4-8-4 “Northern” Steam Locomotives: History, Survivors & Operating Examples
Last revised: September 4, 2026
By: Adam Burns
On looks alone the 4-8-4 was one of the handsomest steam locomotives ever built: long boiler, four-wheel lead truck, eight drivers, four-wheel trailing truck, and a tender that often looked as if it had been drawn to match. Streamlining on a few famous classes (Southern Pacific’s Daylight GS-4s, Norfolk & Western’s Js) only underlined a shape that already worked. The type took its popular name from the Northern Pacific, which put the first production 4-8-4s in service in December 1926. After that, more railroads renamed it than almost any other Whyte arrangement—Greenbrier, Western, Niagara, Golden State, Pocono, Wyoming, Dixie, Confederation—because a locomotive born on the NP did not have to wear a northern name on the C&O or the Southern Pacific.
This page cover why the 4-8-4 appeared, how it developed from Super Power practice, which U.S. classes mattered, which complete engines survive, and which still steam in 2026. How a steam locomotive works, Whyte notation, and Lima’s 1925 Super Power Berkshire live on the steam hub. Individual classes and celebrity engines—the N&W J, NYC Niagara, C&O Greenbrier, SP 4449, UP 844, Reading T-1s—can all be found here.
Union Pacific 4-8-4 #838, with elephant-ear smoke deflectors, backing toward the water plug at Council Bluffs, Iowa, September 21, 1958—late freight service before retirement. Sister #844 still lives on Union Pacific’s roster. Bernard Corbin photo. American-Rails.com collection.
On this page: At a glance · Historical development · Nicknames · Notable U.S. classes · Surviving examples · Operating examples · Related reading
At a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Whyte | 4-8-4: four-wheel leading truck, eight coupled drivers, four-wheel trailing truck. Popular name: Northern |
| First production | Northern Pacific Class A, Alco, December 1926, road numbers 2600–2611 (12 engines; all later scrapped) |
| Why four trailing wheels | A grate on the order of 100–120+ sq ft needed a four-wheel trailing truck. NP’s first engines used about 115 sq ft to burn low-grade Rosebud lignite |
| Role | Dual-service: passenger trains at 70+ mph and heavy freight. Driver diameters commonly 70–80 in |
| North American production | More than 1,000 (Neil Carlson, in a 2026 Classic Trains profile, cites 1,125). About three dozen U.S. railroads rostered them |
| Oldest survivor | Santa Fe #3751 (Baldwin, 1927)—first Santa Fe 4-8-4 and the oldest surviving example. See #3751 |
| Last new U.S. 4-8-4s | Norfolk & Western Class J #611–613, Roanoke Shops, 1950. Lima’s last passenger 4-8-4 was C&O Greenbrier #614, June 1948 |
| U.S. survivors | About three dozen complete standard-gauge 4-8-4s. Wes Barris’s steamlocomotive.com search is the living inventory |
| Still steaming (2026) | A handful make public trips in a given season. Status changes with flue time, PTC, and shop work—see Operating examples. Do not treat any list as evergreen |
Historical development
Frederick Methvan Whyte’s notation reads a locomotive from front to back. A 4-8-4 has a four-wheel leading truck to steer a long rigid wheelbase, eight driving wheels for adhesion, and a four-wheel trailing truck under a wide, deep firebox. That last pair of axles is the mechanical point of the type. A 4-8-2 Mountain already had eight drivers and a four-wheel engine truck; what it did not have was enough grate and firebox volume to keep a large boiler steaming at speed with a long train. The 4-8-4 is the Mountain idea with Super Power’s firebox hung on four trailing wheels.
