RailNews
Your source for news compiled by the staff of Railfan & Railroad magazine. Please contact us if you have a story to share!
February 6, 2026
Naugatuck Repaints Amtrak SPV-2000 For America’s 250th
Naugatuck Railroad has repainted an SPV-2000 in its as-delivered Amtrak Phase III livery.
February 5, 2026
Railroad Museums Make Super Bowl Bet
The Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington and Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad have been taunting each other ahead of this weekend’s game.
February 5, 2026
Iowa Museum Wins Grant For Flood Recovery, Locomotive Restoration
Iowa’s Sioux City Railroad Museum announced in January that it had won a $1.9 million grant from the National Park Service’s Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund to support it following a 2024 flood.
February 4, 2026
Santa Fe 4-6-2 on Track to Steam in 2027
Santa Fe 4-6-2 3415, the Baldwin built in 1919 and operated by the Abilene & Smoky Valley Railroad in Kansas, is on track to return to service by Labor Day 2027.
February 3, 2026
Pacific Northwest Short Line Looks to Restart Tourist Train
The Port of Pend Oreille in Washington State has secured a $1 million grant in an effort to revive excursion service on the Pend Oreille Valley Railroad.
February 2, 2026
New York Tourist Railroad Eyes New Home
Officials at the Catskill Mountain Railroad in Kingston, N.Y., say they are considering relocating from their longtime home after years of conflict with the county.
January 30, 2026
Valley Railroad to Convert 2-8-2 to Burn Oil
Valley 3025 is presently down for its federally-mandated 15-year overhaul.
January 29, 2026
Goodbye RTA, Hello NITA: Chicagoland Prepares for Reorganized Transit System
Starting June 1, the Regional Transportation Authority, the agency overseeing Chicagoland transit, will be reorganized into the Northern Illinois Transit Authority.
January 28, 2026
Ontario Southland Alcos Bound For Quebec
In January, it was announced that five Ontario Southland units built by the Montreal Locomotive Works will be headed east for service on the Sartigan Railway in Quebec.
January 26, 2026
UP ‘Big Boy’ To Depart on Coast-to-Coast Tour March 29
Union Pacific “Big Boy” 4014 will leave Cheyenne, Wyo., on March 29, for the first part of a coast-to-coast trip.
