March 1, 2024 | Historic/Steam, News
During World War II, women were called upon to enter to the workforce to keep the American economy moving as millions of men were called to serve in the armed forces. By the end of 1945, some 250,000 women were working on railroads throughout the United States. While...
February 28, 2024 | Historic/Steam, News
Asa Philip Randolph (1889-1979) was the founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first African American-led union to receive a charter from the American Federation of Labor (AFL). In addition to serving as a union leader, Randolph was a civil rights...
February 21, 2024 | Historic/Steam, News, Railroad Safety
Granville T. Woods (1865-1910) an African American inventor, held more than 50 patents in his lifetime and was referred to by some as the “Black Edison.” Woods concentrated most of his work on trains and streetcars. One of his most important inventions was the...
February 12, 2024 | Historic/Steam, News, Technology
Andrew Jackson Beard (1849-1921), an African American inventor, was awarded patents in 1887 and 1899 for improvements to the automatic railroad car coupler. Beard had lost a leg in a car coupling accident earlier in his life. Original railroad couplers required the...
January 22, 2024 | Headlines, Historic/Steam
(Source: Freight Waves, January 19, 2024) On April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was infamously assassinated. Six days later, his body began its journey to Springfield, Illinois, from Washington to be buried. He was transported by train over a route that...
December 31, 2023 | Historic/Steam, News
Founded on May 8, 1863, the BLET this year celebrated its 160th anniversary as the oldest labor union in North America. The BLET highlighted this significant milestone with a commemorative issue of the Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen Journal (PDF), and a series of...
June 19, 2023 | Headlines, Historic/Steam
(Source: Railfan & Railroad Magazine, June 19, 2023) ESSEX, Mont. — They swarmed like hawks on roadkill along nearby U.S. Highway 2. On Saturday, hundreds of railfans, history buffs and curious locals descended on Montana’s Izaak Walton Inn to purchase whatever...
June 2, 2023 | Headlines, Historic/Steam
(Source: Freight Waves, May 31, 2023) The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 was enacted by President Abraham Lincoln to garner federal support for construction of the transcontinental railroad. While B&O Railroad was the first commercial transportation by rail in 1827,...
May 8, 2023 | Historic/Steam, News
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, May 8 — Today, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen (BLET) marks its 160th anniversary. The BLET and its members are proud of our heritage as the oldest labor union in North America. Our union was founded as the Brotherhood of the...
May 1, 2023 | Headlines, Historic/Steam
(Source: CBS Sacramento, April 27, 2023) It’s been called the disaster lost in history: A local town, long before it became a bustling city, was rocked by explosions. Fifty years ago on Friday, a rail car carrying bombs bound for Vietnam exploded in Roseville....
