The train-watching hobby community has made the sighting of the Norfolk Southern and other heritage units into a game of sorts. Railfans, it seems, are always trying to best each other with who has seen more, or who has seen a particular unit on "home" rails. (Nevermind that none of these units actually turned a wheel for the railroads they are painted for.)  Now I've never really put much effort into tracking them down, but if the opportunity presents itself I will usually make the effort to go see one. By my count I can claim to have photographed 14 and seen a total of 17. Not bad for someone who – since 2012 – does not live in a state that NS serves.

Be sure to share your experiences – and locomotive counts! – in the comments for other visitors here.

The first Norfolk Southern heritage unit I photographed was No. 1073 at National Train Day in Toledo, Ohio, in May 2013. The locomotive led CSX and BNSF units on an eastbound NS crude oil train.

The second NS heritage unit I photographed was just a week later at National Train Day in Chicago. The locomotive was on display with Amtrak and Metra equipment in Chicago Union Station.

Next came SD70ACe No. 1072, the Illinois Terminal-painted unit, on an eastbound BNSF crude oil train during Rochelle Railroad Days in Illinois in June 2013. It was (unfortunately) trailing in the consist.

Just a month later, on another trip to northern Illinois, I saw No. 1074, the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western-painted unit, on a westbound empty BNSF tank train at Shabbona, just little ways southeast of Rochelle. While it was leading, the train came west about noon – just about the worst time to photograph a train in the summer sun. While I was glad to find a location with a landmark (the city water tower), I was less than thrilled with the lighting and resulting photo.

Another month brought me two more NS heritage units – back in Rochelle no less. On Aug. 31, 2013, I recorded both the red Norfolk Southern-painted and yellow Reading-painted unit on separate trains at the Rochelle Railroad Park.

Up next was ES44AC No. 8103, the Norfolk & Western-painted unit, on the eastbound RoadRailer train at Butler, Wis., in September 2013.

Let than a week later I would get to photograph the first NS heritage unit I ever saw: ES44AC No. 8025, painted for the Monongahela Railway. I first saw it in Cincinnati in August 2012, but wasn’t able to photograph it. So my consolation prize, more than a year later, was to shoot it passing the former Soo Line station in Waukesha.

The New Year brought me a new heritage unit: SD70ACe No. 1069 painted for the old Virginian Railway. Once again, I was at the Rochelle Railroad Park for the January 2014 catch that also included BNSF and Canadian Pacific power.

In March 2014 I was able to add ES44AC No. 8104, painted for the Lehigh Valley to my list. I was especially thankful for the longer days – and Daylight Saving Time – that enabled me to photograph this dinnertime move through Duplainville, Wis., on Canadian Pacific.

Sometimes you just get lucky. On a long drive home from Green Bay in June 2014, I was able to intercept northbound SD70ACe No. 1070, painted for the Wabash (my hometown road!), on Canadian National. I had a little warning from friends “down south,” so I was able to plan for a shot at Scott Street, where the tracks angle back west a bit, shedding a bit of nose light on the unit.

Also in June 2014, I recaptured No. 8114 northbound on Canadian National at Duplainville, Wis., on a dark and dreary late spring day.

In March 2015, I was able to make a Hail Mary shot at No. 8104 again on the former Conrail near Waterloo, Ind., while traveling east on assignment for the magazine.

In July 2015 I was able to add the might Pennsylvania Railroad to my list of heritage units when ES44AC No. 8102 lead an eastbound Canadian Pacific crude oil train through Brookfield, Wis.

Thankfully, I was able to get another shot at (no pun intended) No. 1074 when it led an eastbound CP crude oil train through Brookfield in November 2015.

In January 2016, I added Interstate-painted ES44AC No. 8105 on a westbound empty CP crude oil train at Duplainville, Wis.

Just this past weekend I added another: Central of New Jersey-painted SD70ACe No. 1071 on an eastbound CP crude oil train at Portage, Wis.

Three more units that I’ve seen but have not photographed include No. 8099, painted for the Southern Railway; No. 1066, painted for the New York Central; and No. 8101, painted for the Central of Georgia.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – I was in Jacksonville last week on a three-fold mission: 1. Give an after dinner talk to the Atlantic Coast Line / Seaboard Air Line Historical Society (nobody feel asleep that I could tell, whew!); 2. Interview CSX Chairman and CEO Michael Ward (news flash, if you didn’t read Trains Newswire earlier this week, he’s staying three more years; read the rest of my Q&A with him about coal traffic, PTC, mergers, and more in the May issue); and 3. Get out of Wisconsin’s cold for a few days with my wife, visit friends, and walk on the beach (done, and was it good!).

My first instinct upon arrival was to go and visit a magnificent but troubled steam locomotive: Atlantic Coast Line 4-6-2 No. 1504, a gorgeous 1919 Alco-built USRA light Pacific that has been on display for 30 years in the parking lot of the Prime Osborne Convention Center in the former Jacksonville Union Station. I’m quite proud of the North Florida Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society for leading the effort to do a thorough cosmetic job on the engine that had been rusting and withering in the Florida heat and humidity. The pride of the Coast Line looked beaten and down just a few years ago. Now, locomotive practically shines now in a fresh paint job. I’m proud that Trains contributed $10,000 to the restoration through our annual Preservation Award and that CSX Corp., just down Water Street from the locomotive, matched our award.

