Prototype News

The group restoring Oregon Railroad & Navigation 4-6-2 197 announced recently that work on the locomotive’s boiler was “95 percent” complete and that new tubes and flues were on the way for installation. 

OR&N 197 is owned by the City of Portland and is currently cared for by the Friends of OR&N 197 at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. The locomotive was built in 1905 for OR&N, which eventually was taken over by Union Pacific. Under UP ownership, the locomotive was renumbered 3203. The locomotive ran until it was retired in 1958 and was put on display at Portland’s Oaks Park along with two 4-8-4 locomotives: Southern Pacific 4449 and Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700. The locomotive was removed from the park in 1996. In the decades since a small group of volunteers has been working to restore the locomotive. In 2023, that effort was kicked into high gear thanks to a matching grant from the “UP in Smoke Foundation.” The group is presently halfway to its fundraising goal. As part of the renewed effort, FMW Solutions was hired to assist with the restoration, most notably the boiler. 

When restored, locomotive 197 will be an ideal addition to the operating fleet at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center. In 2023, the museum began offering more frequent steam excursions on the nearby Oregon Pacific Railroad, in addition to its popular Holiday Express rides in the winter. For years, ORHC used the two 4-8-4s for short trips, but railroad officials have asked that the use of the heavy Northerns be limited to preserve the track.The locomotive is also ideal for ORHC because of its connections to the region, in fact, the locomotive was long assigned to the Portland area. 

For more information and to learn how to donate to the restoration, visit the Friends of OR&N 197’s website or Facebook page. —Justin Franz 

The post Boiler Work Nearly Complete on Union Pacific 4-6-2 appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

Amtrak President Roger Harris

Amtrak’s leadership is exploring ways to cut costs, including evaluating the size of its management team, in response to a political environment seemingly hostile toward publicly funded passenger rail. 

On Thursday, Amtrak President Roger Harris emailed employees that the railroad would consider ways to reduce costs in the coming weeks, including cutting the number of management positions within the company. In a statement provided to Railfan & Railroad, an Amtrak spokesperson confirmed that the railroad was indeed tightening its belt.

“Given the current environment, the Executive Leadership Team and the Board have determined that we must act now,” the statement read. “We will do this by examining our costs, including the size of our management staff, in a proactive and controlled way. In addition, we will be more selective in starting new projects and will look harder for efficiencies and innovative ways to address the problems and opportunities we face.”

The railroad did not provide specifics about any potential cuts. However, it seems that at least one management position will remain unfilled, that of former CEO Stephen Gardner. Gardner resigned on March 19 under pressure from the Trump administration. In the week since, Harris has assumed all executive duties, and there has been no indication that the Amtrak board will fill the CEO position.

While Congress has not yet outlined what it plans to appropriate to Amtrak in the next fiscal year, it’s likely to be dramatically less than what it has received in the past — if anything. In 2020, the Trump administration proposed eliminating federal funding for long-distance trains, and more recently, Republicans in Congress have called for eliminating all government support for Amtrak. Earlier this month, billionaire and presidential advisor Elon Musk said the government should privatize the national passenger carrier. Amtrak pushed back on that idea, noting that it was created in 1971 after most private freight railroads gave up on passenger service. —Justin Franz 

The post Amtrak Looks to Tighten Belt Amid Changing Political Conditions appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

Illinois’ Regional Transportation Authority is warning of “doomsday” cuts to transit and commuter rail services throughout Chicagoland if the state’s General Assembly does not take action in the coming weeks. The RTA, which oversees the Chicago Transit Authority subway, Metra commuter, and Pace bus services, is facing a $770 million budget deficit. If the legislature does not act quickly, the agencies will have to start reducing services. 

“This isn’t just a transit crisis—it’s a regional emergency,” said RTA Executive Director Leanne Redden. “If the General Assembly does not act this spring, hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans will wake up in 2026 without a way to get to work, school or medical appointments with continued uncertainty in future years about their transit services. This doomsday scenario can still be avoided as long as our state partners vote to fully fund transit operations before it’s too late.”

Four of the CTA’s eight rail lines could be suspended, leading to the closure of 50 stations. Metra would need to reduce service by 40 percent, which means eliminating early-morning and late-night trains. Lines like the BNSF connecting downtown Chicago and Aurora could experience a reduction, cutting its 91-train schedule in half. Metra would also have to suspend service completely on the Metra Electric Blue Island Branch. —Justin Franz 

The post Transit Officials Warn of ‘Doomsday’ Cuts in Chicagoland appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.

