NRHS, Railway Age, RT&S Announce Third Annual Outstanding Railroad Historic Preservation Award

NEW YORK and ATLANTA ––The National Railway Historical Society has kicked off its third annual recognition of a railroad’s historic preservation efforts. NRHS is again partnering with Railway Age and Railway Track & Structures to present the Outstanding Railroad Historic Preservation Award in recognition of a working common-carrier railroad for its efforts to preserve railroad history in the United States, Canada or Mexico.

With the dizzying pace of life in railroading today, it’s easy to lose sight of the rich history of our industry. While there are a number of railroad history grant, award, and recognition programs, one of the best known is the annual National Railway Historical Society Outstanding Railroad Historic Preservation Award. This is the third year that Railway Age and Railway Track & Structures have partnered with the NRHS to solicit nominations for and choose the winner of the award.

Criteria for the Outstanding Railroad Historic Preservation Award:

• Projects may include locomotives or any type of rolling stock, buildings, stations, a rail line, or a significant rail line feature such as a bridge, viaduct, tunnel, etc.
• Projects that result in returning the asset to use as originally intended will be prioritized vs. a static display or non-operational asset.
• Projects accessible to the public will be prioritized for recognition (for example, periodic operation of historically significant railroad equipment, scheduled excursion train service, publicly accessible historically preserved railroad stations, or buildings and/or museums displaying historic railroad artifacts).
• Historic railroads, tourist lines and museums not operated by common-carrier railroads are ineligible for this award (instead, see NRHS Heritage Grants).

The award winner will be announced at Railway Interchange 2025 in Indianapolis.

“Railway Age has been chronicling the rail industry since our founding in 1856,” said Editor-in-Chief William C. Vantuono. “It’s fitting that we and RT&S continue to partner with NRHS on a preservation award. We’ve seen several railroads celebrate their histories recently, in many different forms. We are eager to honor an outstanding example of this commitment to historic preservation.”

David C. Lester, Editor-in-Chief of Railway Track & Structures said “Much of railroad history focuses on the history of technology. RT&S covers modern railroad technology and engineering primarily in the areas of maintenance of way, infrastructure, and communication. We are pleased to partner with Railway Age and the NRHS to honor historic preservation efforts that should be celebrated in their own right, and to help everyone realize how much rail technology has evolved since the first turn of a wheel on a rail.”

“NRHS solidified its interest in historic railroad preservation through the Heritage Grants program and by saving and sharing railroad-related media,” said NRHS President Tony White. “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Railway Age and RT&S to recognize a significant North American railroad preservation project. As our mission is to preserve railroad history in all its forms, we developed this award to honor a railroad for its preservation efforts. I look forward to hearing from our members—and Railway Age and RT&S subscribers—about what they think best exemplifies the spirit of railroad preservation today.”

The nomination period is open through March 31. For more information on the award, and to nominate a railroad preservation project, see the NRHS website.