Now $20,000 doesn’t go far when you’re talking about a cosmetic job these days but it is still pretty good. The chapter hired folks who knew what they’re doing, and they did the job well. The engine is a princess once more. What she needs now is a roof over her so that pretty paint job will last longer and the elements don’t continue to work at her. She is a gorgeous reminder of the ACL’s passenger service along the East Coast, and her likes are rare. Fewer than a half dozen ACL steam locomotives are still in existence, and this one is the largest, and dare I say, the most graceful. Let’s all pledge to do what we can to get a roof over this magnificent locomotive. She needs to keep telling her story to a new generation. A cover is the next step in preserving the history of ACL’s passenger motive power and a classic Georgian locomotive that author H. Stafford Bryant would find numerous reasons to praise.

Running a steam excursion train on a Class I railroad in 2016 is a demanding job. This year with Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 No. 611, the job falls to Adam Auxier, a private car operator. I posed 10 questions to Adam, and here's what he told me.

1. Tell us about your role with the excursion train in 2016? In 2015 Virginia Museum of Transportation brought me onboard to manage mechanical issues and overnight servicing for the excursion train. In 2016 I was upgraded to excursion train manager. In this role I will oversee the safe operation of each of our excursions. My goal is to offer a flawless operation and minimize any stresses on the volunteers, crew, and Norfolk Southern.

 2. How did you prepare for the 2016 season? I selected and leased the railcars for the consist, scouted the boarding and detraining sites, and developed the operating plan. However, as we progress we all find ourselves doing whatever it takes to get the job done.

 3. What will you be doing on the days when the train will be running?I will be overseeing most aspects of the onboard operation. Hopefully, we go into these trips with a polished operating plan that we can execute flawlessly. I will be there to help troubleshoot, whether it is a mechanical issue, customer service question, or boarding issue. As long as you go into these trips knowing that you wont be sleeping for 48 hours, you will do fine!

 4. What’s your background? I was in operations and logistics. Before working in the railroad world I spent 8 years in the children’s toy industry in sales and operational roles.  My wife, Allycia, and I live in Eden Prairie, Minn., and have a new baby on the way this June. We both travel extensively for fun and for work, which will be slowing down once baby is here.

 5. How did you get interested in railroading? Railroading has been a permanent fixture in my life. My early years were spent in Centralia, Ill., where my family worked for the Illinois Central and Amtrak. In those pre-internet years information on trains was scarce. I was blessed to have an excellent local library with piles of books on railroading. When I was a teenager my mother remarried and we moved us to Minnesota, where, low and behold, my step-dad turned out to be a railfan. He took me on a trip behind Milwaukee 4-8-4 No. 261 in 1999 and introduced me to many of the local players in the steam and private car world. From there my friend Justin Sobeck and I became involved in the planning and operating private railcar trips. My big break came in 2013 when my company, Altiplano Rail, landed the contract to operate the Station to Station event as a producer. Station to Station was a nomadic art exhibit involving a 4,000-mile, coast to coast special train that operated in 2013. A feature film chronicling the event premiered at Sundance last year and is now available on iTunes.

 6. What makes a good excursion train in your mind?For an excursion to tick all the boxes for a fan of steam railroading, you need to make sure the customer leaves the excursion train feeling as if they were fully immersed in the world of steam. They should be able to hear the locomotive, and see the locomotive while enjoying good food and great service. The riders of the 21^st century aren’t going to be satisfied with boiled hot dogs and Mountain Dew.

 7. What’s different about the 2016 season that gets you excited? I am thrilled at the amount of time we were given to plan the trips. This allows us to better sketch out the operating plan, consist, and on board experience. We are also looking forward to the Greensboro, N.C.-Roanoke, Va. trip immensely as it involves mileage that hasn’t been covered by an excursion in more than 20 years over for the former Virginian “V” Line.

 8. The Asheville trip sold out in 2 hours. Did that surprise you? For a number of reasons the sell-out didn’t surprise me. The N.C. Transportation Museum has a long history of running 611 to Asheville and that market for steam has been left dormant since 1994 years. The trip is spellbinding: the Old Fort Loops are more like a donkey trail than a railroad. Imagine taking a Ferrari down a crooked country road. For many 611 fans, this trip is a bucket list item, which may or may not be repeated.

 9. Some people have said they wouldn’t ride the excursion train because it has sealed windows with air conditioning. How do you respond to that? There were people who said they wouldn’t ride cruise ships once they got rid of trap shooting from the deck, or who threatened not to ride Amtrak if they banned smoking onboard. The experience of riding behind steam has changed, but the fundamental draw of steam power will always be there.

 10. What is the one thing that you hope people will come away with after riding the train in 2016? I hope everyone that rides has a fantastic experience riding behind the 611, and are able to appreciate the immense effort undertaken by the Virginia Museum of Transportation, N.C. Transportation Museum, and Norfolk Southern to host these trips. The work done by the engine crew to keep the locomotive in top shape is a herculean effort. Also, it takes a special breed of volunteer to help clean coaches at 2 a.m.