Big names from railroad photography and art will headline “Conversations 2025,” the Center for Railroad Photography & Art’s annual conference, on May 16-18, 2025. This inspiring weekend is open to all who love railroad photography and art works, whether you’re a photographer or artist, or simply a fan. More information and a conference schedule can be found online. Fewer than twenty spaces remain as of this writing, so register today!

The conference will begin with a special Friday evening reception event at the Grohmann Museum in Milwaukee, on the campus of the Milwaukee School of Engineering, with the opening of The Kalmbach Art Collection: Pairing Words and Imagery. The new exhibition is the first public showing of the artwork that was donated by Kalmbach Media to CRP&A in 2024. With the company now dissolved and its magazines sold to Firecrown Media, the collection is the final legacy of the 90-year-old Kalmbach name. The exhibition celebrates the importance of imagery in Kalmbach’s printed materials and the company’s collaborations with artists. Beginning at 5 p.m., attendees will be among the very first to see this pillar of rail-themed art; Kevin Keefe, CRP&A board member and former vice president-editorial at Kalmbach Media, will give a gallery talk about his memories and his connection to the collection at 6 p.m.

“Roaring Through Rondout” by Gil Reid, c.1982 is part of the recently-acquired Kalmbach Collection. 

On Saturday and Sunday, May 17 – May 18, 2025, the conference will move to the familiar grounds of Lake Forest College’s McCormick Auditorium, in Lake Forest, Ill. This year’s presenters will include an exciting mix of accomplished railroad photographers, outstanding artists, and up-and-coming photographers. Here is a quick sneak peek of what’s in store for attendees!

Dale Sanders — author, photographer, designer, and former editor of CTC Board magazine — will share his 20-year experience documenting the operations of British Columbia Railway, which culminated in the all-color book Northern Light: A Portrait of BC Rail. Sanders was given unprecedented access to the railway and his photography covers operations from both trackside and aboard trains, in some of the most remote locations imaginable. He’ll share the untold story of the landmark project, featuring stories and jaw-dropping images of BC Rail trains powered by steam, diesel, and electric power, plus Budd RDC passenger operations. The scenery is equally diverse and spectacular, and you’ll meet the railroad people who made BC Rail unique and kept it running across breathtaking and unforgiving terrain.

Photographer and author Dick Dorn is another western photographic legend, and his presentation will focus on snow-fighting operations in California across several decades. This will include the McCloud Railroad operating out of McCloud, the Western Pacific Railroad between Keddie and Portola and up the Highline … followed by more modern Highline operations in the BNSF era out of Westwood. Dorn will then dazzle attendees with the spectacular snow-fighting operations over Donner Pass during the eras of Southern Pacific and successor Union Pacific. Donner Pass receives considerably more snowfall than any railroad mountain pass in North America. Dorn, who co-authored Diesels Over Donner with Richard Steinheimer, will also speak about how developing relationships with railroaders in charge of snow operations opened many doors for him.

Artist Dennis Ziemienski has always loved planes, trains and automobiles, and he’s spent the last 40 years painting them in various ways. The glory days of railroads have been a constant inspiration for his highly detailed oil paintings. This presentation will take you through his creative process and show images behind the creation of the many trains he has painted over the years — plus all the varying environments and cultures in which they operate.

Bon French will present a selection of Dick Neumiller’s mid-century color photography of America’s streamliners. Dick loved photography and began photographing trains in 1950, using high-quality equipment and Kodachrome film. Dick loved color — so when diesels replaced steam and the railroad industry replaced old equipment with new streamliners, Dick got more excited about documenting the colorful new trains. The age of the streamliners was relatively short lived, as passenger train travel declined sharply in the late 1950s and 1960s, making Dick’s pictures even more valuable. Despite the decline of passenger trains and rise of Amtrak, he remained an enthusiastic photographer of the rail scene throughout his life. By the time of his passing in 2015, he recorded 82,400 color images of more than 800 railroads, although very few of Dick’s images have been published since the leading railroad magazines of the time rarely used color.

The post Photo Line: A Preview of CRP&A’s Conversations 2025 appeared first on Railfan & Railroad Magazine.