Railfanning.org

4 weeks ago | railfanning.org | Todd revels |Todd DeFeo

It was a rainy Saturday morning — April 12, 1862 — when a group of suspicious men boarded a northbound Western & Atlantic train at Marietta, Georgia. The men held tickets to varying points along the line, trying to make it seem as though they were not a part of one large group. As the train wound its way around Kennesaw Mountain, the conductor alerted passengers, “Big Shanty.

1 month ago | railfanning.org | Todd revels |Todd DeFeo

This is a rough draft of the introductory remarks I plan to give today in Atlanta. I’ve been thinking about what oddities happened on the rails — and how to define oddity. In all the talks that I’ve given, something interesting has emerged. There are two aspects people are most interested in regarding railroad history: it’s information about a railroad they know, or it’s the unexpected that really draws people’s attention.

1 month ago | railfanning.org | Todd revels |Todd DeFeo

I’m excited to highlight the people and places that made the Western & Atlantic Railroad the truly historic road that it is. When we think of the Western & Atlantic, it’s only natural to think of the “big names” in the railroad’s history — people like William A. Fuller. William A. Fuller, born in 1836 in Morrow Station, south of Atlanta, was the conductor of the northbound passenger train that morning.

1 month ago | railfanning.org | Todd revels |Todd DeFeo

‘Fanning Friday is a new feature where we share videos and photos new and old. Today’s video of The Kingston Flyer was filmed last month in Kingston, New Zealand. For more on The Kingston Flyer, visit thekingstonflyer.nz. This article was published by Tales from the Rails and is republished here with permission. Click here to view the original. Before you copy and paste this information to your website, please keep in mind this research took a lot of effort. Appreciate it.

1 month ago | railfanning.org | Todd revels |Todd DeFeo

KINGSTON, New Zealand — Just across Lake Whakatipu, the Kingston Flyer steams back and forth along a section of the former Kingston Branch, now disconnected from the rest of New Zealand’s rail network. The 795 steam locomotive, a member of the AB class of 4-6-2 Pacific steam locomotives, regularly pulls four 100-year-old renovated wooden carriages for the eight-and-a-half-mile long Kingston Flyer excursions. Hillside Railway workshop in Dunedin built the steamer for NZ Government Railways in 1927.