Next year is a significant milestone for the railway industry, and society. 2025 marks the 200th anniversary of rail, which began with the opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in September 1825. A cross-industry organisation, Railway 200, set up to co-ordinate and highlight the anniversary year...
The 100-year-old American steam logging locomotive, Mount Emily Shay No.1, travelled by flatcar to its new home, the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, on Thursday (15 Feb). The historic locomotive had been in the care of the Oregon Historical Society (OHS) for more than six decades when, in...
The Nevada State Railroad Museum in Boulder City will receive more than $23 million to build a new visitor centre as part of a capital bill passed earlier this week by the state legislature. The museum operates a historic train experience on 4½ miles of the old...
The Norfolk Southern Corporation is donating its complete collection of historical documents and archives from predecessor company Norfolk and Western Railway to the Virginia Museum of History & Culture (VMHC). The collection dates from the 1840s and includes thousands of photographs and glass plate negatives, as well...
The Rotonde Ferroviaire (‘railway roundhouse’) at Montabon in La Vallée du Loir* is very much a ‘work in progress’ and it is going to be fabulous in a few years. The roundhouse and turntable were originally built in 1891 on the edge of the village of Montabon...
The light installation Een Spoor van Water (A Trail of Water) by artist Matthias Oostrik was unveiled this week under a railway bridge in the Dutch city of Assen. Each passing train activates a unique light composition, incorporated into the paving and plant beds underneath. While I...
The Old Town Model Railroad Depot, a small model railway museum based in San Diego’s historic Old Town district, will remain open under new ownership. I can’t resist either a model railway or a good news story, so this is a welcome piece of news. The Depot,...
From tomorrow there’s a new way to travel to the Grand Canyon in style. The Rail Baron Charter, a private luxury train comprised of three 1940s and 1950s railcars, will be operating on the Grand Canyon Railway. The train set comprises The Kansas – a rear open-aired...
Restrictions on domestic coal burning proposed in the UK Government’s consultation on Clean Air Strategy published in January this year, pose a problem for heritage railways. Everybody* recognises the urgent need to reduce our use of fossil fuels, but, as the Heritage Railway Association (HRA) Board Member, Chris...
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) will be running a magical illuminated steam train in the build up to Christmas. Not only will the Northern Lights Express be lit up, but so too will be parts of the forest that it runs through. https://mechtraveller.com/Extracurricular/Northern_Lights_Express.mp4 The spectacular...
The final train in Virgin Trains’ fleet of 56 Pendolinos was fitted with new hardware in May, giving customers access to free WIFI and to its onboard entertainment hub, BEAM. The new connectivity is part of a range of improvements to improve customer experience on Virgin Trains...
On Tuesday night, the world’s largest steam locomotive, Union Pacific’s Big Boy No. X4014, returned to life¹, and yesterday it made its first test run in preparation for a steam locomotive “race” starting tomorrow. Both of Union Pacific’s historic steam locomotives – Big Boy No. 4014 and...
This summer, The Steam Dreams Rail Co. is launching The Royal Windsor Steam Express, the first regular steam train service in recent history from London Waterloo to Windsor. The service will leave Waterloo at 08.02, 11.10 and 14.10 every Tuesday, June 4th – September 3rd. There will...
Vilnius is using its Railway Station and the adjacent Lithuanian Railway Museum to host an ‘Independent Christmas Village’, and the city is making a statement about the hyper-consumerism that tends to take over the holiday season, encouraging a more local and authentic approach to Christmas instead. Their...
This is a niche blog about technically-minded travel. It reflects my own interests in the mechanical, technical, historical, engineering, transport and military world.
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