Saturday was a sunny day in Wisconsin. In the almost 12 years that I’ve lived here, this was the mildest winter of all. 95 percent of the snow has melted at my house, and Sunday set a record temperature, 61 degrees.

I made no attempt to rise early Saturday, but even taking my time, I was ready to go by 8:30, and decided to do a little train watching before a couple of hours at the office, where I finished writing an 8-page feature story on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic for our 100-page special magazine, Colorado Railroads, due out in April. In the field, at the first crossing I came to, two fans were waiting on a Canadian National northbound. I decided to have fun with them, so I rolled down the window and yelled “foamers!” and being one I joined them. The northbound had some interesting power so I followed it north (more about this in tomorrow’s blog post), and, of course, there was another fan waiting on the train there.

I went to work and planned to hit Panera for lunch, but on the way, I noticed the CN dispatcher had set up a meet at Duplainville, so I swing by for a look. Two vehicles were sitting on a side road near the diamonds with the Canadian Pacific. My friend Nick Brown, a hearty Wisconsinite in shorts, was photographing the action. Soon, a car pulled up and two people got out to watch the show. Then a van with a family of four stopped and joined the congregation. We all stood in the middle of piles of melting snow to take pictures and wave at the train. The train crews at Dupy really had an audience on this beautiful day.

Yes, I said to myself as I finally drove to lunch it is springtime for railfans in Wisconsin. Of course, today the forecast for tonight is, you guessed it, snow.

I was train watching Saturday at Wisconsin’s undisputable epicenter of railroad activity, Duplainville, where Canadian Pacific and Canadian National cross on a diamond. The first northbound of my visit was pulling an end-cab, or butthead, in some camps (including the Southern Railway retirees I used to hang out with at Spencer, N.C.) switcher in the engine consist. I was surprised because this was an Illinois Central rebuild of an SW7, and most Class I railroads have downsized their switcher fleets in favor of ubiquitous six-axle units that can shuffle cars one hour and hit the main line the next. The northbound stopped at the siding just north to set off cars on a siding for the local, and that gave me the chance to get a clean shot of No. 1200, the class unit of four such locomotives on the IC roster. You can see how few switchers there are on the CN/IC/Wisconsin Central roster by looking at the rosters we have on line for you at http://trn.trains.com/railroads/rosters.

This was the second time in less than two weeks that I’d encountered an endcab switcher. The first was when I was in Jacksonville, Fla., last month for the Atlantic Coast Line / Seaboard Air Line Historical Society meeting. On a stunningly beautiful winter day (even more stunning by Wisconsin standards, where Trains is based), my wife, Cate, and I decided to take up a spot on the foot bridge overlooking the well-photographed St. Johns River bridge just a few paces away from CSX’s office building. Heck, everybody else seems to have shot here, so why not us?  We noticed a signal was set, and soon, coming north from the Florida East Coast yard, we heard an air horn and saw a headlight. Would we get FEC power, NS power, or something else? Soon, a single CSX MP15AC came striding into view, a long string of stack cars on the drawbar. It wasn’t the grandeur of a set of Norfolk Southern or FEC six-axle units that I’d hoped for but it was rare and getting more rare all the time. A friend at CSX confirmed that for me.

It’s no secret that endcab switchers are in twilight. They just don’t make them any more. Our locomotive columnist, Chris Guss, wrote about the fate of the end cab switcher in our May 2015 issue. Said Chris: “With their ranks slowly diminishing, end-cab switchers will most likely always have a role on certain Class I rosters due to their smaller size and weight, but their days of dominating yard and industrial service certainly peaked long ago.”

 I hate that. I grew up and matured with charming SW7s, SW9s, and SW1500s on the Southern, Louisville & Nashville, Seaboard Coast Line, and Clinchfield in the 1970s and 1980s. They had personality then, and they still do today. Here’s to the butthead!

NEW YORK — Donald Trump says Hunter Harrison is too "soft" to takeover another railroad.

In a brief interview with Trains News Wire on Wednesday, the billionaire Republican Presidential candidate spared a few moments to offer counsel to the veteran Tennessean railroader turned Canadian Pacific CEO.

"I like Hunter. I know Hunter, good man. But, he's using too few small words," Trump says about Harrison. "Take that 'precision scheduled railroading' thing. Means nothing. If he wants people to get it, Hunter needs to say something like, 'We'll make the trains run on time.' That's very easy, very clear."

The New York-based real estate mogul also says Harrison should avoid talking about analysts, plans, and financial statements, but instead offer a "super good" vision of the future.

"A vision so good, so beautiful, people can't help but say that that is a good thing," he says. "When you start talking about numbers and ratios, people get bored. You can't do that. Let the pencil necks figure it out later. You've got to win people's hearts.

"Hunter, my beautiful friend Hunter, has yet to do this."

When asked what Harrison should be saying, specifically, about bids to take over CSX Transportation, then Norfolk Southern, then CSX again, Trump took a long pause.