The 1920s made that firebox necessary. All-steel heavyweight passenger cars were replacing wood. Trains got longer and heavier just as the public still expected timetable speed. The everyday 4-6-2 Pacific was out of its depth on many mountain and transcontinental runs. The 4-8-2 helped, but grate area still limited sustained horsepower. Lima Locomotive Works, under William E. Woodard, had already shown the answer on freight power: the 1925 2-8-4 Berkshire, Super Power, a much larger firebox on a four-wheel trailing truck so the engine could make steam at speed instead of only starting a train. The steam hub covers that turning point. The 4-8-4 is the same idea applied to a two-cylinder passenger and dual-service engine with a four-wheel lead truck.
Northern Pacific did not invent the 4-8-4 as a faster passenger engine and nothing else. NP burned Rosebud lignite from lineside mines—fuel with roughly two-thirds the heat content of the bituminous coal other roads used. A larger grate was not a luxury; it was how you kept a big boiler hot on cheap coal. Alco studied the problem and recommended what was essentially a modified Mountain with a firebox of about 115 square feet. Two trailing axles carried that box. In December 1926 NP took delivery of twelve Class A engines, 2600–2611. NP owned no Mountains; compared with its Class Q Pacifics the new 4-8-4s were on the order of 50 tons heavier, carried boiler pressure nearly 50 psi higher, and produced roughly 40 percent more tractive effort while running faster with heavier trains. Because the type first ran on the Northern Pacific it was called the Northern Pacific type, then simply Northern.
Santa Fe did not wait. Baldwin delivered #3751 in 1927, the first of fourteen 3751-class engines and the first Baldwin 4-8-4. Santa Fe already had 4-8-2s for the Kansas City–Los Angeles run; the Northerns took that work and held what was then the longest scheduled steam assignment without a locomotive change—on the order of 1,760 miles via Raton, or farther via Amarillo. Later Santa Fe 4-8-4s (3765, 3776, and the wartime 2900s) grew heavier and faster. #3751 is still with us, which is why that first Baldwin engine is more than a footnote.
Rio Grande 4-8-4 #1803 with the Scenic Limited at Wolhurst, Colorado, 1950. D&RGW called its 4-8-4s Westerns. Robert LeMassena photo. American-Rails.com collection.
What made the arrangement stick was versatility. A 4-8-4 with 70- to 80-inch drivers could take a time freight or a name passenger train. Superheaters, mechanical stokers, feedwater heaters, outside valve gear, and (after 1930, on more and more new engines) roller bearings were not unique to the Northern, but the type was large enough and late enough that most examples received the full late-steam kit. There is no single horsepower or top-speed figure for “the 4-8-4.” A wartime freight Northern and a New York Central Niagara were different machines. What they shared was a balanced boiler, grate, and cylinder combination that, as Carlson put it, produced no poor 4-8-4s.
Timken 1111 and roller bearings
In 1930 the Timken Roller Bearing Company and Alco built demonstrator 4-8-4 #1111 with roller bearings on every engine and tender axle. After on the order of 100,000 miles on several railroads, Timken had made its sales case: less journal friction, less hotbox trouble, less maintenance. NP bought the engine in 1933, classed it A-1, and numbered it 2626 (later scrapped). Roller bearings spread quickly on new high-status power—N&W Js had them almost everywhere that turned—but they were not universal on every switcher and drag engine still being built in the 1930s and 1940s.
Who built them, who renamed them, who ran them last
Alco, Baldwin, and Lima all built 4-8-4s. So did railroad shops: Burlington’s West Burlington plant turned out O-5a engines after Baldwin’s first O-5s; Reading rebuilt thirty I-10sa 2-8-0s into T-1 4-8-4s in 1945–47 when wartime rules made a clean-sheet design harder; N&W built every J at Roanoke. Cotton Belt built later L-1s in its own shops. Shop-built Northerns are part of the type’s American story, not a footnote.
About three dozen U.S. railroads bought or built them. Canadian National and Grand Trunk Western called theirs Confederations; GTW’s U-3-b engines worked Michigan and Indiana and two survive in the United States. The wheel arrangement also went overseas—South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and others—but this site’s job is the North American engine. On most U.S. roads that owned them, 4-8-4s ran until the end of steam. Dieselization after 1945 was fast; N&W held out into 1958–59, which is why the last Js had such a short first life and such a long second one.
