Spirit of America Bookstore

America's  Shortline  Railroads
• Page Two •

Railroad Film Festival Pages Arizona Railroads Page California Railroads Pages Colorado Railroads Pages Nevada Railroads Page New Mexico Railroads Page Utah Railroads Page Canada Railroads Page 'Railroads in Fiction' Pages 'Non-Fiction Books About Railroads' Pages U.S.A. Railroad Museums Page

here on Page 2: shortlines by state AK • AZ • CA • FL • IA • IL • ME • MI • MN • NY • OR • PA • SC • TN • TX • VA • WI • WV • Canada • foreign heritage RRs back on Page 1: top of page short history links shortline railroads shortline operators books & other media

"Short line railroads account for 541 out of the nation's 550 railroads, 36 percent of the route miles, 11 percent of those employed on a railroad,
and 9 percent of the rail industry's revenue." — Bill Loftus, president of the American Short Line Railroad Assn., circa 1996

Class  I  Railroads
The seven Class I railroads of America are a monopoly: their combined sales revenue is 91% of all U.S. rail freight traffic.
The U.S. railroad industry took in over $69 billion in 2012.
Class I Railroads Section on the main Railroads Page

Class  II  Railroads
These are mid-sized, mostly freight-hauling railroads, with operating revenue (as-of 2011) greater than $37.4 million but less than
$433.2 million for at least three consecutive years; switching & terminal railroads are excluded from Class II status.
Class II Railroads Section on the main Railroads Page

Class  III  Railroads
These are mostly freight-hauling railroads, with operating revenue less than $37.4 million for at least three consecutive years; Class III railroads include
lines serving just a few towns or just one customer or commodity, switching & terminal railroads, and tourist or heritage passenger lines.

U.S.A.  Shortline  Railroads  Today  -  by  state
list of Class III railroads by state at Wikipedia
list of active narrow-gauge tourist railroads
Union Pacific Railroad's Short Line Railroad Profiles By State
list of U.S. heritage railroads at Wikipedia

AK • AZ • CA • FL • IA • IL • ME • MI • MN • OR • PA • SC • TN • TX • VA • WI • WV

Alaska

White Pass & Yukon Route narrow-gauge railroad [1898-1982; reopened 1988]
official website • Wikipedia
White Pass & Yukon relics photos

"The White Pass and Yukon Route: A Pictorial History" [1980] by Stan B. Cohen Pictorial Histories Publng Co. 10¾x8¼ pb [3/80] out of print/many used

"Murder On The White Pass: An Agent Nelson Paine Mystery" novel [2021] by K.C. Sivils of Texas A different kind of war is being waged in the icy cold of Alaska and the Yukon Territory, with U.S. Army units assigned to building the desperately needed ALCAN Highway, where simple survival is difficult. But dead soldiers keep showing up on the border of Alaska and Canada, so F.B.I. Agent Nelson Paine and Royal Canadian Mountie Sergeant Mulgrove are dispatched to catch the killer, one who is familiar with the territory and the winter conditions that plague the White Pass & Yukon Route railroad, a vital link in the supply chain for the new highway Kindle Edition from self-publd [9/2021] for $2.99 self-publd 8½x5½ pb [9/2021] for $10.95

Arizona
Verde Canyon Railroad [est. 1911] out of Clarkdale, Arizona
Arizona Eastern Narrow-Gauge Railway from Miami/Globe, AZ to Bowie, AZ [est. 1899]
Copper Spike Railway in Globe, Arizona
Grand Canyon Railway & Resort in Northern Arizona

Arkansas

"Shortline Railroads of Arkansas" [1969] by Clifton E. Hull Univ Publng Assn. 8½x5¾ pb [4/88] out of print/used Univ Oklahoma Press 9x6 hardcover [1969] out of print/used

Antoine Valley Railroad
Arkansas & Oklahoma Railroad
Augusta Tramway and Transfer
Hot Springs Railroad
Crosset Lumber Co. Railroad
Dardanelle, Ola & Southern Railroad
Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad
Eureka Springs Railroad
Ft. Smith & Western Railroad
Memphis, Paris & Gulf Railroad
Mississippi, Ouachita & Red River Railroad
Monte Ne Railroad
Prescott & Northwestern Railroad
Reader Railroad / the Possum Trot Line
Yazoo & Mississippi Railroad

