All Aboard for the Best Birthday Party Ever! Day Out With Thomas: The Celebration Tour 2010 marks the 65th Anniversary of everyone’s favorite storybook engine, Thomas the Tank Engine. All Thomas fans are invited to come to the birthday bash and celebrate with their #1 engine. In addition to a 25-minute train ride aboard a real, vintage train lead by Thomas, anniversary highlights include:

* The opportunity to meet and be photographed with Sir Topham Hatt(TM), Controller of the Railway

*A special display celebrating 65 years of Thomas the Tank Engine

*2010 commemorative merchandise and giveaways, including a mini-view finder giveaway that tells the story of Thomas’ upcoming adventure, Misty Island Rescue

* A Thomas & Friends Imagination Station; featuring stamps, temporary tattoos, hands-on arts and crafts activities and coloring sheets.

* Storytelling, video viewing and live music Tickets on Sale February 8th! Tickets for Day Out With Thomas: The Celebration Tour 2010 go on sale Monday, February 8th by calling toll-free, 866.468.7630, or link from essexsteamtrain.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102981838551&s=28419&e=001Wm_2Ns29UmSrGWritPez7sEjdm3Q9UYu2cJaSmh6PQ_8GnReqLHyjhZmdL2A_vTues5u59dAiZgTuyZfAUJsWRB9YD6c2H-p9opU_0j-4B06Lv1mh1GNsA==]. Tickets are $18 plus tax for ages 2 and up. Spread the Word . . . Essex Steam Train will host the only Day Out With Thomas event in Connecticut in 2010!

For more information and directions contact Essex Steam Train & Riverboat at 800.377.3987 or visit essexsteamtrain.com [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102981838551&s=28419&e=001Wm_2Ns29UmS2SvKsvCrBbhn39_KvtVH6kVxjdKx6Yk6fGfmU7u838uKsRLauLCcHqbzNOzDx0Bwkr3-0wWxoyKEuntBI4uAx6REZU7Lwr_DNG6Up1gpafpAyghNd0rxa] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Directions -How to Get There

EUSTIS, Fla. - Just when we need “shovel ready” projects to receive stimulus money to create jobs, this sure sounds like one to me.  The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel has reported that Florida Rail Adventures is having to  shut down its Mount Dora Meteor  due to inadequate tie condition.  The train, which operates over Florida Central Railroad tracks, is shutting down in the middle of its tourist season.

Owner and general manager Neil Bagaus said at least 1,000 ties need to be replaced before the branch between Mount Dora and Tavares, Fla., could meet Federal Railroad Administration standards. Bagaus said the railroad replaced 400 ties at a cost of $30,000, but said it doesn’t have the money to replace the rest. So, let’s see. To replace  the 1000 ties, at $75 per tie, they will need about $75000. Almost sounds like a bargin.

“This is our season,” he said. Unfortunately, “we just cannot afford the cost.”

Trains over the main line between Eustis and Tavares and on to Orlando will continue to operate as normal. Those trains include the dinner train, rail rambles, Gunfight at the OK Corral, trips to the Orlando Magic games, and a lunch train.

Mount Dora Mayor Melissa DeMarco said the town plans to look for ways to assist Bagaus restart the train.

The tourist railroad normally runs the  30-inch-gauge 2-8-0 No. 12, a 1910 Baldwin product that came from Ferrocarril Mexicano RR, on its route. Paul Reichert, executive director of the railroad’s operator, the  Montana Heritage Commission, said the costs of keeping a steam locomotive in operation during a recession led to the decision.

Originally purchased in 1992, restoration of No 12  continued on for  several years.  The work took  four to six people full time on the engine, often ten hours a day, five days a week, and eight hours on Saturday. Beginning with the bare frame, every part was rebuilt to like-new specifications. Moorehead Boiler of Minneapolis, Minnesota rebuilt the steam boiler. Every bearing and wearing point was renewed. The cab was rebuilt with a beautiful polished mahogany interior, and outfitted with brass gauges, injectors, oil cups, and other parts whose polish would satisfy even the most critical army sergeant. When it rolled out of the Baldwin factory in 1910 it could not have been more beautiful than it is today.

