Prototype News

The Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad announced in January that it had named Rick Marsden its new executive director effective February 13. Marsden will replace Tim Tennant, who is retiring after 20 years as the leader of the Albuquerque-based non-profit established to support the narrow gauge railroad owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico. 

Marsden has been a group member for over a decade and has previously worked as a photo archivist for the organization. He was also a past vice president of the New Mexico Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society, the group that owns and operates Santa Fe 4-8-4 2926. 

Marsden will oversee the Friends’ office staff and help coordinate the organization’s numerous volunteer activities, most of which are conducted along the railroad. Work ranges from restoring wooden freight cars and structures at sites along the railroad to researching archival photos. Members also served as on-board docents on the railroad’s trains operating near-daily from late spring into late fall. —Justin Franz 

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The photography collection of Michael A. Eagleson, a well-known photographer and former columnist for Railfan & Railroad in the late 1970s, has been preserved by the Industrial Archives & Library in Bethlehem, Pa.

Eagleson was born in New Jersey in 1943 and was taking railroad photos by the time he was 11. He was fascinated by steam locomotives and after the fires were dropped in North America, he would spend years tracking it down around the globe, eventually venturing to at least 77 different countries in his search. He chronicled it all in a column called In Search of Steam, first in Railroad and later in Railfan & Railroad.

Professionally, Eagleson was a trained graphic designer and owned a design firm. He also worked as an agent on the Erie Lackawanna and a fireman on the Central Railroad of New Jersey when he was in college. Eagleson died in 2022. He is survived by his wife Florence, and his daughter, Catherine.

“It is through their generosity and desire to share his works with researchers and historians that this one-of-a-kind collection now has a permanent home here in Bethlehem, Pa.,” said Stephen G. Donches, President & CEO of the Industrial Archives & Library. “We are very

honored to care for this incredible collection and to be able to preserve the amazing visual legacy of Mike Eagleson for future generations.”

The Industrial Archives & Library was founded in 2015. Current holdings include records relating to banking, slate quarrying, coal mining, silk and textiles, steel, shipbuilding, transportation and railroads. Officials said they expect it to take a few years to fully process Eagleson’s collections. —Justin Franz 

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The Rockhill Trolley Museum added two historic Pennsylvania trolley cars to its collection in January. The cars were donated by the family of the late Wendell Dillinger, founder of the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad, who passed away in 2023. 

Lewistown & Reedsville car 23 once operated less than 35 miles from the Rockhill. It was built by the J.G. Brill Company in 1914 and operated in Lewistown until 1933. The car was then sold and turned into a summer home. The museum plans to restore the car to operation. 

The other car was built by the J.G. Brill Company in 1924 as York Railways 162. The car ran until 1939 when it was sold and also turned into a camp. The Rockhill museum also owns and operates York Railways 163, so it plans to restore 162 to how it might have looked when it was a summer home. Officials said that restoration will give visitors an idea of what happened to many trolleys in the mid-20th century. 

For more information, visit RockhillTrolley.org. —Justin Franz 

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New York’s Catskill Mountain Railroad saw its ridership increase by 17.5 percent last year for a total of 60,653 passengers in 2024.

Launched in 1982 to lease and operate a 38-mile former New York Central branch line, Catskill Mountain Railroad currently operates a five-mile route based out of Kingston, N.Y.

The increase in ridership comes as the tourist railroad faces a new threat to its existence. Recently, two area groups, the Woodstock Land Conservancy and Friends of the Catskill Mountain Rail Trail, began advocating to replace the county-owned rail line with a trail. For many years, the tourist railroad has fought efforts to turn the former NYC route into a trail. While in recent years, the railroad has been able to work with different trail groups and the county successfully, this new effort is marked by a desire to remove the rail line completely. —Justin Franz

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Western Maryland Scenic is partnering with the PBS program Great Scenic Railway Journeys to raise money to restore 2-8-0 locomotive 734, which last operated on the Maryland-based tourist railroad in 2016.

Baldwin Locomotive Works built the 2-8-0 type locomotive in 1916 for the Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad, an iron ore-hauling road in Michigan. The locomotive was used until the 1960s when it was sold to a tourist railroad and eventually to the Illinois Railway Museum. In 1992, WMSR acquired it and restored it to resemble a Western Maryland H-class locomotive. 

The locomotive will be restored to service on WMSR’s route between Cumberland and Frostburg, Md. The locomotive will join WMSR’s other steam engine, the former Chesapeake & Ohio 2-6-6-2 1309. 

The railroad has not set a timeline for locomotive 734’s completion. As of this month, it is currently indoors at WMSR’s shop in Ridgeley, W.Va., where it will be prepared for a running gear evaluation, ultrasound mapping, and more. To help fund the restoration, Great Scenic Railway Journeys announced on February 1 that it would match every donation made to the effort up to $10,000. 

“I have been continually impressed with the work done by the new management and staff at WMSR,” said creator and producer Robert Van Camp. “Their vision for the railroad and infusion of fresh ideas, such as new venues and experiences, truly capture the essence of railroading’s glory days. It’s inspiring to see how they’re bringing new life to the railroad and making it an unforgettable experience for riders of all ages. I am proud to be a part of their mission to help preserve and present some of this nation’s historical railroad rolling stock and look forward to seeing the matching funds pledged by their fan base.”

For additional information, visit the restoration’s website at MountainThunder734.org. —Justin Franz 

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