Eighteen short line and regional railroads are expected to send locomotives to the America 250 Locomotive Celebration in Spencer, North Carolina, broadening a roster that already includes all six Class I carriers.

CPKC No. 1776 in red, white and blue America 250 livery leading freight cars in Franklin Park, Illinois.
CPKC No. 1776 in America 250 livery at Franklin Park, Illinois; illustrative image that does not depict the Spencer event. Center-cropped to 16:9. Photo: Rui / Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark.

Short lines expand the America 250 locomotive roster

The newly announced roster⁠ names 17 operators: Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway; Carolina Coastal Railway; Cincinnati Scenic Railway; East Penn Railroad; Florida Central Railroad; Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad; Genesee Valley Transportation; Lake State Railway; Minnesota Commercial Railway; Morristown & Erie Railway; Naugatuck Railroad; New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway; Chicago Rail Link; Prairie Lines; Reading & Northern; R.J. Corman Railroad Group; and Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway.

Florida East Coast Railway, identified as a Class II railroad, has separately confirmed that it will send its America 250 locomotive. Its participation brings the short line and regional group to 18 railroads.

Their locomotives will be displayed with nine specially painted units representing BNSF Railway, Canadian National, CPKC, CSX, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. The Association of American Railroads’ America 250 overview⁠ presents commemorative designs from all six carriers, although organizers have not yet identified which nine individual Class I locomotives will appear in Spencer.

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Museum plans rotating displays and train rides

The three-day celebration will run from August 28 through August 30, 2026. The North Carolina Transportation Museum’s event page⁠ lists public hours from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day.

CSX America 250 locomotives No. 2026 and No. 250 leading an intermodal train through Blue Island Junction, Illinois.
CSX America 250 locomotives No. 2026 and No. 250 lead an intermodal train through Blue Island Junction, Illinois; illustrative image that does not depict the Spencer event. Photo: Rui / Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark.

Visitors will be able to photograph changing locomotive arrangements as equipment is rotated and repositioned around the Bob Julian Roundhouse turntable. Museum diesel train rides are included with admission but remain subject to availability.

One-day tickets are listed at $44.50 for adults and $28.25 for children aged 3–12, before North Carolina sales tax. The separate night photography sessions on August 28 and 29, each limited to 150 participants, are already sold out.

The museum, White River Productions, Railfan & Railroad and Trains magazine are organizing the gathering to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. Locomotives from passenger railroads, museums and preservation societies remain a pending part of the program and are expected to be announced later.

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