Late in the day on July 31, 2005, a westbound Union Pacific freight heads into the setting sun west of North Lake, Wisconsin, on the former Chicago & North Western Adams Line.

Orin Line trackage in the heart of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin can still be busy at times. Four trains share tracks at Converses Junction on the afternoon of June 25, 2022. A northbound Union P... (more)

Burlington Northern commuter trains at Aurora, Illinois, were being powered by both venerable BN EMD E9s and new Metra EMD F40PHM-2 locomotives on February 22, 1992.

Looking a bit like an N scale model, Amtrak’s westbound California Zephyr edges the rocky cliffs through Gore Canyon at Azure, Colorado, on September 15, 2021.

Bolting over Winston Hill
Weather turned quite storming in parts of Montana on the afternoon of July 8, 2022. My brother Tom, his son Charlie and I were waiting on Montana Rail Link’s ... (more)

On the afternoon of June 29, 2022, Montana Rail Link’s Laurel to Missoula manifest freight, commonly called the “LM,” climbs the eastern slope of Mullan Pass west of Helena, Montana. Six MRL... (more)

A Montana Rail Link “Jimbo” work train full of ties rolls east downgrade on Winston Hill at milepost 214 between Winston and Townsend, Montana, on July 8, 2022.

The morning sun has just cracked the horizon at 5:46 a.m. on June 26, 2022, as a northbound Union Pacific coal empty rolls upgrade out of Bill toward Logan in a vast Powder River Basin.

A northbound Fox River Valley Railroad freight passes over the Fond du Lac River at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, on March 25, 1990. The train has FRVR’s two former CB&Q/BN EMD SD24s and the lone form... (more)

Turbulent weather continues to flow through Powder River Basin in Wyoming on the afternoon of June 24, 2022, as a southbound BNSF coal train, just beginning its climb of Logan Hill, rolls through ... (more)

Led by EMD GP10 No. 8234, a westbound Chicago Central coal train emerges from the curved tunnel at East Dubuque, Illinois, on February 8, 1992. The train is about to rattle over Burlington Norther... (more)

Racing through Hinsdale
A rush hour Burlington Northern “Dinky” express cruises through Hinsdale, Illinois, on the center main on May 28, 1992. Geraniums are blooming in the planter... (more)

An eastbound BNSF coal train makes its way downgrade on Montana Rail Link’s line over Mullan Pass at Skyline, Montana, on June 28, 2017.

On July 3, 2018, and eastbound BNSF Q train curves through Lombard, Montana, on Montana Rail Link’s scenic route along the Missouri River through Lombard Canyon.

A BNSF coal train grinds up the 2.2 percent grade of Mullan Pass approaching Weed, Montana, in the last sunlight of July 5, 2021. Lone EMD SD70ACe No. 9170 swirls amidst its own traction sand in a... (more)