The last new American 4-8-4s were N&W 611, 612, and 613 in 1950. C&O 614, outshopped by Lima in June 1948, is often cited as the last commercially built passenger steam locomotive in the United States. After that the story is preservation, fan trips, and—uniquely—Union Pacific keeping one 4-8-4 on the active roster instead of donating it to a park.
Nicknames by railroad
Northern is the Whyte name. Individual railroads used class letters, geographic names, or both. N&W never used a type name at all—the engines were simply Class J. Union Pacific called them Four-Eight-Fours and classed them FEF. Southern Pacific’s GS is Golden State, not a nickname piled on Northern.
| Railroad | Name used |
|---|---|
| Atlantic Coast Line | 1800s (road-number series) |
| Canadian National / Grand Trunk Western | Confederations |
| Central of Georgia | Big Apples |
| Chesapeake & Ohio | Greenbriers |
| Denver & Rio Grande Western | Westerns |
| Delaware, Lackawanna & Western | Poconos |
| Lehigh Valley | Wyomings |
| Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis | Dixies |
| Norfolk & Western | Class J (letter class, not a type name) |
| New York Central | Niagaras |
| Northern Pacific | Northerns (the source of the popular name) |
| Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac | Generals, Governors, Statesmen |
| Southern Pacific | Golden State (GS) |
| Union Pacific | FEF (Four-Eight-Four) |
| Western Maryland | Potomacs |
Notable U.S. classes
Full specifications and rosters can be found on the class and engine pages linked here. This table is a map, not a builder’s list of every 4-8-4 in North America.
| Railroad | Class / numbers (typical) | Builder / years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Pacific | A, 2600–2611 | Alco, 1926 | First production 4-8-4s. All scrapped. Later NP A-2/A-3/A-4/A-5 classes followed; Timken 1111 became A-1 2626 |
| Santa Fe | 3751, 3765, 3776, 2900 | Baldwin, 1927–1944 | 65 engines. #3751 operational; #2926 operational in Albuquerque. Nine Santa Fe 4-8-4s survive |
| Union Pacific | FEF-1/2/3, 800–844 | Alco, 1937–1944 | 45 engines. #844 never retired. #814, #833 on display; #838 parts source at Cheyenne |
| Southern Pacific | GS-1 through GS-6 | Baldwin and Lima, 1930–1943 | Daylight-painted GS-4s are the public face. #4449 (GS-4) operational; GS-6 #4460 displayed at St. Louis (last SP steam passenger run) |
| Norfolk & Western | J, 600–613 | Roanoke, 1941–1950 | 14 home-built streamliners. Only #611 survives. Class history: J Class |
| New York Central | S-1/S-2 Niagara, 5500, 6000–6025 | Alco, 1945–1946 | Among the finest 4-8-4s built. None preserved. Niagara page |
| Chesapeake & Ohio | J-3 / J-3a Greenbrier, 600–614 | Lima, 1935–1948 | 12 engines. Only #614 survives; restoration, not currently operating. Class: Greenbriers |
| Reading | T-1, 2100–2129 | Reading Shops rebuilds, 1945–1947 | From I-10sa 2-8-0s. Four survive; #2102 operating on Reading & Northern. History: Iron Horse Rambles |
| Milwaukee Road | S-1, S-2, S-3 | Baldwin and Alco, 1930s–1944 | #261 (S-3) operational; #265 displayed at IRM |
| Spokane, Portland & Seattle | E-1, 700–702 | Baldwin, 1938 | Oil-burning NP A-3 cousins. #700 returned to service May 6, 2025 |
| Chicago, Burlington & Quincy | O-5 / O-5a / O-5b, 5600–5635 | Baldwin 1930; CB&Q shops 1936–1940 | Four displayed. #5632 was a famous 1960s fan-trip engine (scrapped; not a survivor) |
| St. Louis–San Francisco (Frisco) | 4500, 4500–4524 | Baldwin, 1942–1943 | Four survive on display (Tulsa, Frisco, Sedalia, Springfield) |
| Grand Trunk Western | U-3-b, 6312–6336 | Alco, 1942–1943 | CN Confederation family in U.S. service. #6323 (IRM) was GTW’s last steam; #6325 at Age of Steam Roundhouse |
| Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis | J3-57 Dixie, including 576 | Alco, 1942 | #576 under restoration at Nashville (Tennessee Central Railroad Museum / Nashville Steam) |
| St. Louis Southwestern (Cotton Belt) | L-1, 800–819 | Baldwin and SSW shops, 1930–1943 | #819 at Arkansas Railroad Museum, Pine Bluff; cosmetic work complete, operating restoration still a museum decision |
A crewman climbs aboard Southern Pacific GS-4 #4446 on train 90, the Coast Mail, at Oxnard, California, December 1956. Retirement is close. Sister #4449 would become the American Freedom Train engine. William Fahey, Jr. photo.