"Well, not what he's been saying. Winners don't send out news releases saying they'll sue someone for trying to block a business deal," Trump says. "And winners don't go begging in public from one potential partner to the next like a kid desperate for a date to the dance. Winners go out and make deals happen. And they use winning words."

If Harrison wants to take over NS or CSX, or any other railroad, Trump says that the CP CEO needs to get down and dirty. Among other things, Trump says Harrison needs to personally attack NS' Jim Squires and CSX's Michael Ward for their personal appearances, their educations, their wives' shopping habits, in addition to calling them out as "no good paper pushers."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Hunter knows these things. He knows how to win, but he's not winning," Trump says. "I think he's thinking too much. If he wants to win another railroad he can't be so soft. And then he can achieve greatness."

I read the Association of American Railroads traffic reports just like you do. Coal, oil, and metallic stuff – ie, things that make steel for China, which the Chinese don’t want right now, are all down. This February is off about 10,000 carloads of freight from February 2015. Let’s just say that most trains are about 100 cars long; if so, there were 100 fewer trains this February. It may be even less than that — remember the big push among the Class I railroads is to make trains longer, a topic we’ll explore in our June issue.

 But you and I also know what Mark Twain said about statistics: Lies, damn lies, and stuff that comes out of the mouths of unsavory politicians (insert your least favorite candidate or elected official’s name here). Because of this, I prefer to make field inspections, which I did last weekend. From observations of the nearby Canadian Pacific and Canadian National main lines, I conclude that Americans are still buying cars, and lots of them. I saw a ton of autoracks. I also saw a lot of center beam flatcars, which tells me someone needs lots of lumber to build houses. And lastly, I saw one unit train of potash, which tells me that spring is around the corner.

 I saw all kinds of other stuff, including unit trains of containers and even one of those rare crude oil trains. One thing I did not see: Coal trains. I miss coal trains. A railroad just isn’t one without coal. Is it my imagination, or is traffic picking up?

March 18, 2016 marks a big change for our Vice-President of Editorial, Kevin P. Keefe. Kevin will retire after 28 years at Kalmbach Publishing. During that time he worked as an advertising copywriter, associate editor, and served as editor of Trains for eight years, 1992-2000. It is a reluctant farewell for me: You see, Kevin is not only my boss, but he’s also a friend who I can go to and talk about steam power, favorite railroads, and personalities in the railroad business, as well as the ranks of authors and photographers. For the first time in the 11 years I’ve been at Trains, Kevin will no longer be there to offer suggestions, critique our layouts and copy, and be a friend to this publication in the corporate halls of our company. We are surely going to miss him, but I hope the path he has put us on will serve the staff and you, our readers, for years to come.

I had an opportunity to meet Kevin on my first Southern Railway steam excursion in 1975. I should underscore the word had because we didn’t actually meet. I was 14, and Kevin was a young buck of 24. We were both riding the National Railway Historical Society convention trip from Knoxville, Tenn., to Jellico, Tenn., and back. I was giddy because two of my boyhood heroes, SR President W. Graham Claytor Jr., and legendary Trains Editor David P. Morgan were on board, and I got to meet both. Kevin, as it turns out, was in the photo line with his long-time pal John B. Corns at Elk Valley and took a memorable photo of riders vying for a good shot of 2-8-2 No. 4501. Morgan used Kevin’s image in his editorial soon after. After seeing it, I realized just how close I had been. We must have been standing no more than 15 feet apart because I got a similar shot with my parents’ Kodak 110 pocket camera.

We did meet, however, in a most auspicious manner, on board a steam train. This time the year was 1987, and my friend Bill Schafer (now retired from strategic planning at Norfolk Southern), and I joined Kevin and John B. Corns, in an open window car behind Norfolk  & Western Class J No. 611. The occasion was the famous side-by-side trip from Roanoke to Radford in which No. 611 pulled a passenger consist and big sister Class A No. 1218 pulled a hopper train. We rolled off mile after mile up Christiansburg grade, seesawing back and forth between the A and the J in a classic recreation of what the N&W must have been like in the 1950s. The four of us drank in the sights and sounds of a face-full of Class A every few minutes and savored the delightful runbys with these two legends from another time. We were spellbound at the gift of this day, and it created a new friendship that would lead me to write often as a freelancer for Kevin during his tenure as editor.

In 2000, I found myself sitting across a desk from Kevin, who was now in the role of potential employer. Kevin asked good questions (What story ideas did I have? (railroad mergers, the value of six-coupled steam in today’s preservation world) What writers do I admire? (Frailey, Stephens, Hankey, and Hansen) What was my favorite DPM story (how much time do we have?)) and I hope I gave good answers. At the end, Kevin turned the tables and asked if I had questions. Yes, I said, why world anyone leave the best job in the entire world to go into upper management? Kevin’s answer was convincing: He was raising a family and the greater responsibility and more earnings power would better enable him to put his kids through college. In 2000, the time was not right for me personally to work at Trains, but it was four years later, and, I tease Kevin about this often: One of his kids, Katy, got a full sports scholarship. He didn’t need that big management job after all.

Though Kevin moved up, he never forgot where he came from, and always was there to support and promote Trains. He was a good, understanding boss when times were bad, and his wit and humor made the days go by as the torrent of work continued one issue after another, one special project to the next.

