Toppa Tin Mill. Emerging from the morning shadows at the top of Tin Mill Hill, Black Hills Central Railroad Locomotive #110 blows for the 3rd crossing of Old Hill City Road near Milepost 1,... (more)

Sanding the flues. Black Hills Central Railroad Locomotive #108 pours out a strong, salt and pepper plume as she hauls the first "1880 Train" of the day past the second crossing a... (more)

Morning blow-down. With Locomotive #108 positioned just short of the the wooden trestle at the north end of the Hill City Yard, Black Hills Central Engineer Cesar and his fireman open the b... (more)

Seeing double. Yes indeed, there are two, big, Baldwin 2-6-6-2T, articulated, compound mallet locomotives steaming in the yard at Hill City, SD this morning. The duty engine for the first... (more)

Black Hills Central #104....the BHCR's OTHER engine. The Black Hills Central has several steam locomotives, but as of 2017, only two of them are operable. The primary engine is the Compoun... (more)

Black Hills Central #7. Perhaps the longest-serving locomotive at the Black Hills Central is this little Baldwin 2-6-2. Like all of the other locos here, this engine is a log-hog. She w... (more)

Tin Mill Hill in the afternoon. The crossing at the top of Tin Mill Hill is one of the best locations from which to photograph the Black Hills Central. The locomotive is working hard here... (more)

Topping Tin Mill Hill. The mid-day departure of the "1880 Train" is captured here just as it emerges from the woods at the top of Tin Mill Hill. Riding the train up Tin Mill Hill... (more)

Articulation. How do you get a 2-6-6-2 locomotive around a sharp curve? The answer is articulation. This engine has two sets of drivers. the boiler and tank sits firmly over the rear se... (more)

One of the nation's oldest tourist trains. South Dakota's Black Hills Central isn't the most well-known steam tourist train in the country, but it definitely qualifies as one of the oldest.... (more)

Lots of wooden trestles. One of the cool features of the Black Hills Central line from Hill City to Keystone is the presence of a number of photogenic wooden trestles. Perhaps the best exa... (more)

Climbing to Oblivion. The first morning departure of the Black Hills Central's "1880 Train" charges upgrade toward the summit just ahead which is known as "Oblivion." In its early years, ... (more)

Headed for Oblivion.... The Black Hills Central Railroad's Compound Mallet Tanker has a few minutes to loaf as she runs across a wide open grassy plain. But her Engineer and Fireman had b... (more)

BHCR #110, a Compound, Articulated Mallet Tanker. Yes, the 110 is one of just two such 2-6-6-2T locomotives that are in operation in the US today. The other is at Niles Canyon in Californ... (more)

At the summit of Tin Mill Hill. Departing out of Hill City, passengers on the Black Hills Central's "1880 Train" get an immediate taste of mountain railroading and the terrain for which the... (more)