The Pacific Coast Highway Without the 1

Truly, does it get much sunnier than Southern California? Just imagine the palm trees, the Pacific Coast Highway, the avocado toast waiting for you after a jog on the beach. It’s no wonder then why the Pacific Surfliner is at the top of our list for train trips! This 350 mile train services towns and cities along the coast from San Diego up to San Luis Obispo. This is Amtrak’s third busiest line, and the single busiest outside of the Northeast Corridor! While there is some interior travel to the rich California farmlands and some of the bustling areas of the Valley, much of the eight and a half hour journey is along the beautiful Pacific coast. So grab those sunnies and your favorite train book and enjoy this trip through the southern part of the Golden State.

The (Not Too) Wild, Wild West

Western musicians and cowboys, need we even say more? This is some of what awaits you on board the Grand Canyon Railway Train. Departing from Williams, AZ on vintage railcars, The GCR takes passengers into the heart of the Grand Canyon, where the views are astounding. Beginning operations in 1901, Grand Canyon Railway was originally shut down in 1968, due to the increasing popularity of automobiles. Fortunately, a couple of entrepreneurially-minded individuals saw the benefit in its continued operation, and it was reopened in 1989. It now serves to keep over 50,000 cars annually out of the Grand Canyon, helping to preserve the canyon’s pristine beauty for generations to come.

Why, Yes, I’ll Have Some Wine on the Train

Wine? Check. Gourmet food? Check? More wine? Check check! Oh, Napa Valley, with your lush vineyards, old world feel, and, of course, your world renowned wine, we think you are pretty nifty! The Napa Valley Wine Train is a must for the dual train + wine enthusiast in your life. What could possibly be better than a 36-mile round trip journey via historically accurate restored train cars complete with gourmet food and wine? And did we mention the vineyard tours? Sounds like the right kind of summer vacation to us!

A Regular Brew-haha

If wine isn’t your cup of tea, then perhaps the Sky Rail Ale Trail is more of what you are looking for! Round trip from Santa Fe, the Ale Trail is a brew + rail lover’s dream! By supporting local breweries and local musicians, it provides a one of a kind experience in the high desert of New Mexico. Each train trip features a different brewery, and with passengers encouraged to partake of various brew samples during the journey. In between tastings, musicians perform in each car of the train, and an open air flatbed car is also available to soak up the sun and desert air while enjoying your brew!

Opportunities abound for memorable train journeys across the US. If you can’t make one of these trips work for you this year, we highly recommend taking a look at what Amtrak has on offer in your area. Something as simple as a few hours train trip to a city not too far from home can be transformative in its own right!

The post Train Vacation, All We Ever Wanted appeared first on Telegraph.

In our most humble opinion, a good museum balances fun and learning in ways that all ages can appreciate. While you may not be going to a railroad museum to see something like Sue the T-Rex or Hope the Blue Whale, we feel pretty confident in saying they offer more than you would expect! You might have really low expectations – a person standing behind a dusty desk with glass-encased railroad artifacts, or perhaps a model train exhibit. One of our team members had these same notions, and instead found themselves thrilled to be riding on a restored steam locomotive, and walking in rows upon rows of refurbished railcars!

Railroad museums can be found throughout the United States. Chances are, there is one near you! While we wish we could share absolutely all of them, we are going to highlight a few favorites for you today (but check out our handy map for a few more)! Dive in with us, and then start planning your next museum day!

Illinois Railway Museum

Honestly, did you expect us to start anywhere outside of our own backyard? This little gem is about an hour’s drive outside of Chicago. Our CEO and his family actually stumbled upon it a couple of years ago when they went apple picking outside of the city. Located in Union, IL, the Illinois Railway Museum is the largest railway museum in the United States. Having been in operation for nearly 75 years, the museum features an original, 150 year old train depot, vast exhibits of locomotives and railcars, and the option to take a jaunt on an electric, diesel, or steam locomotive! All aboard!

Nevada Northern Railway Museum

We want to make one thing very clear before we tell you why we get super excited about the Nevada Northern Railway Museum: trains are incredibly safe, both as a means of transporting freight and personal travel! However, we all know the stories of yore of great train robberies by bandits, and this museum does an excellent job transporting visitors back to the Old West with a live train robbery reenactment! Come for the heist, and stay for the impressively organized railroad exhibits, hailed as one of the nation’s most well-preserved railroading landmarks!