Watch Jim Wrinn’s video interview with Kevin P. Keefe about his career, influences, and a new book project at http://trn.trains.com/photos-videos/videos/2016/03/kevin-keefe-interview

I was running some errands on Sunday and came to a startling discovery and my local shopping mall: The massive piles of parking lot snow were gone. That, folks, is a sure sign that spring has arrived in the Midwest.

This fact should not have been a surprise to me. Saturday morning, for the first time in 2016, I set off on foot in the pursuit of trains, capturing this photo of a southbound Canadian National freight in my Waukesha neighborhood. No, it's not an overly dramatic photograph, and I have plenty others that look similar, but it certainly marks the changing of the seasons for me.

And I'm looking forward to the new seasons, as I always do. (Yes, way back in October and November I actually looked forward to winter's pending arrival, too.)

It's time for lawn chairs, coolers, cameras, and radio scanners. For many, it's a time to get out and rediscover railroading after the long winter slumber. (Readers in Southern California don't fully grasp this concept.)

So what are YOU looking forward to most this new railfan year? A new camera? Seeing a new locomotive model for the first time? An epic road trip on the horizon? Or just opening the windows and hearing a distant train rumble by? Tell us about it! I hope to, starting with this post, cover more railfan topics on the Trains Magazine staff blog. So let's hear what you're interested in!

I'm reminded of scene from the perennial favorite of television for almost 40 years now: M*A*S*H. Major Frank Burns asks the Army's favorite cross-dresser, Cpl. Maxwell Klinger (played by Toledo's favorite native son Jamie Farr, no less), "How dare you wear that hat while in uniform?"

Klinger's apt response was this: "It's spring, sir!"

And so it is.

Sometimes dumb luck, or in my case, a flat tire, can steer you to railroad history that is still alive. Case in point: Yesterday my wife, Cate, and I were traveling in our car along the Mississippi River. Near Red Wing, Minn., we both heard a loud pop, which I hoped was backfire from a passing truck. Unfortunately, our Ford Fusion had picked up a nail, and the left rear tire was sagging fast. I decided that changing a tire or waiting on AAA on the side of a busy road in the day of distracted drivers was less desirable than limping into town and hoping a tire store was close by.

 Pulling onto the main drag in Red Wing, Cate had used her mobile phone to find a tire store just ahead. I pulled in, and guess what!? The store had closed the Saturday before and moved a block up the street. The young man there inflated the tire once more and I coaxed the car on to the new location. After placing the car in the hands of the good folks of Johnson Tire, I looked up and saw that it was smack next to a tiled two-story brick depot building that was now a Caribou Coffee.

 With nothing better to do, I walked across the parking lot and to the coffee shop for a hazelnut latte and a dose of Chicago Great Western history. Turns out the depot was built in 1906, had last seen a train of by then the Chicago & North Western in 1976, and became a Hardee’s hamburger restaurant in 1980. The coffee shop came along in 2006. In the lobby are a CGW depot timeline and what appears to be a nicely polished locomotive bell.

 My tire was soon replaced, and we were on our way. The next time you have a flat or are just visiting in Red Wing, have a cup and keep a little CGW history brewing.

Railroad museums, like all good institutions of preservation, need a signature piece: A T-Rex, a space shuttle, a Model T, world’s largest ball of twine (don’t laugh too hard; it’s in fabulous Cawker City, Kansas), or something. The Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth, Minn., one of my favorite historic railroad places in America (and somewhat overlooked by many enthusiasts), has two such signature pieces: A Milwaukee Road boxcab electric from 1915, No. 10200, and Missabe Road No. 227, a 1941 2-8-8-4 Yellowstone type.

They’re displayed side by side in the heart of the museum with cab access to both and the added benefit of drivers and running gear that move periodically on the steam locomotive. Both locomotives have that “wow factor” that every museum marketing manger craves. They’re both big, they’re both impressive, and they’re both different from anything else you’d see in this museum and at few others. The boxcab is a bit out of field — this was a creature of the Rocky Mountain West — but the Yellowstone is truly at home in the northwoods iron ore country where it worked.

I was at the museum at closing time last Sunday afternoon, and as I walked out, I glanced over my shoulder to take in one last look at this pair. I imagine they have good conversations about tonnage, snow, engineers good and bad, and their times on the main line. Like two old friends who belly up to the bar for a drink and to catch up, there are lots of stories to share.

I think I've finally figured out the diesel guys. They're crazy. 

I found that out this week because we've had two stories recently on Norfolk Southern Dash 8s. One story said they would be scrapped, another said they would be rebuilt. 

And I stopped in my tracks.

Editing the first story, on scrapping, wasn't much of a problem. I trusted the author to get the model numbers right. The second one, a day later, on rebuilding (to Dash 8.5 standards of all things) threw me for a loop.