California
California Short Line Railroad Association [est. 1995] is based in Wilmington, CA   

G.E. Nordell's California Travel / Railroads Page
Carson & Colorado / Nevada & California / Southern Pacific Narrow-Gauge Railroads [1880-1960] Page
Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad [1876-1942] Page
Sierra Railway in California [est. 1897] Page

California Western Railroad 'Skunk Train' = Willits to Fort Bragg [built 1885]

Fillmore & Western Railway in Ventura County, California
Pacific Locomotive Assn. / Niles Canyon Railway [est. 1987] in Fremont, California
Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton, California [Santa Cruz County; est. 1963]
San Francisco [CA] Municipal Railway [est. 1912]
Yosemite Mtn. Sugar Pine Railroad [logger train April thru October] in California
Yreka Western Railroad [est. 1887] in NW California

"Welcome Aboard The Disneyland Railroad!: The Complete Disneyland Railroad Reference Guide" [2004] by Steve DeGaetano, Illustrations by Preston Nirattasai Steam Passages Publns 11x8½ hardcover [12/2004] out of print/used

Colorado
G.E. Nordell's Colorado Travel / Railroads Pages

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad [est. 1970] in New Mexico & Colorado

Connecticut

Essex Steam Train [est. 1871, re-opened 1971] in River Valley, CT
Friends of The Valley Railroad

Delaware

Wilmington & Western Railroad [est. 1966] operating RR museum in Wilmington, Delaware
roster includes 3 steam locomotives, 2 diesels, 1929 doodlebug, 7 passenger cars (in service), 3 cabeese, other railcars

Florida

Serengeti Express Railway [est. 1971] at Busch Gardens Tampa [open 1959]
This train takes guests on a two-mile ride around the 335-acre park with stops at the Congo-Kinshasa, Stanleyville, and Nairobi area stations.
unofficial Park Fans website forums • park entry at Wikipedia

green-yellow African-style 4-4-0 steam locomotive #4 [built 1971]

yellow American-style 4-4-0 steam locomotive #5 [built 1971]

red-yellow African-style 4-4-0 steam locomotive #9 [built 1971]

green American-style 4-4-0 steam locomotive #601 [built 1974]

Lahaina, Kaanapali & Pacific in Hawai'i

Illinois
Wikipedia's list of Illinois railroads

CSS: Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad [est. 12/1989] • 182 miles (Indiana 162, Illinois 20)
Began as a streetcar line southward from Chicago in 1901 and reached South Bend, Indiana in 1908; bankrupt Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend [CLS&SB] was purchased in 1925 by Samuel Insull's Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad [CSS&SB]; Insull made major improvements; famous for the three 'Little Joe' electric locomotives    used in freight service from 1946 to 1983; sold to Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 1/1967; declined joining Amtrak in 1971; Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District [NICTD] was formed in 1977 to subsidize & operate the passenger service, which they purchased in 1989; freight service sold to new Anacostia/CSS&SB 12/1989. CSS and NICTD are completely separate, except that they must coordinate use of the shared right-of-way.
official Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad homepage at the Anacostia Rail Holdings website
Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad entry at Wikipedia

	"Moonlight In Duneland: The Illustrated Story of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad" [1998] Edited by Ronald D. Cohen & Stephen G. McShane Quarry Books 13x10 pb [9/2004] for $25.00 Indiana Univ Press 13½x10¼ hardcover [10/98] out of print/used poster of original art used on cover: 12"x16" poster from Amazon for $12.80
	"Along The Chicago South Shore & South Bend Rail Line (Images of America)" [2012] by Cynthia L. Ogorek Arcadia Publng 9¼x6½ pb [11/2012] for $21.99 Arcadia Publng 9½x6¾ hardcover [11/2012] for $28.99

