An eastbound BNSF Railway train passes a stopped BNSF freight at “Summit” in California’s Cajon Pass in 2013 — this meet is one of several conditions which might require a locomotive bell to be sounded. Trains staff Q: What are the rules concerning when a train should ring its bell at a crossing or elsewhere? […]
A Canadian National train with Illinois Central-painted locomotives departs Chicago’s Markham Yard in 2017. TEH-17089-16 Jacob Metzger Q: When I was in the second grade, we took a field trip to what was then the largest freight yard in the country. That was over 50 years ago, when I lived in a Chicago suburb. I […]
[…]
Download this free 25-page PDF for a collection of thrilling railfan stories. Railfans reminisce on unforgettable cab rides they had with the Pennsylvania Railroad, Canadian National Railway, Canadian Pacific Railway, Illinois Central Railroad, and Grand Trunk Western Railroad. […]
Boston & Maine 4-6-2 3664 on train 241 to Portsmouth, N.H., paces E7 3811 on train 147 to Portland, Maine, at Somerville, Mass., on Aug. 8, 1946. Albert G. Hale The history and major events of B&M For 150 years the Boston & Maine Railroad was an integral part of northern New England, beginning with […]
WM 2-8-0s 824 and 840 darken the sky at Elkins, W.Va., as they push a coal train east. Ahead 25 miles is Hendricks, where more helpers will be added for the Blackwater Canyon grade. George C. Corey It is a hot summer morning in Hendricks, W.Va. The time is early July 1944. I am 7 […]
EMD SDP45s were the last passenger locomotives Great Northern purchased. A few months after the Burlington Northern merger, SDP45 No. 9860 leads the Western Star at Eureka, Mont., on September 7, 1970. Doug Wingfield photo […]
On September 5, 1956, the Santa Fe’s Chief and Fast Mail collided at Robinson, N.M., killing 20 passengers and crew. Here, sleeping car Pine Rapids and an F unit from the Chief rest perpendicular to the tracks after the incident. Johnny Casick photo […]
A Pennsylvania Railroad T1 4-4-4-4 pauses with an eastbound train at Fort Wayne, Ind. The railroad had 52 such “duplex” steam locomotives, along with other wheel arrangements. Robert A. Hadley photo […]
An eastbound milk train from Ogdensburg, N.Y., passes the joint Rutland/Central Vermont station at Alburgh, Vt., in October 1951, behind green-and-yellow Alco RS3 No. 204. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
In the Rocky Mountains, an agent hoops up orders to an eastbound freight at Thompson Falls, Mont., powered by W-5 class 2-8-2 No. 1849. John W. Maxwell photo […]
At terminal elevators, grain doors were stacked, collected, and sorted by the Western Weighing and Inspection Bureau for shipment back to originating railroads. These doors are stored by Milwaukee Road outside-braced boxcars. Library of Congress photo […]