So I researched. And I now know that diesel guys can tell you that "Dash 8" can refer to 12 different four- or six-axle locomotives GE built in the 1980s as well as certain re-builds and modified locomotives. There's the B32-8, B40-8W, and even a C44-8W, for example. It so happens, that in referring to the locomotives, you're even allowed to refer to them by re-arranging their numbers: 8-32B, 8-40BW, and 8-44CW. The same naming convention holds true for Dash 9s and Dash 7s and their number series', but since Dash 7s are so rare, people just call them C30s these days.

Seriously?! 

I shared this revelation with Brian, a fellow editor here at Trains.

"No wonder I can't tell what model you guys are talking about when we're out watching trains," I yelled. "You call everything a Dash 8 or Dash 9 when you look at a GE and I think they're all the same. You're awful."

Brian laughed, shrugged his shoulders and paused. Then he reminded me that some guys (and gals) like to trace the locomotives they see or hear about through every owner, every re-build or update, and even when a locomotive swaps out trucks. When I watch trains, I look to take photos that tell a story, find a place that is aesthetically pleasing to me, or I look for information that will help me have a better understanding of railroad maintenance or operations. 

Not Brian and his diesel guys, some of whom have photographic memories for these things, while others use computers or notebooks to track decades-long locomotive careers. But just like my baseball-stat astrologer family members who can compare Roy Campanella, Johnny Bench, and Mike Piazza (famous baseball catchers) without thinking more about it, these diesel guys have knowledge to share.

It's likely I'll never fully grasp the finer points of diesel designations in the way I easily compare Mikados, Berkshires, and Niagaras in my mind. And that's OK. It's more important that I know what I don't know AND that my crazy friends answer calls for help from time to time. Where would I be without them.

Next year marks the 30^th anniversary of my first trip to Colorado, land of snowy peaks, narrow gauge Mikados giving it their all, streamliners in deep canyons, and burly freights grinding out tonnage. On that May 1987 trip, I literally hesitated to get onto the plane going home to Charlotte after a week with friends exploring the Moffat Tunnel route, Joint Line, Georgetown Loop, and Manitou & Pikes Peak cog railway. It was a great introduction, and to this day I’m still enamored with Colorado, its spectacular geography, great people, and fascinating railroads. The more I’ve seen, the more I want to see more.

This week is the last of several months of a labor of love for the Trains staff, contributors, and me on our 100 percent brand new Colorado Railroads special magazine and companion DVD. We put in extra effort to cover the whole spectrum of railroads in the Centennial State, from main lines and preservation railways to the rebirth at Denver Union Station, the expansion of the light rail and commuter system, and North America’s incubator of railroad technology near Pueblo. Contributor Mark Hemphill wrote a compelling essay about Colorado, and Colorado railroad historian Charles Albi completed a comprehensive timeline to go with it. I’m especially impressed with Bill Metzger’s 1939 and today maps as well as the tremendous maps with every story. I personally couldn’t help myself and penned stories on the Rio Grande Scenic, Georgetown Loop, and the amazing Cumbres & Toltec Scenic. We had so many great stories and photos that we bumped the page count up to 104! You’ll see it next month when it is available from us https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/products/special-issues/tr8base__Colorado-Railroads and from your favorite outlet.

We’ll be visiting Colorado for the world premier of the hour-long Colorado Railroads DVD on May 6 on the eve of this year’s first steam trip from Durango to Silverton. We’ll have details soon, but the venue will be the Strater Hotel in downtown Durango. We’ll also be on hand that day at the Durango & Silverton to talk about this project. The following Tuesday, May 10, we’ll be in the Denver area to show the DVD for the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club. And on June 11, we’ll have a DVD showing and signing at the Colorado Railroad Museum.

If you’re ready for a Colorado trip, we’ve got that too. This is the second year we’re working with Special Interest tours to host week-long tours of Colorado and its spectacular scenic railways and museums. For information, see http://trn.trains.com/magazine/trips/2016/02/colorado

See you in the Rockies!

I’ve been a visitor to West Virginia’s Cass Scenic Railroad since my parents took me there as a teenager to try and mend a broken heart. I wasn’t down because a girl had dumped me. I was sad because my favorite short line had just closed down before my very eyes. The year was 1975, and the Shay-powered Graham County Railroad had just shut down. We made the trip to Cass a few weeks later where there were steep grades, switchbacks, and lots of Shays running around. It was just the thing I needed to move on. There would be another day.

Cass is a special place — the East Coast’s living logging railroad museum. The locomotives, the remote location, and the unbelievably sharp curves and grades in excess of 10 percent made me a fan right away. That is one reason I’m excited about Trains’ first ever photo charter event, on the Cass Scenic Railroad on June 3. On that day, we’ll take freshly restored Pacific Coast Shay No. 2, a log train, and a couple of cabooses up the mountain for a day of photos. We’ll have a small group of no more than 25 so the photos should be outstanding.

If you’ve never spent much time around geared steam locomotives, Cass is the place to be on the East Coast. Shays in particular with three cylinders, a crankshaft, and more gears, universal joints, and enough other moving equipment to hypnotize, are fascinating to watch and listen to. They sound like they’re going 60 mph when they’re crawling along at 6!

