Free Republic

Steam trains could stop running after plans for a new coal mine were blocked. The Heritage Railway Association has warned that the industry could be jeopardised by Newcastle City Council’s refusal to grant planning permission for a new mine, as supplies of English steam coal are expected to run out early this year. It said the decision had ‘dashed the hopes of Britain’s heritage railways’, which need affordable coal to continue operating.

Five locomotives, the front end of a death train, sit almost completely hidden on a shabby stretch of track nestled within lakeside bush. A person could pull the stakes out of the rotting and splintered ties with one good yank. Yet this corroded rail line held fast against the wheels of a runaway train’s forward section — the stubby head of the beast — with no engineer at the switch, no human manipulating any of the route. How this severed section of the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railroad freight train got to this location remains a matter of speculation. Officials...

Two live web cams went on line this weekend in Chama, NM showing the train yard of the steam-powered narrow gauge RR. As of the time of this posting, the daily eastbound passenger train from Antonito, CO has just arrived and stopped at the depot. After the passengers depart, the two other live steam engines will separate the cars for servicing and arranging for Sunday's departures. All of this under blue skies and autumn fall colors. Enjoy! http://www.coloradonewmexicosteamtrain.org/yard-cams.htm

Are children still taught American History in the public and private schools?

Okay, so I am sitting around after work, at peace with the world and seeking argument from no one, when I learn that the famous 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" steam locomotives of the Union Pacific were NOT the largest in the world. I am confused, because every book I have about railways insists the "Big Boys" were the largest steam locomotives, ever, in the world. But the the Guiness Book of World Records throws a loop, insisting that in 1916 the Virginian Railway had a 2-8-8-8-4-6 locomotive, and that between 1914 and 1929, the Erie Railroad ran a freight train using...