NICTD: South Shore Line commuter service [est. 1977] • 182 miles (Indiana 162, Illinois 20)
Began as a streetcar line southward from Chicago in 1901 and reached South Bend, Indiana in 1908; bankrupt Chicago, Lake Shore & South Bend [CLS&SB] was purchased in 1925 by Samuel Insull's Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad [CSS&SB]; Insull made major improvements; sold to Chesapeake & Ohio Railway 1/1967; declined joining Amtrak in 1971; Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District [NICTD] was formed in 1977 to subsidize & operate the passenger service, which they purchased in 1989; freight service sold to new Anacostia/CSS&SB 12/1989. CSS and NICTD are completely separate, except that they must coordinate use of the shared right-of-way.
official NICTD/South Shore Line website
South Shore Line entry at Wikipedia
South Shore Line fansite

"South Shore: The Last Interurban" [1970, rev 1999] by William D. Middleton more than 250 photographs, maps & schematic drawings; Chapter 2 "Insull's Super-Interurban" is often reprinted Indiana Univ Press 2nd edition 11¼x8¾ hardcover [6/99] out of print/used Golden West Books 10¾x8¾ hardcover [1970] out of print/used

Whitewater Valley Railroad operating railroad museum [est. 1972], east of Indianapolis, Indiana

"Studebaker and The Railroads" in 2 Volumes [2016] by Jan B. Young Volume 1 covers the Studebaker factory and the steam railroads that once served South Bend, Indiana; Volume 2 covers the extensive electric railroad history of the area and a history of Studebaker's private in-plant railroad, the Chicago & South Bend, plus additional relevant topics; both volumes feature detailed indexes; Volume 2 includes a bibliography, numerous maps, and corporate history charts. Volume 1: LULU.com 9¾x7½ pb [8/2016] for $29.95 Volume 2: LULU.com 9¾x7½ pb [8/2016] for $27.95

Iowa
Wikipedia's list of Iowa railroads

        
Iowa Northern Railway Company [est. 1980] is based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (reporting mark IANR)
Formed in 1980 from assets of the Rock Island Line; sold in July 1994 to Iron Road Railways, which went bankrupt in 2002; taken over by president Daniel Sabin. Headquarters is at the Paramount Theatre Building in Cedar Rapids; also offices, shops, and yard facilities in Manly, Greene, and Waterloo. Operates the Hawkeye Express game train [est. 2004], mostly during football season, and the Trains On The Farm museum near Clarksville, Iowa.
official website • Daniel R. Sabin, President • entry at Wikipedia
Iowa Northern Railway Company [est. 1984], 305 Second Street SE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Iowa Northern's Hawkeye Express game train [est. 2004] for the University of Iowa's Kinnick Stadium
official website • watch promo video [3:54] at YouTube

Trains On The Farm [], 30215 170th Street near Clarksville, Iowa 50619
by appointment only • official website

Maine

MMA: Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway [2002-2013] of Maine, Vermont & Québec
481-mile shortline formed by merger of CAR, NVR, QSR & VBB&C went bankrupt due to a multi-million dollar accident in July 2013;
W&HR and INR were sold off to executives.
official website is gone • MMA entry at Wikipedia

Maryland
archived fanpage for three railroads in the town of Midland, Maryland

"Blue Ridge Trolley" [Golden West Books 1970] by Herbert H. Harwood, Jr. ISBN 0-87095-034-7

"Rails To The Big Vein: The Short Lines of Allegany County, Maryland" [1981] by Deane E. Mellender historical data & photos of the Cumberland & Pennsylvania RR [1850-1944], the Georges Creek & Cumberland RR [1876-1917], and the 30-mile Cumberland & Westernport Electric Railway [est. 1891, merger 1906, shut down 1961] Potomac Chapter, NRHS pb [1981] out of print/used

Michigan
Michigan's Railroad History, 1825-2014 - 36-page .PDF document by Michigan DOT
Michigan's Railroad History Resource on the Web [est. 2001]

"Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies" [Michigan State Univ Press 1992] by Graydon M. Meints ISBN 978-0-87013-318-3
"Michigan Railroad Lines" [Michigan State Univ Press 2005] by Graydon M. Meints ISBN 978-0-87013-693-1

