Steam prototype

20200213

The 2-10-4 wheel arrangement, the “Texas type,” originated with a modified Santa Fe 2-10-2 — No. 3829, built by Baldwin in 1919. The railroad would eventually roster 36 additional Texas-type locomotives, built by Baldwin between 1930 and 1944. T.H. Cole Jr. photo […]

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Story City service

20200206

In fall 1942, Minneapolis & St. Louis 2-6-0 No. 331 heads for Story City, Iowa, northwest from Minerva Junction and Marshalltown. In the 1950s, GE and Alco diesels would replace steam and the local would run just Tuesdays and Fridays. William F. Armstrong photo […]

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Mill town terminal

20200219

Northern Pacific L-9 class 0-6-0s 1082 and 1126 pause between work at Aberdeen, Wash., on a rare sunny day in 1954. Logs, lumber, sawmills, and shake mills dominate the economy here and in nearby Hoquiam, keeping several switch jobs busy. S-4 class 4-6-0s also toiled here. Tom Miller, Stephen Thompson collection […]

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Highballing Hudson

20200224

New York Central J-1 Hudson No. 5403 accelerates west at Mattoon, Ill., with an express train for St. Louis in September 1954. When built in in 1927, the Central was given to throwing up marble monuments of stations, running seven-section Centurys, and paying 8-percent dividends. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

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Locomotive profile: 2-6-6-2 Mallet steam locomotive

A 2-6-6-2 Mallet style steam locomotive ascends a grade in the Eastern United States.

A 2-6-6-2 Mallet style steam locomotive ascends a grade in the Eastern United States. Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society 2-6-6-2 •YEARS BUILT: 1906 to 1949 •MANUFACTURERS: Alco, Baldwin, Brooks •OPERATED ON: Railroads that hauled coal trains, and other heavy trains needing maximum tractive effort. Also used by some logging railroads in a tank engine version. […]

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Locomotive profile: 2-6-6-4 Class A type steam locomotive

Norfolk & Western 2-6-6-4 Class A type steam locomotive pulls an excursion train in 1988.

Norfolk & Western 2-6-6-4 Class A type steam locomotive pulls an excursion train in 1988. Jim Wrinn 2-6-6-4 •YEARS BUILT: 1934 to 1950 •MANUFACTURERS: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Norfolk & Western •OPERATED ON: Pittsburgh & West Virginia, Seaboard Air Line, Baltimore & Ohio, and Norfolk & Western •NAME: Norfolk & Western referred to the model as […]

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Locomotive profile: 2-8-2 Mikado type locomotive

Soo Line 2-8-2 Mikado type steam locomotive appears in Wisconsin.

Soo Line 2-8-2 Mikado type steam locomotive appears in Wisconsin. Jim Wrinn 2-8-2 •YEARS BUILT: 1901-1949 •MANUFACTURERS: Alco, Baldwin, Lima, Canadian, Montreal, a few homemade •OPERATED ON: Every North American railroad •NAME: Mikado •QUANTITY: 10,000; New York Central had almost 1,400 •BOILER PRESSURE: 190-200 psi •KNOWN FOR: Well-designed, smooth-running engine used mostly in freight service […]

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Locomotive profile: 4-4-0 American type steam locomotive

4-4-0 THE TEXAS WAS RESTORED IN 2017 FOR THE ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER.

4-4-0 THE TEXAS WAS RESTORED IN 2017 FOR THE ATLANTA HISTORY CENTER. Jim Wrinn 4-4-0 •YEARS BUILT: 1836 to 1928 •MANUFACTURERS: Rogers, Baldwin, Danforth, Mason, Hinkley •OPERATED ON: Nearly all North American railroads during the mid-1800s •NAMES: American, Eight Wheeler •QUANTITY: 25,000 •BOILER PRESSURE: 175 psi •KNOWN FOR: Served North American railroads during the 19th century. […]

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Locomotive profile: 4-6-2 Pacific type steam locomotive

Blue Mountain & Reading Pacific-type 4-6-2 No. 425 in Pennsylvania.

Blue Mountain & Reading Pacific-type 4-6-2 No. 425 in Pennsylvania. Jim Wrinn 4-6-2 •YEARS BUILT: 1902 to 1948 •MANUFACTURERS: Alco, Baldwin, Lima, Santa Fe, Baltimore & Ohio, Canadian Locomotive Co., Chicago Great Western, Milwaukee Road, Delaware & Hudson, Great Northern, Illinois Central, Lehigh Valley, Louisville & Nashville, New York Central, Norfolk & Western, Pennsylvania, Reading, […]

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Locomotive profile: 4-6-6-4 Challenger type steam locomotive

Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 Challenger type steam locomotive No. 3985 pulls an excursion in Iowa in 2002.

Union Pacific 4-6-6-4 Challenger type steam locomotive No. 3985 pulls an excursion in Iowa in 2002. Jim Wrinn 4-6-6-4 •YEARS BUILT: 1936 to 1947 •MANUFACTURERS: Alco, Baldwin •OPERATED ON: Union Pacific; Northern Pacific; Spokane, Portland & Seattle; Clinchfield; Delaware & Hudson; Western Pacific; Western Maryland; Denver & Rio Grande Western •NAME: Challenger •QUANTITY: 252; Union […]

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Locomotive profile: 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive

Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 No. 611 pulls an excursion in Virginia.

Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 No. 611 pulls an excursion in Virginia. Jim Wrinn 4-8-4 •YEARS BUILT: 1926 to 1950 •MANUFACTURERS: Baldwin, Lima, Alco, Canadian Locomotive Co., Canadian Pacific Railway, Montreal, Norfolk & Western •OPERATED ON: Most sizable railroads that provided fast freight and passenger service •NAME: Northern •QUANTITY: 1,115; Canadian National had more than 200 […]

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Locomotive profile: 4-8-8-4 Big Boy type steam locomotive

Union Pacific Big Boy type steam locomotive No. 4011 ross west at Granite, Wyoming, in 1956.

Union Pacific Big Boy type steam locomotive No. 4011 ross west at Granite, Wyoming, in 1956. Jim Ehernberger 4-8-8-4 •YEARS BUILT: 1941 to 1944 •MANUFACTURER: Alco •OPERATED ON: Union Pacific •NAME: Big Boy •QUANTITY: 25 •BOILER PRESSURE: 300 psi •KNOWN FOR: Among the heaviest and most powerful reciprocating-piston steam locomotives ever built •STATUS: Eight preserved: […]

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