We’ve timed this event so that you can take in Norfolk & Western No. 611 at Manassas the next two days or go to the Sounds of Railroading conference at nearby Davis & Elkins College the same weekend. We’re helping to sponsor the railroad-themed music event. Details are here: http://www.dewv.edu/event/sounds-railroading-conference

To join us at Cass, go to this page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/trains-magazine-cass-scenic-railroad-photo-charter-tickets-23109272456

We’ll see you on the mountain for a Day with a Shay!

 We didn’t suffer through a ferocious winter in Wisconsin this year. That usually builds up a pent up demand to escape to someplace warm. Nevertheless, I am ready for a spring road trip in search of steam (thank you Mike Eagleson of Railroad Magazine for that delightful phrase!), and this year, thanks to many factors, it’s a road trip in search of Big Steam. Best of all, thanks to the magic of modern technology and live streaming gear, we get to take you along with us as we enjoy the sights and sounds of steam in action and in the shop and in preparation.

 We’ll start our road trip April 5 in New Haven, Ky., in the midst of bourbon country. There we’ll talk with Chris Campbell and other folks who are organizing to restore Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2716. Be sure to watch our livestreaming program at www.TrainsMag.com/BigSteam from 9 to 10 a.m. eastern time. Learn about the project, get the latest updates, and dive deeper into this 1943 Alco that is about to get a new life.

 Then, we’re off to my home state of North Carolina for Norfolk & Western Class J No. 611’s first runs of the season out of Spencer, N.C. We’ll be following the J on April 9 to Lynchburg, Va., and to Asheville, N.C., on April 10 via the famous loops near Old Fort. (Chasing? Check out my chase guide with map at http://cs.trains.com/trn/b/staff/archive/2016/01/19/trains-chase-guide-norfolk-amp-western-no-611-spencer-asheville-n-c-april-10-2016.aspx

We’ll live stream both excursions as well as the April 11 photo day with No. 611 and Lehigh Valley Coal 0-6-0 No. 126 at the N.C. Transportation Museum.

 We’ll finish off the road trip with another live streaming event at 3 p.m. April 13 Eastern time in Cleveland, Ohio, and the site of Reading Co. No. 2100, that big 4-8-4 that is set for restoration. We’ll chat with Steve Harvey of the American Steam Railroad Preservation Association and others involved in the project.

 Naturally, we’re excited about all of this big steam either back in operation or coming back. We’re so enthused that we’ll be producing a special magazine, Big Steam is Back, for release in early 2017 along with a companion DVD. You’ll learn about these three locomotives and many more favorites, including Southern Pacific 4449, Southern Railway 4501, Nickel Plate Road 765, Union Pacific 844, the restoration of Big Boy No. 4014, and many more locomotives.

 Yes, it’s time for a road trip, in search of Big Steam!

There is still a mark on my forehead where I slapped it after reading the following Wednesday morning:

"(Reuters) — Sunday's fatal Pennsylvania Amtrak accident may have exposed possible blind spots in a nationwide collision prevention system that is meant to stop crashes on U.S. railroads. ... A dilemma facing railroads is whether to spend funds expanding [positive train control] systems to service vehicles like the backhoe involved in Sunday's crash, or put money into upgrades of aging rail infrastructure."

The fatal "Amtrak accident" refers to the tragic deaths of two railroaders on the Northeast Corridor April 4. A backhoe one of the men operated fouled a track without protection and was promptly demolished by the southbound Palmetto near Philadelphia. The head slap is because of the straight-faced assumption from Reuters, a respected news organization, that PTC was ever supposed to prevent trains from smacking into backhoes — or cars, trucks, pedestrians, and trespassers, for that matter. There was no debate about it and there still isn't, so far as I know.

The 2008 Rail Safety Improvement Act Congress passed to require PTC on all railroads broadly requires systems that prevent train-to-train collisions; enforce train speed limits; keep trains from running through a misaligned switch; and that protect established work zones.

It seems clear, but not proven, that for whatever reason, the backhoe crossed near or onto a live track without protection or authorization.

In other words, the backhoe went outside of its work zone.

Granted, the backhoe operator and other track equipment were on the track directly next to the live line when the accident happened and the reason remains unclear. They might have thought they had protection from a dispatcher or a flagman, but didn't.

But the bold-faced, lame-brained idea that PTC should be installed in every possible piece of track equipment, locomotive, and device is wayward and irresponsible. Why, it would be the same as arguing that all automobiles should be equipped with emergency brakes and proximity sensors to prevent car crashes at intersections or to prevent overspeeding on highways. It is possible, but impractical.

The hundreds of thousands of pieces of rail equipment to be so reconfigured could easily cost billions of dollars more than it already has to install PTC and do little more than what an appropriately placed flagman, shunting cable, or dispatcher-acknowledged work zone do. And they work well when used.

I chalk this up as railroading's version of the "CSI effect" criminal prosecutors now worry about. That is, citizen juries see so much technology and advanced evidence gathering techniques on popular TV shows, that they expect to see it in a real-life courtroom, even when the law and logic don't require it.

In this case, people have read or heard about a technology that is supposed to prevent accidents, so they believe it is supposed to prevent all accidents. But that was never PTC’s intent, and it is beyond the practical limits of any technology to prevent every kind of accident. Particularly when one extremely fallible element  — the human being — is part of the equation.