Surviving examples
About three dozen complete standard-gauge 4-8-4s survive in the United States. That count is locomotives, not leftover tenders (Great Northern 2575’s tender at Portland, a Milwaukee auxiliary tank in Montana, and similar pieces). It includes one Mexican National (NdeM) QR-1, #3028, stored at New Hope, Pennsylvania. It does not include park-ride miniatures. Wes Barris’s steamlocomotive.com database is the search tool to use before a road trip; locations and status move.
Santa Fe left the largest preserved fleet: nine engines, from #3751 of 1927 through wartime 2900s. Reading left four T-1s, every one a Ramble veteran. Union Pacific left four FEFs, one of them still on the company roster. Burlington, Frisco, Milwaukee, Grand Trunk Western, and Southern Pacific each left more than one. Northern Pacific, which named the type, left none. New York Central left none. Those two absences still sting.
Display engines are not a second-class story. SP GS-6 #4460 at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis made the railroad’s last steam passenger run. GTW #6323 at the Illinois Railway Museum was that road’s last steam locomotive in service. GN #2584 at the Havre, Montana, depot is one of the most photographed park engines in the West. Reading #2124 at Steamtown and #2101 (American Freedom Train #1) at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore carry the Ramble and Bicentennial stories even when they are not under steam. #2101 received a cosmetic restoration to Freedom Train appearance, completed in December 2025.
Burlington O-5 #5632 on a fan trip along the Mississippi at Victory, Wisconsin, September 1962. 5632 was the celebrity CB&Q Northern of the excursion era; it does not survive. Four other Burlington 4-8-4s do. Rick Burn photo.
The table below lists complete U.S.-located standard-gauge 4-8-4s as commonly published in 2026. Status words mean what they say: operational is capable of running (not a promise of a public trip this month); restoration is active work toward steam; display is static; stored is out of public service, including parts engines.
