Extra Board
Welcome to Railfan & Railroad Extra Board, a monthly exploration of the passion for trains from many perspectives. Extra Board welcomes your submissions. We’re looking for about 1500 words accompanied by two or three photos. Each photo should be no smaller than 14 inches (or 1024 pixels) across at 72 dpi (no verticals, please). Brief caption information must accompany each photo. Please send your inquiries to the Webmaster for consideration.
July 16, 2025
Sixteen Under Steam: East Broad Top 16 Returns
Pennsylvania’s East Broad Top restores a narrow gauge Mikado that has been slumbering since the end of common-carrier days in 1956.
July 16, 2025
Union Pacific Departs Eugene
Examining the transition as Union Pacific prepares to hand over local operation in Eugene, Ore., to Central Oregon & Pacific.
June 19, 2025
Seattle’s Harbor Island
Venture to the Pacific Northwest for a look at BNSF and Union Pacific operations around Seattle’s busy Harbor Island.
June 19, 2025
100 Years of Chicago Union Station
Chicago Union Station has been the heart and soul of the city’s railroad scene, a space so revered it could be a cathedral.
May 15, 2025
16th Street Swan Song
As Metra seeks to centralize its dispatching systems, venerable 16th Street Tower in Chicago was decommissioned in mid-April.
May 15, 2025
Calgary Railfan Guide
Tracking CPKC, Canadian National, and modern light rail action in and around Alberta’s major urban center.
April 15, 2025
Blacklands Railroad: Henderson Overton Branch
When Union Pacific filed to abandon this former Missouri Pacific branch line in the East Texas piney woods in 2008, Blacklands Railroad saw an opportunity for growth.
April 15, 2025
River of Empire
We venture trackside along the mighty Hudson River, a critical route of commerce to and from New York City for centuries, as CSX, Metro-North, and Amtrak move the people and goods of the region.
March 15, 2025
Return of the PCC to Philadelphia Streets
Third time’s the charm for the return of classic PCC streetcars on SEPTA’s Girard Avenue Line in Philadelphia.
March 15, 2025
60 Years: Livonia, Avon & Lakeville
What began as a grassroots effort to save a rural Erie branch line has since grown into a nearly 400-mile system.