The railroad will instead use a gas-powered vehicle to operate the 1.5-mile route, with a diesel-powered vehicle held in backup.

To see more on train rides in Montana, visit: http://scenicrailexcursions.com/montana_trainrides.php

Both UP steam engines 844 and 3985 serve as rolling ambassadors for the nation’s largest railroad. In addition to the usual Denver Post/Cheyenne FrontierPost Days Special exhibit on July 24, stops this year will include most of the month of April in  Harlingen, Texas.   June 25-26 they will be in Milliken, Colo. and Sept 8-24 in Pendleton, Ore. Then it’s  back across  country to Sedalia, Mo. from Sept 30 to Oct 15 and  returning to  Council Bluffs, Iowa in November 10-14 for the 50th Anniversary.

Filmed in the picturesque town of Acquigny in Normandy, just north of Paris. The line was scheduled for abandonment, so it was easy for the SCNF to give the director free rain.

The steam power was almost exclusively WWI era 4-6-0’s, with Belpaire designed fireboxes and were hand fired. The 4-6-0 in the first derailment was moving too fast, destroying three of five cameras. However, the result was one of the most exciting train action scenes in cinema history.

See if your favorite train movie made the list.

In last Wednesday’s  State of the Union speech in Washington, the president said, “We can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow. From the first railroads to the interstate highway system, our nation has always been built to compete. There’s no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains, or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products.”

According to the White House, 31 states will be receiving investment rail-related awards  toward developing or laying the groundwork for 13 new, large-scale high-speed rail corridors across the country, including smaller projects and planning work that will help lay the groundwork for future high-speed intercity rail service.

The $8 billion investment is expected to create or save tens of thousands of jobs over time in areas such as track-laying, manufacturing, planning and engineering, and rail maintenance and operations. More than 30 railroad equipment manufacturers, both domestic and foreign, have agreed to establish or expand their base of operations in the United States if they are hired to build America’s next generation high-speed rail lines.

Here’s the list of the states that got awards Thursday:
North Carolina Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Transportation

Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $620 million
Benefiting states: North Carolina, Virginia, Washington D.C.
Miles of track: upgraded - 480 miles

The Southeast Corridor connects Charlotte, Raleigh, Richmond, and Washington, D.C. The long-term goal for this corridor is top speeds of up to 110 mph, reducing trip time by one-third from Washington, D.C. to Richmond, and to four and one-half hours between Richmond and Charlotte.

Florida Department of Transportation

Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $1.25 billion
Benefiting State: Florida
Miles of Track: new - 84, planned - 240, Total - 324 miles

Grants will go toward the creation of a new high-speed rail corridor that connects Tampa Bay, Orlando, Miami and other communities in central and south Florida.

The first phase of the service will connect Orlando to Tampa. The second phase will connect Orlando to Miami, following either an inland or coastal route.

California Department of Transportation; California High-Speed Rail Authority

Total Approximate Funding (all corridors): $2.344 billion
Benefi­ting States: California, Nevada
Miles of Track: New - 800 miles, Upgraded - 880 miles, Planned - 275 miles (est.), Total - Apex. 1,955 miles

Funding will go toward the construction of a new, electrically powered high-speed rail system of 800 miles serving major population centers from San Francisco and Sacramento to Los Angeles and San Diego with over 300 trains per day. Phase I calls for a 520-mile system connecting Anaheim and Los Angeles through the Central Valley to San Francisco by 2020; Phase II would extend the system north to Sacramento and south to San Diego by 2026. Trains will reach speeds of 220 mph, providing a travel time between Los Angeles and San Francisco of under 2 hours 40 minutes, compared to 6 hours by car.

Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority; Vermont Agency of Transportation, Massachusetts DOT, Rhode Island DOT, Connecticut DOT, New York State DOT, New Jersey Transit, Pennsylvania DOT, Delaware DOT, Maryland DOT, District of Columbia DOT

Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $485 million (ARRA High-Speed Rail Grants), $706 million (ARRA Amtrak Grants), $1,191,000,000 (Total)

Benefiting States: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C.
Miles of Track: New - 84, Upgraded - 1,542, Planned - 727

The seven intercity passenger rail corridors in the region include:

Washington, D.C. - New York- Boston (Northeast Corridor)
Philadelphia - Harrisburg
New York - Albany - Buffalo
New York - Montreal
Boston - Portland - Brunswick
Albany - Rutland
New Haven - Springfield - Burlington - St. Albans

Michigan Department of Transportation, Indiana Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Transportation
Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $244 million
Benefiting States: Michigan, Indiana, Illinois
Miles of Track: Upgraded - 300

The corridor connects Chicago, Ill. and Detroit, Mich.
Grants will reduce travel time between Detroit and Chicago. The long-term vision for this corridor includes doubling the number of daily round trips between Detroit and Chicago and increasing speeds to 110 mph.

Washington State Department of Transportation, Oregon Department of Transportation
Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $598 million
Benefiting States: Washington, Oregon
Miles of Track: Upgraded - 437, Planned - 30, Total - 467 miles

Grants will further enhance service on the Washington and Oregon corridor.
The long-term vision for the corridor is to have a dedicated high-speed track, where trains will operate at up to 150 mph, with 13 daily round trips between Seattle and Portland.

Wisconsin Department of Transportation; Minnesota Department of Transportation
Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $823 million
Bene­fiting States: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois
Miles of Track: Upgraded - 144 miles, New - 32 miles, Planned - 275 miles (est.), Total - Appx. 441 Miles

Grants will establish passenger service between Milwaukee and Madison with stops in Brookfield, Oconomowoc, and Watertown at speeds of up to 110 mph. Service is expected by 2013. Improvements between Chicago and Milwaukee will ultimately reduce travel time by more than 30 percent and increase maximum speeds from 79 mph to 110 mph.

Texas Department of Transportation
Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $4 million
Benefiting State: Texas

Grants will implement the final design and construction of signal timing improvements at grade crossings between Austin and Fort Worth. This will increase the operating speed of Amtrak’s Texas Eagle and improve on-time performance.

Ohio Department of Transportation
Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $400 million
Benefiting State: Ohio
Miles of Track: New - 250 miles

This new corridor will connect four major metropolitan areas in Ohio: Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati. This significant route, named the “3C Corridor,” has a length of 250 miles and will serve communities near Lake Erie, in Central Ohio, and the Tri-State region around Cincinnati. These metropolitan areas are among the largest in the United States that are currently not served by passenger rail.

Illinois Department of Transportation, Missouri Department of Transportation
Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $1.133 billion
Benefiting States: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas
Miles of Track: Upgraded - 570 miles

The corridor connects Chicago, Ill. to St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo. Currently, five daily round trips operate between Chicago and St. Louis and two daily round trips operate between St. Louis and Kansas City. Grants will allow trains to reach speeds of 110mph from Chicago to St. Louis to Kansas City, with up to eight daily round trips between Chicago and St. Louis.

Awardees: Iowa Department of Transportation
Total Approximate Funding (entire corridor): $17 million
Benefiting State: Iowa

This project will install four remotely controlled powered crossovers on the BNSF Ottumwa subdivision, which will reduce travel times and improve on-time performance.

The #75 participated in TrainFestival 2009 in Owsso, Michigan and appeared again last fall  double heading steam train excursions in October on the scenic Hope Valley Railway in North Carolina.

This is a truly a unique chance to get up close and experience a live steam train ride in central Florida for the whole family.

Lots of extra activities are planned this year including the Party Caboose, Rent-a-Freight Train and the NEW opportunity to be a Steam Engineer.

Party Caboose - available for charter on every trip

Rent-a-Freight Train - Take charge of a 1,500 horsepower diesel locomotive and five car train for one hour.