| Road no. | Railroad / class | Location | Status (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3751 | ATSF 3751 | San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society, Redondo Junction, Vernon, CA | Operational. Article |
| 3759 | ATSF 3751 class | Locomotive Park, Kingman, AZ | Display |
| 3768 | ATSF 3765 class | Great Plains Transportation Museum, Wichita, KS | Display |
| 2903 | ATSF 2900 | Illinois Railway Museum, Union, IL | Display |
| 2912 | ATSF 2900 | Pueblo Union Depot, Pueblo, CO | Display |
| 2913 | ATSF 2900 | Riverview Park, Fort Madison, IA | Display |
| 2921 | ATSF 2900 | Amtrak station, Modesto, CA | Display |
| 2925 | ATSF 2900 | Old Sacramento / CSRM area, Sacramento, CA | Display |
| 2926 | ATSF 2900 | New Mexico Heritage Rail, Albuquerque, NM | Operational (excursions from 2023; PTC equipped) |
| 5614 | CB&Q O-5a | Patee Park, St. Joseph, MO | Display |
| 5629 | CB&Q O-5b | Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden, CO | Display |
| 5631 | CB&Q O-5a | Sheridan, WY | Display |
| 5633 | CB&Q O-5a | Douglas Railroad Interpretive Center, Douglas, WY | Display |
| 614 | C&O J-3a Greenbrier | Strasburg Railroad, Strasburg, PA (Iron Horse Enterprises) | Restoration. Article |
| 6323 | GTW U-3-b | Illinois Railway Museum, Union, IL | Display (last GTW steam) |
| 6325 | GTW U-3-b | Age of Steam Roundhouse, Sugarcreek, OH | Display (operated 2001–2005) |
| 2584 | GN S-2 | Havre depot, Havre, MT | Display |
| 261 | MILW S-3 | Friends of the 261, Minneapolis, MN | Operational. Article |
| 265 | MILW S-3 | Illinois Railway Museum, Union, IL | Display |
| 576 | NC&StL J3-57 Dixie | Tennessee Central Railroad Museum / Nashville Steam, Nashville, TN | Restoration (boiler fired 2026) |
| 611 | N&W J | Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke, VA | Operational. #611 · class |
| 3028 | NdeM QR-1 | New Hope Railroad / ALCO Historical & Technical Society, New Hope, PA | Stored (Mexican 4-8-4 on U.S. soil) |
| 2100 | Reading T-1 | American Steam Railroad, Cleveland, OH | Listed operational; Freedom Train #250 project. Article |
| 2101 | Reading T-1 (AFT #1) | B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore, MD | Display (AFT cosmetic restoration, 2025). Freedom Train |
| 2102 | Reading T-1 | Reading & Northern, Port Clinton, PA | Operational. Article |
| 2124 | Reading T-1 | Steamtown NHS, Scranton, PA | Display |
| 4500 | SLSF 4500 | Route 66 Historical Village, Tulsa, OK | Display |
| 4501 | SLSF 4500 | Museum of the American Railroad, Frisco, TX | Display |
| 4516 | SLSF 4500 | Missouri State Fairgrounds, Sedalia, MO | Display |
| 4524 | SLSF 4500 | Grant Beach Park, Springfield, MO | Display |
| 4449 | SP GS-4 | Oregon Rail Heritage Center, Portland, OR | Operational. Article |
| 4460 | SP GS-6 | Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, MO | Display (last SP steam passenger locomotive) |
| 700 | SP&S E-1 | Oregon Rail Heritage Center, Portland, OR | Operational (returned May 6, 2025). Article |
| 819 | SSW L-1 | Arkansas Railroad Museum, Pine Bluff, AR | Restoration / display (cosmetic; operating restoration not committed) |
| 814 | UP FEF-1 | RailsWest / Rock Island depot, Council Bluffs, IA | Display |
| 833 | UP FEF-2 | Utah State Railroad Museum, Ogden, UT | Display |
| 838 | UP FEF-3 | UP steam shop, Cheyenne, WY | Stored (parts for 844) |
| 844 | UP FEF-3 | UP steam shop, Cheyenne, WY | Operational on UP’s roster; public running recently scarce. Article |
Canadian 4-8-4s survive north of the border (CN Confederations among them) and are not tabled here.
Santa Fe 4-8-4 #3776 on the turntable at Redondo Junction, Los Angeles, 1950s. Redondo is still home to operating 4-8-4 #3751. Edwin Olsen photo. American-Rails.com collection.
Operating examples (2026)
Flue time, 1,472-day inspections, Positive Train Control, host-railroad access, and shop space decide whether a 4-8-4 actually turns a wheel in public in a given year. Union Pacific #844 is the extreme case: never retired, maintained at Cheyenne, and for several recent seasons not the Heritage Fleet engine you were likely to catch on the main line while Big Boy #4014 did the traveling. An engine can be operational and still not have a ticketed trip next month.
