Runner Up: David Grant
Flying through British Columbia’s Fraser Valley like a bat out of hell, all is peaceful aboard VIA Rail’s Canadian as the train heads east on time on August 22, 2025. Pictured looking out the curved glass window of a vintage Canadian Pacific dome car, Mount Cheam in Chilliwack towers above the valley floor.
Runner Up: David Honan
Near the top of Toltec Canyon in Colorado on September 27, 2018, Denver & Rio Grande Western 2-8-2 453 leads an eastbound positioning move for an upcoming Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic photo charter through the incredible scenery of the San Juans.
Runner Up: Al Crossley
VIA Rail FP9 6513 leads Train 75 at track speed through Burlington West, Ont., as VIA Train 686, a set of rail diesel cars, makes its station stop in the distance on May 28, 1989.
Runner Up: Timothy Tonge
BNSF SD70ACe 8457 leads a northbound coal empty through fresh spring snows at Castle Rock, Colo., on March 27, 2018. Snow had ended just hours before, with the skies clearing shortly before the train arrived.
Runner Up: Spencer Evans
A westbound intermodal breaks out of the shadows of Echo Canyon and into the afternoon light on Union Pacific’s Evanston Subdivision near Echo, Utah, on November 1, 2025. The whine of dynamic brakes temporarily overcomes the noise of adjacent Interstate 80, in stereo and amplified by the walls of Echo Canyon hiding in the shadows.
Runner Up: Trevyr Schutz
On the frigid 14-degree night of February 1, 2026, Norfolk Southern Train 41N struggles up the grade as it passes Shawsville, Va. A particularly large winter storm exits the area, dropping a few last flakes of snow as the Dash 9 and SD70ACe pull hard.
Third Place: David Grant
Located near Ashcroft, B.C., Black Canyon and its rock formations posed an immense challenge to railway construction crews carving tunnels and building bridges for the train’s passage. Twisting through the gorge like fiery snakes, two trains can be seen lighting up the canyon walls. Like an artist with his brush, they paint light around the hills and curves as they cascade into the night on July 31, 2025.
Second Place: Todd Halamka
A late afternoon storm begins to clear across London, England, as the evening rush-hour parade of trains begins to fill the 10 feeder tracks leading into and out of Victoria Station on December 18, 2024. Four inbound trains and one outbound train navigate the S-curves leading to Grosvenor Bridge across the Thames beyond, while another six trains emerge from the shed to the left. In the next hour, another train will depart every 100 seconds.