        
The Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad [est. 1898] reporting mark ELS
privately-held shortline railroad based in Wells, Michigan that operates 347 miles (558 km) of track in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and in Northeastern Wisconsin;
the main line runs 196 miles (315 km) from Rockland, Michigan to Green Bay, Wisconsin; E&LS also owns various branch lines and out-of-service track.
official company website • repair facility homepage • company entry at Wikipedia
Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad Fan Page on Facebook

Minnesota

"Dakota Minnesota & Eastern 2 DVD Set" [DVD] [2010]
http://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Minnesota-Eastern-DVD-Set/dp/B00KTM93U2/

"Dakota Minnesota & Eastern" [DVD] [2010]
http://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Minnesota-Eastern-DVD-DM/dp/B0036N6NFY/

"Dakota Minnesota & Eastern The Last Days" [DVD] [2010]
http://www.amazon.com/Dakota-Minnesota-Eastern-Last-Days/dp/B004BD1272/

"Minnesota Shortlines 3 DVD set: South, Northwest, Central Lines" [2013]
http://www.amazon.com/Minnesota-Shortlines-South-Northwest-Central/dp/B0061XSPRA/

"Minnesota Shortlines, Volume 1: The South Lines" [2011]
featuring Progressive Rail, Minnesota Southern
http://www.amazon.com/Minnesota-Shortlines-South-Lines-DVD/dp/B00KTM8SH6/

"Minnesota Shortlines, Volume 2: The Central Lines" [2011]
featuring St. Croix Valley Railroad, Northern Lines Railway
http://www.amazon.com/Minnesota-Shortlines-Central-Lines-DVD/dp/B0061XFSGG/

"Minnesota Shortlines, Volume 3: The Northwest Lines" [2013]
featuring Otter Tail Valley Railroad, Minnesota Northern Railroad
http://www.amazon.com/Minnesota-Shortlines-Northwest-Lines-DVD/dp/B00KTM8UJW/

Terminal Railroad Association [est. 1889] of St Louis, Missouri
Terminal Railroad Assn. of St. Louis Historical & Technical Society

New Mexico
G.E. Nordell's New Mexico Travel / Railroads Page

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad [est. 1970] in New Mexico & Colorado

Sky Railway shortline [former S.F.S.R., re-opened 12/2021] • Santa Fe's Adventure Train   
18-mile spur rail line from the AT&SF at Lamy to Downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico; built in 1880, tourist line Santa Fe Southern Railway from 1991 to 2014; in May 2020, "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin, Violet Crown cinema owner Bill Banowsky, and National Dance Institute of New Mexico co-founder Catherine Oppenheimer purchased the defunct Santa Fe Southern Railway shortline, which ceased operation in 2012; many daytime and evening adventures on offer including Pablo the Dragon's Magical Christmas, The Exodus Ensemble theatrical experience, Sunset Serenades, 'Murder On The Lamy Line' mystery excursion, Stargazer Express, New Mexico Ale Trial, Chef's Table On The Rails, and The Wild West Express
— federal and state COVID rules enforced, passengers older than 5 years required to wear masks, etc. • Facebook homepage

New York

NYSW: Class II New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad [est. 1881] in New Jersey, New York & Pennsylvania
Formed by merger in 1881; J.P. Morgan & his Erie Railroad took control 7/1898; filed bankruptcy 6/1937 & split from Erie RR; passenger service ended in 1966; purchased
by Delaware Otsego in 1980; acquired a 40% interest in TP&W in 1995, with full control going to parent Delaware Otsego Corporation in 1996; Delaware Otsego arranged to
fold itself into a new company 8/1997, 10% owned by CSX, 10% owned by Norfolk Southern, and 80% owned by itself, all three partners paying $22/share for a total
of $55 million; DO sold TP&W to RailAmerica in 1999.
official New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad website
New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad entry at Wikipedia
NYSW fanpage (with photos) at American Rails

Delaware Otsego Corporation [est. 1966] based in Cooperstown, New York
Delaware Otsego arranged to fold itself into a new company 8/1997, 10% owned by CSX, 10% owned by Norfolk Southern, and 80% owned by itself, all three partners
paying $22/share for a total of $55 million; the new DOCP Acquisition, LLC is essentially a paper railroad, the recent websites are gone or refer to the NYSW website.
Delaware Otsego Corporation entry at Wikipedia