As of 2026 the U.S. 4-8-4s that have a realistic chance of being seen under steam by the public, with the usual caveats, are these:
| Engine | Home / operator | 2026 notes |
|---|---|---|
| N&W 611 | Virginia Museum of Transportation, Roanoke; Virginia Scenic Railway excursions | The surviving J. Limited public trips in Virginia in recent seasons, including a 2026 Virginia Scenic program. Confirm dates on VMT / Virginia Scenic, not on a steam-type page |
| SP 4449 | Oregon Rail Heritage Center, Portland | GS-4; American Freedom Train engine, restored 1975. Operational; ORHC also houses SP&S 700. Limited main-line and local appearances |
| SP&S 700 | Oregon Rail Heritage Center, Portland | Baldwin 1938 E-1. 1,472-day overhaul from 2015; returned to operation May 6, 2025 |
| ATSF 3751 | San Bernardino Railroad Historical Society, Redondo Junction | Oldest surviving 4-8-4. Restored 1991; out of service 2017; back September 21, 2022. PTC equipped. Excursions are occasional, not a tourist-railroad daily |
| ATSF 2926 | New Mexico Heritage Rail, Albuquerque | Baldwin 1944 2900-class. First move under steam July 24, 2021; excursion debut September 30, 2023. Second U.S. steam locomotive with PTC. No dedicated American-Rails engine page yet |
| MILW 261 | Friends of the 261, Minneapolis | Alco S-3, 1944. Restored 1993; returned 2012 after a later shopping. Regular excursion and seasonal specials when hosted |
| Reading 2102 | Reading & Northern, Port Clinton, PA | T-1 Ramble veteran. Restored to operation April 6, 2022. Modern Iron Horse Rambles on RBMN. See Rambles |
| UP 844 | Union Pacific, Cheyenne, WY | FEF-3, December 1944. Never retired; numbered 8444 from 1962 to 1989. Operational in the shop sense. Public trips have been rare in recent seasons. Check Union Pacific’s steam/Heritage Fleet notices before planning a chase. Sister 838 remains the parts engine at Cheyenne |
| Reading 2100 | American Steam Railroad, Cleveland, OH | Listed operational in survivor databases; restoration aimed at American Freedom Train identity as No. 250. Not a scheduled tourist operation. Confirm with the operator |
Not currently operating, but in the shop queue: C&O #614 at Strasburg (restoration; published hopes have pointed at later 2020s, not a 2026 public season). NC&StL #576 at Nashville (boiler fired in 2026; not yet a ticketed engine). Cotton Belt #819 at Pine Bluff (cosmetic work done; an operating restoration is still a museum decision). GTW #6325 at Sugarcreek has been displayed since its 2001–2005 excursion spell ended.
If you are traveling to see a Northern under steam, use the operator’s current calendar. This page will date-stamp the operating table when it is revised; it will not invent fares, consist, or a 2026 trip that has not been announced.
Related reading
- Steam locomotives (How steam works, Whyte, Super Power, builders, dieselization)
- Class and engine leaves: N&W J Class · #611 · NYC Niagara · C&O Greenbriers · #614 · SP 4449 · UP 844 · ATSF 3751 · MILW 261 · SP&S 700
- Reading T-1s: Iron Horse Rambles · #2100 · #2102 · American Freedom Train
- Burlington #5632 (famous O-5, not a survivor) · Elephant ears / smoke deflectors
- Other Super Power and late types on this site: Berkshires (2-8-4) · Mountains (4-8-2) · Hudsons (4-6-4) · Texas (2-10-4)
Sources for this rewrite include the previous American-Rails 4-8-4 page (November 6, 2024); Neil Carlson, “Steam locomotive profile: 4-8-4 Northern,” Classic Trains / Trains.com, January 21, 2026 (NP lignite/grate origin, ~1,125 built); Wes Barris, steamlocomotive.com survivor search (U.S. 4-8-4 locations and status); Union Pacific, “Living Legend No. 844”; and the American-Rails class and engine leaves linked above for J, Niagara, Greenbrier, GS-4 4449, FEF 844, T-1 Rambles, 3751, 261, and 700. Photographs are from the American-Rails.com collection except as credited (Corbin; LeMassena; Burn; Fahey; Olsen).