National Railroad Museum

The only congressionally-designated railroad museum in the United States, the National Railroad Museum is located on over 33 acres in Green Bay, WI. The continuously expanding collection of railroad memorabilia includes everything from locomotives – including the mightily impressive Union Pacific “Big Boy” (which weighs in at a mere 1.1 million pounds!) – and other rolling stock, to tracks, and over 100,000 pieces of smaller railroad artifacts! Daily train trips – on cars pulled by a diesel locomotive – depart the station every two hours daily from May – September.

Colorado Railroad Museum

Of everything offered at the Colorado Railroad Museum, the most impressive thing has to be that you can view live restoration demonstrations on vintage engines and other rail equipment, providing a rare behind-the-scenes look at how railroad history is preserved. Additionally, with rolling seasonal displays, visiting at different points in the year provides an opportunity for each trip to be a new experience! For the youngest rail fans, there are always weekends with Thomas the Tank Engine in the fall, and, of course, the ever-popular Polar Express during the holiday season! Weather (and staffing) permitting, visitors can also view the Denver Garden Railway just north of the main depot!

Train Mountain Railroad Museum

Not only does Train Mountain Railroad Museum offer the world’s largest collection of cabooses, it is also home to the Guinness World Records longest miniature railroad! With 36 miles of 7.5″ gauge track on 2200 acres near Chiloquin, OR, this is a train enthusiast’s paradise filled with intricate and exacting detail – in miniature! Another notable part of the Train Mountain collection comes in the form of a 100 short-ton antique, steam-powered rotary snow plow. When something needs that many adjectives, you know there is something special about it!

Keeping the Preservation Alive

If you can’t squeeze in a railroad museum this upcoming weekend, we hope you will find time to visit one in the near future. As volunteer-operated, 501(c)(3) organizations, railroad museums and their future depend on visitors and donations to stay in operation. More so, we think understanding the legacy of the American railroads is an important part of our history. Besides, who doesn’t enjoy a little adventure through time?

The post Preserving Rail History: Railroad Museums Across the United States appeared first on Telegraph.

Location, location, location

As every good Chicagoan knows, in his early 20th century celebration of the Second City, poet Carl Sandburg called it, a “player with railroads and freight handler to the nation.”

Mr. Sandburg paints a vivid picture with his words of a city deeply intertwined with the nation’s freight rail industry. It’s no surprise, really, when the very first, albeit small, railroad in America was built in 1827, and it was less than a decade later, in 1838, that the Galena & Chicago Union became the first railroad to be chartered in Chicago. By 1856, Chicago was already the greatest railroad center in the world. For the last 150 years, it has remained the nation’s busiest rail hub.

From the onset, Chicago has played a pivotal role in North American freight rail. As it currently stands, all six Class I railroads have operations in Chicago, as well as eight Chicago-based shortlines and six commuter rail lines. Freight rail access to and from Chicago and the rest of North America is unparalleled, with Chicago handling more than 3 million freight cars annually. Approximately one in every four carloads and intermodal containers either originate, terminate, or pass through the Chicago area.

So, why did Chicago become a railroading Mecca? Simply put: location, location, location. Chicago is the most centralized major city in the US. It is strategically located – close to farmlands, adjacent to Lake Michigan, and with waterways that feed into the Mississippi River. It is a natural meeting point for West and East, which is why it is the interchange point for the western railroads and eastern railroads. You can ship something by rail all the way from Los Angeles to New York…as long as it changes railroads in Chicago.

Many folks may not even realize that our illustrious NBA team’s name derives from railroading lore. The Chicago Bulls’ name comes from the Chicago Union Stockyards, which was the meatpacking district of Chicago for over a century, and the center of American meatpacking. By the beginning of the 20th century, the Stockyards provided 82% of the meat consumed in the States. What does meatpacking have to do with railroading you might ask? Well, the Stockyards were operated by a group of nine railroad companies, of course!

Hear that train a-comin’, hear that whistle blowin’

It would be remiss to only talk about freight rail as it relates to Chicago, as the city is second only to New York when it comes to the number of commuter rail passengers. Amtrak, Metra, and the infamous L all serve rail passengers in and around the Chicagoland area. In the heyday of passenger rail travel, Chicago was its bustling capital. Up until the 1960s, Chicago had six major passenger rail stations, offering coast-to-coast, as well as inter-city service. Today, suburbanites regularly use Metra trains to commute into the city, while city dwellers can use the L to zip about town. Amtrak runs from Chicago to a number of destinations – the California Zephyr will take you to San Francisco, the Texas Eagle to Dallas and San Antonio, the Southwest Chief to Flagstaff, Albuquerque, and Los Angeles, and the Capital Limited to Washington DC, to name a few. If you want to experience the grandeur of bygone rail travel, go soak up the Great Hall in Union Station while waiting for your next departure.

