Vallejo Mill. On a beautiful, sunny day in February, Clover Valley Lumber Co. #4 climbs the grade at Vallejo Mill with a local freight consist in tow, headed for Niles Yard, perhaps a half ... (more)

Charging across Farwell Bridge. Here we see the beefy, Clover Valley #4, an articulated saddle-tanker, as she hauls her mixed freight across the Farwell Bridge at about MP 31.7. One of the... (more)

Mixed freight to Sunol. With a marine fog bank just beginning to burn off of Niles Canyon, Clover Valley Baldwin #4 hauls a consist of mixed freight east toward Sunol. Operating on roughly... (more)

Articulated Log-Hogs. At least as of February of 2020, California's Niles Canyon Railway was about the only place I know of where you could see a pair of compound, articulated Mallet Locomo... (more)

Black Hills Central 2-6-6-2T Mallet No. 110 takes the eastbound trip from Hill City across the Old Hill City Highway west of Keystone, South Dakota, on July 11, 2018.

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)

Hill City: The climb begins. Less than a mile outside the Hill City Yard, the Black Hills Central's "1880 Train" begins its ascent up Tin Mill Hill. This is perhaps a 1/2 mile section of ... (more)