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Massachusetts broke ground October 29 in Pittsfield on track work meant to support permanent seasonal Berkshire Flyer service. MassDOT has $31 million for the project in its 2027-2031 capital plan. -
Cheraw Scrapyard Closed After a Search for CSX Rail
Nov 03, 26 10:02 AM
Chesterfield County deputies, CSX police, and state agents searched Cheraw Iron and Metal on October 27 and closed the yard after finding CSX rail and telephone wire. -
Union Pacific Urges the Board to Keep a Speech Video Confidential
Nov 03, 26 09:53 AM
Union Pacific on October 30 asked the Surface Transportation Board to keep a recording of Jim Vena’s shipper speech confidential while it appeals. BNSF on November 2 asked the board to deny that… -
Enfield Station Construction Begins on the Hartford Line
Nov 03, 26 09:39 AM
Connecticut has started a $125.3 million Enfield station on the Hartford Line, restoring passenger service for the first time since 1986. The state expects construction to finish in fall 2030. -
Santa Fe Steam Roster (Built Since 1900)
Nov 03, 26 09:30 AM
Featured here is the Santa Fe's all-time steam roster after 1900. The railroad operated a wide and varied collection of wheel arrangements. -
Santa Fe Railroad: Map, Logo, History, Rosters
Nov 03, 26 09:16 AM
History of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, from Cyrus Holliday’s 1859 charter to the Burlington Northern merger on December 31, 1996. The Warbonnet, the Super Chief, and the Chicago to Los An… -
Asheville Rail Corridor Gets $35.8 Million
Nov 03, 26 12:18 AM
The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded North Carolina $35.8 million for development, design, and construction on the Salisbury to Asheville corridor, including more than 40 crossing-signal syst… -
Le Mars Transload Center Expands on Canadian National
Nov 03, 26 12:06 AM
Burlington Junction Railway has expanded the Le Mars Transload Center beside Canadian National and U.S. Highway 75. A zero-interest Iowa DOT loan paid for part of the work. The center and industrial p… -
Lehigh Gorge Trains Move to Nesquehoning
Nov 02, 26 11:48 PM
Reading and Northern has moved Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway trips to Nesquehoning after the October 31 rockslide west of Jim Thorpe. Trains leave at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. through Sunday, November… -
Texas Transit Agency Breaks Ground on TEXRail
Nov 02, 26 11:40 PM
Trinity Metro broke ground October 29, 2026, on a $270 million, 2.1-mile TEXRail extension from Fort Worth T&P Station to a new Near Southside station on land donated by Baylor Scott and White Hea… -
Lake Front Depot: The C&NW's Milwaukee Terminal
Nov 02, 26 09:40 PM
The Chicago and North Western Lake Front Depot at 915 East Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee. Charles Sumner Frost, 1889. Last train May 15, 1966. Clock tower down May 7, 1968. -
Canal Street Maintenance Plan Will Get an FRA Review
Nov 02, 26 01:48 PM
The Federal Railroad Administration will prepare an environmental assessment of Amtrak Canal Street maintenance plans in Chicago after adding 17 viaduct repairs to a project that had a categorical exc… -
Durango & Silverton Repairs Track After Continued Flooding
Nov 02, 26 01:40 PM
Durango & Silverton crews are repairing flood damage after the Animas hit 11,200 cfs on October 23. The Highline Express ran October 27 through November 1. Polar Express trains remain listed from… -
Middle Georgia Megasite Will Host the First Audi Plant in the U.S.
