. "Silver Palace" passed through several owners, including the late country and western star Merle Haggard, and along the way was reconfigured into a lounge/private car. Wisconsin Central Ltd. acquired the car for its former Algoma Central passenger service, and was conveyed to Canadian National Railway when they absorbed WC.


The "Fox River Valley" was built in 1952 for the Pennsylvania Railroad's Congressional between New York and Washington as the parlor car "Henry Hudson". It was acquired by Amtrak in 1971, and converted to a buffet/table car in 1986. After being sold by Amtrak, the car ran in charter service through Mid-America Railcar, wearing the names Henry Hudson and "Keystone Grill". Paxrail acquired the car in October 2013, and renamed it "Warriors Rest". Purchased in 2017 by Friends of the 261, the Warriors Rest was extensively refurbished into a luxury lounge car and renamed the "Fox River Valley".


The "Golden Valley" was built by Pullman-Standard in 1958 as a 73 foot baggage express car for Northern Pacific as #220. It ran on the North Coast Limited and Mainstreeter along with other Northern Pacific passenger trains. After it was retired, it was obtained by the St. Louis Steam Train Association, operator of Frisco 1522. It was repainted in the Frisco Meteor passenger train paint scheme and named "Black Gold". It operated with SL-SF until that locomotive was re-retired and the car was subsequently purchased by Friends of the 261.


Non-Amtrak certified coaches include the "Earling" (1938), and the "Milwaukee" business car. Though the cars are not Amtrak certified, they are used for added capacity for non-Amtrak insured excursions. In addition, the Friends of the 261 owns a water car, #250002. The water car was once a tender used behind a Louisville and Nashville "Big Emma" 2-8-4, and later became a water car for the Southern and Norfolk Southern steam program. The water car was bought at an auction in 1995 when NS ended its steam program.