	"Susquehanna: New York, Susquehanna and Western RR" [1980] by John Krause & Ed Crist Carstens Publns 8¼x11 pb [12/91] for $39.99 Carstens Publns 8¼x11 pb [1980] out of print/used
	"The New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad" [2003] by Robert E. Mohowski Johns Hopkins Univ Press 11x8½ hardcover [9/2003] out of print/used
	"New York, Susquehanna & Western Railroad In New Jersey (Images of Rail)" [2010] by Edward S. Kaminski Kindle Edition from Arcadia Publng [11/2010] for $9.99 Arcadia Publng 9¼x6½ pb [11/2010] for $21.99 Arcadia Publng 9½x6¾ hardcover [11/2010] for $28.99
	"Chasin' The Stacks On The Susquehanna" [2013] 82-minute video of double stack trains on the NYS&W, filmed by Rolly Osmun A&R Prodns color DVD [2013] for $25.95

Nevada
G.E. Nordell's Nevada Travel / Railroads Page

Carson & Colorado / Nevada & California / Southern Pacific Narrow-Gauge Railroads [1880-1960] Page

Virginia & Truckee Railroad [1869-1950, rebuilt 1972 & 2006] in Nevada

North Carolina
Railway Association of North Carolina [est. 1992]

narrow-gauge Tweetsie Railroad [est. 1957] between Boone & Blowing Rock in North Carolina
theme park open May thru October; locomotives 4-6-0 #12 (1917) and 2-8-2 #190 (1943) are coal-fired

Oregon

Mount Hood Railroad [est. 1906] in Hood River, Oregon

Oregon Pacific Railroad [est. 1987] in Portland, Oregon

Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad
photo of Oregon Coast Scenic RR Heisler-geared locomotive #2 [built 1910]

  Oregon Pacific Railroad [est. 1991] - two locations in Oregon
official website • entry at Wikipedia

Sumpter Valley Railway narrow gauge [est. 1971] in North Central Oregon
official website • entry at Wikipedia
photo of Sumpter Valley Heisler-geared locomotive #3 [built 1915]
video of Sumpter Valley Heisler-geared locomotive #3 [10:00] online at YouTube

Pennsylvania
Strasburg Rail Road [est. 1832; saved/rebuilt 1958] in Lancaster, PA
New Hope & Ivyland Rail Road [est. 1962] of New Hope, PA
Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern Railroad [est. 1963] in Kempton (Berks County), Pennsylvania - aka the 'Hawk Mountain Line'

narrow gauge East Broad Top Railroad [est. 1872; saved 1960; on hiatus since 2012] of Rockhill Furnace, PA
official website • Unofficial E.B.T. Homepage {last update 2007} • entry at Wikipedia
Friends of the East Broad Top Railroad [est.1983]

South Carolina
Wikipedia's list of South Carolina railroads
South Carolina Railroad Museum [est. 1983], 110 Industrial Park Road in Winnsboro, South Carolina

GRN: Greenville & Northern Railway [1920-1998] • 11.3 miles (18.2 km)
shortline railroad formerly operating between Travelers Rest and Greenville, South Carolina; Pinsly Railroad 1957, RailTex 1997;
operations ended in February 1998 and the railroad was abandoned in 2005.
Greenville & Northern Railway entry at Wikipedia

Lancaster & Chester Railroad [est. 1971] in South Carolina
Formed in 1896 by Colonel Leroy Springs and others, in part to serve his textile mills. The survival of the railroad was quite a struggle. The Colonel died in 1931, leaving his empire to his son Elliott White Springs. Elliott loved the rail line and had fun with it: he bought a private railcar and built a Rolls Royce inspection car, devised a fanciful dining car menu (the L&C had no dining car), and appointed 29 vice presidents that included artist James Montgomery Flagg, radio man Lowell Thomas, and train fans Gypsy Rose Lee & Lucius Beebe. The line converted to diesel early (six ex-U.S. Army 65-ton Whitcombs in 1946). Elliott Springs died in 1959 and son-in-law H.W. Close became president of the mills and of the L&C; the railroad connects to both CSX and Norfolk Southern. Bob Willetts began a passenger car restoration program in Lancaster & Hartsville in 1996. The L&C was purchased in November 2010 by holding company Gulf & Ohio Railways. {still there 6/2020)
official website • entry at Wikipedia