Nov 02, 26 01:35 PM
Audi will build its first U.S. plant at the Norfolk Southern-served Middle Georgia Megasite in Peach County, about $4 billion and about 4,500 jobs. Audi and Norfolk Southern publish different construc… -
Union Pacific No. 844 Returns Beside Big Boy on November 21
Nov 02, 26 01:30 PM
Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844 is back under steam and will trail Big Boy 4014 from Greeley to Denver on November 21. The pair will then stand on free display at Denver Union Station. -
Norfolk Southern Abandonment in the Shenandoah Valley Is Stayed
Nov 02, 26 01:19 PM
The Surface Transportation Board on October 22, 2026, postponed a Norfolk Southern exemption to abandon 48.5 miles from Front Royal to Broadway, Virginia. A response is due November 3. -
Reading & Northern Sets a November 23 Start in Luzerne
Nov 02, 26 01:13 PM
Reading and Northern expects to begin operating about 59.65 miles of Luzerne County rail line on November 23, 2026. The package is $7 million in cash plus $3 million in track work. -
Second Daily Pennsylvanian Begins November 18
Nov 02, 26 12:19 PM
A second daily Pennsylvanian round trip between New York and Pittsburgh begins November 18, 2026, after 46 years with one round trip. Each city gets a morning departure and an afternoon departure. -
MBTA Sets November Meetings on Regional Rail
Nov 02, 26 12:10 PM
The MBTA will hold virtual meetings on November 4 and November 17, 2026, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., on a plan to turn Commuter Rail into Regional Rail with more frequent servic -
Wisconsin Central Diesel Roster (Soo Line Years)
Nov 01, 26 11:31 PM
Diesels built new for the Wisconsin Central in the Soo Line years. 97 locomotives, Alco 24 and Electro-Motive 73. These 97 are already inside the Soo Line roster of 786. -
Wisconsin Central Ltd. Diesel Roster
Nov 01, 26 11:22 PM
Wisconsin Central Ltd. diesels, 1987 to 2001. Thirty locomotives with a number fixed by another roster on this site or by a photograph. The fleet stood at 244 units. More than 100 were SD45s. -
Wisconsin Central Steam Roster (Built Since 1900)
Nov 01, 26 11:20 PM
Wisconsin Central steam locomotives built since 1900. The quantity column is 156. Consolidations, Mikados, Atlantics, Ten-Wheelers, Pacifics, and Mountains. The Soo 4-8-4s stay on the Soo roster. -
Wisconsin Central Railway: Map, History, Logo, Roster
Nov 01, 26 11:15 PM
Two railroads kept the Wisconsin Central name. The 1871 line was leased to the Soo on April 1, 1909 and merged January 1, 1961. Wisconsin Central Ltd. ran from October 11, 1987 until Canadian National… -
Watchmen Talks Extended at Los Angeles and Long Beach
Nov 01, 26 10:41 PM
Suggested meta description: The Pacific Maritime Association and ILWU Local 26 extended their contract through 5 p.m. Pacific Time on November 4, 2026, moving a November 1 deadline at the ports of Los… -
LIRR September Ridership Tops the 2019 Mark
Nov 01, 26 10:39 PM
The Long Island Rail Road carried 102 percent of its September 2019 ridership in September 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul said on October 28. Metro-North carried 323,423 riders on October 24 and 25. -
North Carolina Awards the Rogers Road Bridge in Wake Forest
Nov 01, 26 10:22 PM
NCDOT on October 28, 2026 awarded a contract to Blythe Construction for a bridge over the CSX S-Line on Rogers Road in Wake Forest. Work can start as early as November 30, with opening aimed at fall 2… -
Trinity Books 2,190 Railcar Orders in the Third Quarter
Nov 01, 26 10:17 PM
Trinity Industries on October 29, 2026 reported 2,190 new railcar orders and 2,030 deliveries in the third quarter. The company expects industry deliveries below 25,000 railcars in 2026.
