Two teenage boys — one 16, one 13 — slipped away from a youth detention centre in Nelsonville, Ohio early Tuesday morning, and broke into the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway‘s engine house. Then, the Columbus Dispatch reports, they stole a locomotive: they fired up the engine, switched cars out of the way, and drove it […]
The Alaska Railroad is an oddity among American railroads: it’s not connected to any other railroad except by sea, and it still runs its own passenger service. It’s also the subject of John’s Alaska Railroad Page: John Combs has put together a serious fan site with something for everyone who wants to learn more about […]
“Train surfing” is the act of riding a train on its roof. It’s dangerous, it’s usually illegal, and yes, it’s pretty fucking stupid. It’s also a serious issue in some parts of the world: Brazil and South Africa come to mind, but incidents can occur more or less wherever there are trains and dumb young […]
Railfans might be seen as a nuisance by some, but until September 11 they were probably seen as harmless. Since then, though, they’ve complained about being harassed by overzealous security officers who think that a train nut along a rail line taking photographs is kind of suspicious. Railfans have countered that, far from being a […]
Eddie Knorn installed a 17.6-metre diesel multiple unit (DMU) rail car in his yard last month, but he’s been told by his local council that it has to go. The council says it’s a safety hazard, while Knorn argues that it makes the busy, accident-prone road on which he lives safer, because it causes drivers […]
Darius McCollum is in trouble again. The man who has spent a third of his life in jail for his various attempts to infiltrate New York transit systems was arrested again last week, charged with criminal impersonation and violating the conditions of his parole, which prevented him from owning any railroad paraphernalia. He had an […]
Today is Take Your Model Train to Work Day, one of several initiatives by the World’s Greatest Hobby campaign, which is an attempt by model railroad companies to proselytize and expand the hobby. In his essay, The Sociology of Model Railroading (previously), John Bruce talks about the industry’s attempts to improve the hobby’s public image: […]
The Sociology of Model Railroading is a long, must-read essay by John Bruce; I linked to it on my personal blog more than two years ago and first read it earlier than that. It’s a critical look at the hobby in all its aspects: swap meets, online forums, clubs (including the NMRA) and historical societies, […]
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