Tennessee
Wikipedia's list of Tennessee railroads
'Railroads Across Tennessee' document [2016] as online .PDF flip-book file

"Tennessee Shortlines" on DVD [2018] 110 minutes of 2018 footage of 'six great railroads': Lhoist North America mining railroad; Music City Star commuter rail service; Nashville & Eastern Railroad; Tennessee Central Railway Museum; Tennessee Southern Railroad; and West Tennessee Railroad Plets Express color DVD [2019] for $26.95

Alabama Great Southern Railroad
Chattooga & Chickamauga Railway
Caney Fork & Western Railroad
Central of Georgia Railroad
Cincinnati, New Orleans & Texas Pacific Railway

        
Dollywood Theme Park [est. 1961, renamed 1986] near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
operates two coal-fired narrow-gauge 2-8-2 locomotives (#70 1938, #192 1943), plus theme park
official website • Dollywood entry at Wikipedia

East Chattanooga Belt Railway
East Tennessee Railway

Heritage Railroad [est. 1997] in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

Illinois Central Railroad
KWT Railway
KXHR: Knoxville & Holston River Railroad [est. 1998] is owned by G&O

Lhoist North America mining railroad [] - formerly Franklin Mineral Railroad
watch 9/2017 video of Lhoist Mineral Railroad trestles & tunnels [12:09] online at YouTube

Mississippi Central Railroad
Nashville & Eastern Railroad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nashville_and_Eastern_Railroad
Nashville & Western Railroad

Three Rivers Rambler steam-powered tourist operation [] travels over roughly 12 miles of the K&HR RR
from Knoxville to Marbledale in Tennessee.

Tennessee Central Railway Museum [est. 1989], 220 Willow Street, near Downtown Nashville
T.C.R.M. owns or uses nine E.M.D. diesel locomotives, 25 passenger cars, seven freight/MoW cars, and ten cabeese.
official website • entry at Wikipedia

The Regional Transportation Authority [est. 1988] oversees the Music City Star commuter trains,
which are operated by Transit Solution Group []

Walking Horse & Eastern Railroad
West Tennessee Railroad

Texas
G.E. Nordell's Texas Travel & Business Links Page / Railroads of Texas Section

Blacklands Railroad of Texas [est. 1999]
subsidiary Black Gold Terminals
switching/transfer operator at Central New Mexico Rail Park [contract 8/2018]

Grapevine [TX] Vintage Railroad
21-mile line; 1896 steam engine {under repair since 2008} & 1953 GP-7 diesel;
closed Jan-Feb, otherwise operates weekends only (also Friday June-August)

The Texas Central Railroad Partners high-speed rail project received federal approval 9/2020; the line will connect Dallas and Houston - Texas' two biggest cities
- within 90 minutes travel time; construction could begin in the first half of 2021. The project is opposed by Texans Against High Speed Rail [est. 2015], based on
a belief that the rail line will fail economically, either before or after being built.
read 9/2020 article at the Texas Tribune [est. 2009]

Utah
G.E. Nordell's Utah Travel / Railroads Page

Virginia

Bay Coast Railroad [est. 2007] at Cape Charles, VA

The Busch Gardens Railway at the Europe-themed Busch Gardens Park [open 1975] in Williamsburg, Virginia.
the propane-fired railroad is a scaled-down 3-foot-gauge 7,900-foot circle around the park, with stops at three stations
watch 8/2014 fast-motion amateur video over entire route [2:22] at YouTube
unofficial Park Fans website forums • park entry at Wikipedia

green American-style 4-4-0 steam locomotive #17 'Alpen Express' with matching 4-car train & caboose [built 1972]
watch 9/2015 amateur video [30:52] online at YouTube

red/orange Prussian-style 4-4-0 steam locomotive #238 'Der Hochbeinige' with matching 6-car train [built 1975]
watch 4/2016 amateur video with polka music [19:39] online at YouTube

blue Scottish Caledonian Railway steam locomotive #661 'Balmoral Castle' with matching 6-car train [built 1975]
watch 3/2016 amateur video [16:50] online at YouTube