A piece of history

Over 185 years after that first railroad charter in Chicago, the city remains a bustling railroading town. Head out to any of the suburbs, and, odds are, you will get stopped at a train crossing. Listen closely above the ever-present buzz of the city, and you will hear the bells of a Metra train, or the rumble of the tracks as an L train passes by. As a freight rail tech company, not only do we love being in the center of it all, we are also excited to add our story to the book of Chicago Rail History.

The post Chicago, Chicago, What a Railroading Town appeared first on Telegraph.

Women have a storied history of working in the traditionally male-dominated industry that is freight rail. In fact, it was 1901 when Sarah Clark Kidder became the first woman in the world to lead a railroad, when she was elected president of the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad. Going back even further, Mary Walton developed technology in 1879 that was later applied to steam engines, making her one of the earliest female innovators in the freight rail industry.

While the stories of early female railroaders are many, it remains that women are still underrepresented in the industry as a whole. As of 2022, women accounted for over 56% of the US labor force. However, women only make up about 7% of workers in freight rail. That’s a rather large disparity. Fortunately, it’s one that companies seem keen to address. Over the next several years, Class I railroads have committed to hiring more women as part of broader plans to increase their diversity and minority group representation. We applaud this effort, and look forward to the day when women comprise a truly representative portion of the freight rail workforce.

Emulating Industry Leaders

While we recognize that freight rail remains a predominantly male-dominated space, there are some truly remarkable women leading the charge, bettering their companies, and serving as inspirational examples for thousands of women in their organizations and beyond.

When we think about women in rail, particularly when it comes to leadership, BNSF Railway CEO, Katie Farmer is easily the first that comes to mind. A paradigmatic example of working your way up in an organization, Katie began her career with Burlington Northern as a management trainee, essentially the very first rung on the railroad management ladder. From their corporate Women’s Network and mentoring group to the field-based Women enRoute group, BNSF is ensuring that female leaders across their organization have access to support and opportunities for growth and development.

Likewise, Tracy Robinson, President + CEO of Canadian National, is breaking the traditional mold of male-only CEOs at Class I railroads. Prior to joining Canadian National, Tracy spent 27 years at Canadian Pacific, where she held executive roles across commercial, finance, and operations. Canadian National is dedicated to supporting and developing women at their organization through their Women’s Employee Resource Group.

Encouraging Diversity + Development

At Telegraph, it is one of our core beliefs that having a diverse and inclusive workforce gives us opportunities for more unique perspectives and experiences, and ultimately leads to better solutions for our customers. From the early stages of composing an advisory board, it was important to us to make sure we were incorporating women’s viewpoints into developing our organization. Barbara Wilson, former President + CEO of Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railway, and Maqui Parkerson, VP of Labor Relations at Union Pacific Railroad, have both been instrumental in this capacity. We spent some time chatting with Barbara recently about her views on diversity and female leadership in freight rail, and we loved her candor when speaking about being proactive in your own career, remaining open to learning and new opportunities, and, most importantly, authenticity to yourself. One of our favorite nuggets she shared with us is, “I don’t think you have to be the tough woman or the always knowledgeable woman to be successful in this male-dominated industry. You just have to be yourself.”

As a cross-sector of both the rail and technology space, both of which have an inherent underrepresentation of female employees, we are deeply committed to empowering and developing the women in our organization. Fortunately, we have some all-star women helping us shape the future of freight rail, and paving the way for more diverse leadership in the rail industry. Customer Success Manager, Lisa Anderson seamlessly balances client education and customer inquiries, while also taking the lead for on-site demonstrations. Furthermore, Lisa also recognizes the importance of representation in the workplace. As an innovative leader, she has noted that, “You don’t get anywhere with the same mindsets. If everybody has the same thought process and the same background, you’re not gonna get very far.” While this applies across the spectrum of diversity, it is so true for women in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

Ensuring Continual Growth

As an industry, it is obvious that we have work to do to ensure that we are accurately representing women in the workforce, and enabling women to assume leadership roles, which will serve to grow our organizations and strengthen the development of products for customers from all walks of life. For our part, we will continue to support, encourage, and develop our female leaders, and be immensely thankful for the ways they mold our customer experience, develop our products, and shape our overall culture for the better.

The post How It Started / How It’s Going : The History + Future of Women in Freight Rail appeared first on Telegraph.

1. Would a list of children’s books about trains be complete if it didn’t include the classic Watty Piper tale, The Little Engine That Could? As much a story about not giving up when things are tough as it is about trains, this one deserves a home on every little person’s bookshelf!

2. Our favorite cool cat is back in Pete the Cat’s Train Trip. Looking forward to a trip to Grandma’s house by train, this Pete adventure would be an excellent read before a kid’s first train trip!