Steam Engineer - NEW for 2010! At the end of each day, a limited number of participants will be able to operate the throttle and run the #75 on our railroad for 15 minutes.

The Museum is located 25 miles north of Sarasota and 35 miles south of Tampa off Interstate 75 at exit #229.

For more on Florida Train rides, visit: http://www.scenicrailexcursions.com/florida_trainrides.php

GREEN BAY, Wis. — Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 has been sold through rail equipment broker Sterling Rail to a California-based collector, the company reports. The locomotive’s present owners, the National Railroad Museum, had no comment on the possible sale.

The Minneapolis-based nonprofit Friends of the 261 leased the locomotive from NRM and operated it from 1993 to 2008. The engine is presently in the Friends’ Minneapolis shop, having been torn down for its federally mandated 15-year inspection. When talks between the NRM and the Friends on a new lease stalled last fall, overhaul work on the 4-8-4 ended and plans were to return the engine to Green Bay for display.

The 261 was built in 1944 and weighs more than one million pounds. After retiring  from the Milwaukee Road in 1954, the steam engine was rebuilt in 1993 and began new life pulling steam excursion rides leased through the Friends of the 261.
The 261 traveled  to Chicago in May of 2008 for the making of the movie Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp.
While several stories have been floating around the Internet that the friends will rebuild and operate 261 for the new owner, that’s not the case, at least not yet, says Steve Sandberg, the Friends’ chief operating officer. “Our organization has been engaged in talks with several organizations about the possibility of leasing or acquiring other steam locomotives,” Sandberg told TRAINS. “We have an obligation to our organization and to those we are in discussion with to carry those talks through and see what the outcome will be.” However, Sandberg didn’t completely rule out working with 261’s new owner. “We are looking forward to talking with the new owner to see if there is an economically viable plan where we can cooperate,” he said.

While the Friends has leased the 261 for 15 years, it’s really not a party to the sale, and Sandberg says that he has not yet been formally notified that the sale has gone through. If or when a sale is completed, there are several business issues that would have to be resolved. For example, while the friends were required to carry insurance on the 261 under the agreement with the museum, if the engine were sold, the insurance would be the obligation of the new owner.

will help the rebuilding of the “Polar Express”.

– Mt. Pleasant Michigan

Saturday, February 13th, 2009

Train departs Owosso at Noon and returns at 10pm

Roll the dice and take a spin with thousands of slots & table games and high stakes bingo. Your luck is about to change! Join the Steam Railroading Institute on February 13th on a leisurely train ride to Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, where you’ll be greeted with a shuttle to Soaring Eagle Casino. Players will receive $20 in comp dollars and a $5 dining credit. Leave the driving to us and WIN BIG! Reserve your seat today by visiting our online ticket system or by calling 989.725.9464.

Proceeds to benefit the rebuilding of the Pere Marquette 1225 and The Steam Railroading Institute.

See more on  Michigan train rides.

Sponsored by the Niles Canyon Railway and the Pacific Locomotive Association, these weekend  events will feature train rides with three to four participating steam locomotives  .

The Pacific Locomotive Association has been collecting rare and unusual railroad equipment since the early 1960s in an effort to preserve the Pacific Coast railroading history for the enjoyment of future generations. The PLA was recently awarded TRAINS  2009 Preservation Award of $10,000  for its restoration of the 1924-built Clover Valley Lumber Co. 2-6-6-2T No. 4 for operation on the Niles Canyon Railway in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Planned Steamfest Participants include:

Niles Canyon Railway’s Quincy Railroad #2 , a 1924 Alco 2-6-2T and the  Robert Dollar #3, a 1927 Alco, also a  2-6-2T.  California State Railroad Museum’s Granite Rock #10, a 1942 Porter built 0-6-0T and the  Roots of Motive Power/Chris Baldo’s Mason County Logging #7, a 1910 Baldwin built 2-6-2T will also be there.

The railroad will be running a double-headed steam-powered freight March 14.

For more on Bay Area and California train rides, visit http:/www.scenicrailexcursions.com/california_trainrides.php

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