Vermont

Green Mountain Railroad [est. 1964] in Bellows Falls, VT

Washington  state

Chehalis-Centralia Railroad & Museum [est. 1986] in Chehalis, WA

Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad [est. 1981] in Southwestern Washington State
Hillcrest Lumber Co. Climax-geared locomotive #10 [built 1928] at Mt. Rainier Scenic RR

West Virginia

Cass Scenic Railroad [built 1901; incorp. 1961] State Park in West Virginia
official website • entry at Wikipedia

G.E. Nordell's Cass Scenic Railroad [built 1901] Page

Wisconsin

WICT: The Wisconsin & Calumet Railroad was a Class III shortline railroad that operated mostly in southern Wisconsin and a few miles in northern Illinois; the line was founded
in 1985 to take over operation of former Milwaukee Road & Illinois Central trackage for Wisconsin DOT; purchased by OmniTRAX in 1991, sold to Wisconsin & Southern in 1992;
WSOR ran WIST separately until 1997 when the line was dissolved. The main line was around 100 miles long and ran south and east from Madison to Janesville in Wisconsin,
then eastward, crossing the state line to Illinois and terminus after ten miles or so at Fox Lake; WICT/WSOR has trackage rights via Union Pacific to Chicago.
Wisconsin & Calumet entry at Wikipedia • Wisconsin & Southern entry at Wikipedia

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad [built 1880; incorp. 1974] - owned by New Mexico & Colorado
official website • entry at Wikipedia
Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad [est. 1974]

more details on the C&TS Railroad (history, loco roster, route, books & videos, photos}
are on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Page

     C a n a d a     

G.E. Nordell's Canada Travel / Railroad Links Page

Genesee & Wyoming Railroads Pages / Canada Section

Foreign Heritage Railroads
West Somerset Railway [est. 1862, reopened 1976] in western England
Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust Ltd. in U.K.
Llangollen Railway heritage line in North Wales
The Scottish Railway Preservation Society (Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway)
  Keighley and Worth Valley Railway [1867-1962, preserved 1968 in West Yorkshire, England
  Bluebell Railway [L&EGR 1877-1958, preserved 1960] in West Sussex, England

Nilgiri Mountain Railway {World Heritage Site} in India

website in Japanese • English-language info webpage • entry at Wikipedia

here on the America's Shortline Railroads Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore

top of page 1 • short history • links • Class III / shortline railroads • shortline operators • books & other media

top of page 2 • shortlines by state

Genesee & Wyoming Shortline Railroads Pages
OmniTRAX Shortline Railroads Page
Watco Companies Shortline Railroads Page

Spirit of America Bookstore's American Railroads Pages

on page one:  top of page • links • museums • Class I railroads • Class II railroads • shortline railroads

on page two:  top of page • games • RR history • narrow-gauge RRs • historic RR lines

on page three:  top of page • transcontinental railroads • railroad moguls • railroad recordings

Spirit of America Bookstore's 'Railroads in Fiction' Pages
Spirit of America Bookstore's Railroads in Fiction - Books For Young Railfans Page

Spirit of America Bookstore's Railroad Film Festival Pages

Spirit of America Bookstore's Railroad Equipment Pages

Spirit of America Bookstore's Scale Model & Toy Trains Page

G.E. Nordell's Arizona Travel / Railroads Links Pages
G.E. Nordell's California Travel / Railroads Links Pages
G.E. Nordell's Colorado Travel / Railroads Links Pages
G.E. Nordell's Nevada Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's New Mexico Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's Utah Travel / Railroads Links Page

Travel U.S.A. / Railroad Museums Page

Visiting this webpage from outside the U.S.A.? It is possible to make purchases from these coded Amazon (USA) links
via other Amazon sites: just follow these instructions.

Online sales in association with  

top of this page       back to Nostalgic Americana Page

   back to Spirit of America Bookstore homepage