An eastbound Toledo, Peoria & Western local behind olive-green-and-gold Alco RS2 No. 204 rolls across a steel bridge near Forrest, Ill., on Feb. 27, 1960. At the time, the road operated between Effner, on the Indiana-Illinois border, and Keokuk, Iowa, on the Mississippi River. J. Parker Lamb Jr. photo […]
Section: Photo of the Day
Harvey’s house
Harvey House restaurants were a staple of Santa Fe stations in the west, celebrated for quality food no matter the location, as well as for their “Harvey Girls.” Mabel Wells collection […]
Golden Spike centennial
Railroad fans of all stripes congregate at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1969, for the Golden Spike centennial celebration, including a trainload that came from New York City behind High Iron 2-8-4 No. 759 and a Union Pacific streamliner west of Kansas City. Arthur W. Zimmerla, collection of Arthur A. Zimmerla […]
Crumple zone
Rio Grande F7 No. 5661 struck a standing train at Thistle, Utah, on Dec. 19, 1963. Much of the impact energy was released just behind the cab, which remains intact. James H. Karle photo […]
Chicago’s Outer Belt
An eastbound Elgin, Joliet & Eastern freight is headed by 2-8-2 No. 747 about 2 miles east of Joliet, Ill. For years the road promoted itself as a Chicago bypass. R.H. Braun photo […]
Central of Georgia
Dual-service GP7 No. 129 rolls through the Columbus, Ga., station in April 1960 wearing paint reminiscent of the Baltimore & Ohio. The road would become a Southern Railway subsidiary in 1963, bringing the parent company’s paint scheme to the 1,800-mile road. Norm Herbert photo […]
1954
The year and locomotive number are the same – 1954 – as one of Louisville & Nashville’s big M-1-class “Big Emma” 2-8-4s leads an Atlanta-bound freight out of Decoursey Yard in Kentucky, a few miles south of Cincinnati. Louisville & Nashville photo […]
Scenic Limited in the Royal Gorge
A 4-6-0 and 4-8-4 lead Denver & Rio Grande Western’s westbound Scenic Limited into the Royal Gorge west of Canon City in 1942. William Moedinger photo […]
MoPac Colorado Eagle E6
A metal emblem and lettering on the nose of Missouri Pacific E6 No. 7002 touts the diesel’s initial assignment to the joint MoPac-Rio Grande Colorado Eagle. When this photo was made in April 1948, the unit was preparing to depart St. Louis with the westbound Royal Gorge, another MoPac-D&RGW operation. Rick Church photo […]
Lackawanna local at Hackettstown, N.J.
A Lackawanna Railroad local train is near the end of its Hoboken–Washington (N.J.) run as mail bags and other items are unloaded from its combine car during the station stop at Hackettstown, N.J., in 1947. Aaron G. Fryer photo […]
Tower A-2
Milwaukee Road 4-6-4 No. 135 passes Tower A-2 at Western Avenue in Chicago with a suburban run to Elgin in June 1953. Robert R. Malinoski photo […]
Jawn Henry
Steam-turbine-electric No. 2300 Jawn Henry — N&W’s bid for a coal-fired future — drops down Virginia’s Christianburg Hill with its own doghouse-equipped water tender, an extra canteen, the road’s dynamometer car, and tidewater-bound coal loads. LeRoy A. Scott photo […]