3.  How Trains Work  from Lonely Planet Kids is a fun, fact-filled book about the magic of railroads across the globe. With beautiful illustrations, it gets bonus points for including some flipouts for even more hidden facts!

4. Is onomatopoeia your thing? If so, Trucker and Train  might just be your jam! In addition to being replete with all the fun sound words you could hope for, it is also a tale of kindness triumphing over bullying, which is something we can all get behind!

5. A Christmas classic that tugs at the heartstrings, The Polar Express  is a reminder of the importance of believing in magic. We don’t know about you, but we still hear the bell ring!

6. Historical facts and captivating illustrations make up Steam, Smoke, and Steel: Back in Time with Trains . Readers will be transported to the early 19th century, and make their way to the present as they learn about the innovation and progress of railroads.

7. From acclaimed author, Margaret Wise Brown, we have Two Little Trains . An easy, repetitive read for the littlest ones, this one juxtaposes a real train and a toy train both heading west.

8. In Locomotive, we climb aboard for a trip on the transcontinental railroad with a fully in-depth look at the people, places, and things that made those infamous passenger train journeys possible!

9. Is your elementary-aged kid looking for a magical adventure? The Silver Arrow  is their ticket to such, but with a dash of ecological preservation and saving animals too.

10. First in its series, The Train to Impossible Places  is another fantastical, elementary age appropriate story that will take readers on a train trip to the bottoms of the oceans and to the heights of outer space!

What do you think of our list of children’s books about trains? Did we miss any? Either way, jump in the comments and let us know what your, and your kiddos, favorites are!

The post Reading Railroad: Our Top 10 Favorite Children’s Books About Trains appeared first on Telegraph.

Our Hodgepodge of Favorites

Is it possible that our Marketing + Engagement Strategist, Madi Anderson is partial to Around the World in 80 Trains  because she too would like to travel the globe by train? While Madi has just recently taken her very first interstate train trip, this memoir chronicles the 45,000 mile journey around the world the author takes by train. As the journey concludes, weaving the tapestry and cultures across landscapes aboard rail lines across the globe, we are left to wonder: what unexpected adventures await beyond the last station?

While technically a short story (in a collection of short stories), Three-Ten to Yuma  is a favorite for our CEO, Harris Ligon. Partial to Larry McMurtry and the American frontier, Harris likes the grittiness of the story, and the portrayal of the earliest days of railroads as centerpieces in the lives of individuals from all walks of life. While the clock ticks relentlessly towards 3:10, the tense dance of morals and survival raises an interesting question: what is the ultimate price of a ticket?

Murder on the Orient Express  is a classic for a reason, and thus we fully support its addition to this list by our Director of Operations, Sydney Schreiber. Honestly though, who can fault a book with this recipe: Agatha Christie + a dash of murder + a train stranded in the Balkans? This one will keep readers on the edge of their seats, with an ending that is equally as brilliant as it is unexpected!

Historical fiction about the atrocities of World War II are rightly heart-wrenching, but The Last Train to London  – a favorite of our Senior Software Engineer, Corey Van Woert – which focuses on the flight of children as they flee Nazi-occupied Europe is also an uplifting story of hope in the face of the horrors of war. We are reminded that, even in the bleakest of moments, the human spirit can prevail.

While notably a gripping tale about a train heist, our Product Operations Manager, Sarane Caratan also loves The Great Train Robbery  for its marvelous ability to transport readers into Victorian England. Readers find themselves drawn into an intricate web of deception, ingenious schemes, and unexpected twists. Author Michael Crichton puts forth a mystery that is sure to keep you guessing until the very end, and questioning who actually holds the upper hand in this daring escapade!

History buff and Telegraph Chief Growth Officer, Shachar Astor loves The Great Railroad Revolution  for the tribute it pays to the many ways railroads shaped America – from the very first rail line, the Baltimore & Ohio, to the innovative and pioneering spirit of the infamous railroad tycoons, this book explores it all! Shachar is especially partial to this excerpt,

“The [Erie Railroad] was responsible for introducing a technical innovation that would become universal on railroads across America: the telegraph. [The telegraph] had already proved its worth…when a locomotive developed problems and the next station was alerted by telegraph to ensure that a replacement was ready. ”

As you can see, while our love of trains is universal, our favorite rail books are as diverse as the team itself! Did we miss one of your favorites here? Stay tuned for more in our Reading Railroad series, but also feel free to chime in below with any egregious oversights!

The post Reading Railroad: The Best Railroad Books According to Telegraph Employees appeared first on Telegraph.