Let’s play connect the dots:  Where has Jim been?

I write these words to you from beautiful Princeton, W.Va., on the way to Cleveland for a live streaming event Wednesday at 3 p.m. We’ll be doing an interview and locomotive preview of Reading Co. 4-8-4 No. 2100. Look for it at www.TrainsMag.com/BigSteam.

I’ve been away from the keyboard for the last week on the road in search of big steam, short lines, and 611. This is the first night I’ve gotten back to the room before 10 p.m. and haven’t been out by 7 the next morning. It’s been tiring, but we’ve covered a lot of ground on what I’m now calling the Great Connect the Dots trip of 2016.

Along the way, I’ve seen two steam locomotives that are bound for renewal, the afore mentioned 2100 and Chesapeake & Ohio 2-8-4 No. 2716 in New Haven, Ky. I’ve visited two short lines, both familiar to me as they are both in my home state of North Carolina, one famous for steep grades, and the other well suited for our pages as a short line of the future. Look for feature stories about each in coming issues. Note to animal lovers: You will want to hug the pages of our magazine when I tell you about the mascot one N.C.  short line has adopted.

I also joined the masses of people out enjoying Norfolk & Western No. 611’s initial excursions for the 2016 season. I chased both trips, but, of course, the Asheville run on April 10 – No. 611’s first trip across the famous Loops at Old Fort in 22 years – was the highlight. I also helped organize a photo charter at N.C. Transportation Museum, featuring No. 611. Correspondent Chase Gunnoe put on a great night photo session with 611 and N&W GP9 No. 620.

I will write more about the trip in coming days. Suffice it to say, I am exhausted, elated, and excited about everything I saw and did on this trip, and I cannot wait to share it with you here and in the pages of Trains.

Our new 104-page magazine about Colorado Railroads and the companion 1-hour DVD are winging their way to your mailbox or to your favorite retailer. They are packed with stories and images of main line operations, narrow gauge favorites, and some surprises — the rebirth of Denver Union Station, Denver’s bold light rail and commuter train initiatives, and an inside look at the railroad test center in Pueblo. We think you’ll like them as much as we like Colorado railroads, which is why we are going there soon. We’d like to invite you to join us.

 First off, I’ll be in Durango May 6 for opening day festivities at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., I’ll be on hand at the depot for a meet and greet and to show off our special Colorado magazine. The railroad hosts a free hot dog day every year as a thank you to the local community as the season begins for this busy line. There’s also cowboy music with the band Bar D, kids characters, and other fun stuff. Then at 5:30 p.m. at the Strater Hotel, we’ll host the world premier showing of Colorado Railroads video. The Strater will offer an open bar. Come and join us and enjoy the show!

 If you can’t join us there, we’ll see you at the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club meeting on May 10 or at the Colorado Railroad Museum on June 11. And if you read our special or watched the DVD and now you’re hungry for an extensive outing in Colorado, we’ve got that too. We’ll visit all the tourist railroads, take a private tour of the Durango roundhouse, and enjoy great Colorado scenery. Check out our Colorado railroad tour page at http://trn.trains.com/magazine/trips/2016/02/colorado

 See you out West!

 When I learned that musician Prince had died Thursday, my mind immediately went back to a concert I’d attended in college in 1982 and to a locomotive and a time and place 32 years ago. The concert was at Chapel Hill, N.C., and the locomotive was Atlantic Coast Line E3 No. 501, which was running excursions on the short-lived Seaboard System Railroad (think in between Family Lines and CSX) out of Erwin, Tenn.

There’s not much I can tell you about the concert except that it was fun, but I can tell you more about the train trip: On a rainy and misty November Sunday in 1984, friends and I followed that purple and gold streamliner in a most unlikely place, the former Clinchfield Railroad. The day before, we rode an excursion from Erwin, Tenn., to St. Paul, Va., and back in gorgeous sunlight with an F7 in Charleston & Western Carolina paint, a Seaboard System F7B, and No. 501 trailing. Being that No. 501 was the last of her kind and had been built up as the world’s highest mileage passenger diesel, it was like going to a concert where the opening act plays for 2 hours and the star hits the stage for 30 minutes.

On the day of our chase, Erwin-to Marion, N.C., No. 501 finally was in the lead for the last lap home, in fog, rain, and mist. About that same time, Prince’s song “Purple Rain” was in widespread airplay on the radio. As we coaxed my Pontiac up the steep dirt road through the Clinchfield Loops, we listened to the music, watched the purple train, and of course, adapted the lyrics for our own use, “Purple Train.” It just fit.

Of course, No. 501 lives today at the place where I’ve volunteered since 1986, the N.C.Transportation Museum at Spencer, and last year for a Norfolk & Western No. 611 we used magnetic lettering to temporarily make her into a faux N&W scab passenger engine of the late 1950s. This photo is from that day. The N&W actually did borrow some ACL units, relettered them, and used them to replace Class J locomotives at the end of steam.

So, when I see No. 501 or photos of her, I always think of Prince’s song “Purple Rain” and a rainy, misty, foggy day with the pride and joy of the Coast Line in a spectacular mountain setting.