Katy steam

20190913

Missouri-Kansas-Texas 4-6-2 No. 385 leads the Katy Limited south of Dallas in February 1948. The railroad’s locomotives characteristically had lots of white trim along with enameled heralds on the tender sides. C.W. Witbeck photo […]

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Lindenwood Yard

20190903

St. Louis-San Francisco 4-8-2 No. 1516 leads train No. 1 through Lindenwood Yard in St. Louis in 1940. The Frisco had 30 such locomotives, Nos. 1500–1529, built by Baldwin beginning in 1923. William Barham photo, Don Wirth collection […]

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Man power

20190910

In the 1910s, automobiles were shipped as “knock-downs,” with the bodies removed from the chassis and then loaded in boxcars. This is Ford’s Highland Park, Mich., plant in 1915. Ford Motor Co. photo […]

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Canadian commuters

20190923

Following a freewheeling “flying switch” maneuver to change ends, No. 46 couples to its train at Dorval, Que., and departs with morning commuters bound for Montreal. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Escanaba in the daylight

20190924

The Escanaba & Lake Superior dieselized in the mid-1940s with Baldwin locomotives, including DS-4-4-660 No. 101, purchased new in November 1947. It was the second diesel on the property and one of two of the model. Classic Trains collection […]

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Factory fresh

20190927

  Railway Express Agency bought 500 new steel plug door reefers from American Car & Foundry in 1947-48. They initially wore a green and aluminum scheme, but were repainted all green in the 1950s. American Car & Foundry photo […]

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Fs for freight

20190920

Minneapolis & St. Louis was known for its freights that ran south from the Twin Cities through Iowa to Peoria, Ill., to connect with several eastern railroads there. This green-and-yellow set of F units was constructed in 1947, which is reflected in its road number. Classic Trains collection […]

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Protecting a GG1

20180907

A crossing watchman is out with his STOP sign to warn motorists to stay clear of a fast-moving Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 racing north at Seabrook, Md., in April 1963. William D. Middleton photo […]

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Decapod delight

20200521

Gainesville Midland 2-10-0 No. 207 churns its 56-inch drivers across the Southern Railway’s Washington–Atlanta main line at Gainesville, Ga. The short line, which rostered five such locomotives, extended 40 miles from Gainesville southeast to Athens. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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‘The Carpetbaggers’

20190813

Santa Fe 2-6-2 No. 1010 is seen at Pasadena, Calif., in 1963 as a prop in the movie “The Carpetbaggers.” It was also used on Death Valley Scotty’s famous special in 1905 and a television recreation in the 1950s. Santa Fe photo […]

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