At the turn of the century even the smallest trains left little room for indoor model railroading Back before the “dawn of time,” say around 1860, the model train hobby was in its infancy, as was the full-size railroad industry. In fact, for decades, the development of model railways closely paralleled that of full-size railways. […]
Train Topic: History
A brief history of garden railroading
At the turn of the century even the smallest trains left little room for indoor model railroading Back before the “dawn of time,” say around 1860, the model train hobby was in its infancy, as was the full-size railroad industry. In fact, for decades, the development of model railways closely paralleled that of full-size railways. […]
A brief history of garden railroading
At the turn of the century even the smallest trains left little room for indoor model railroading Back before the “dawn of time,” say around 1860, the model train hobby was in its infancy, as was the full-size railroad industry. In fact, for decades, the development of model railways closely paralleled that of full-size railways. […]
Ask Trains from April 2006
Q Why do automobile rack cars have TTX Co. reporting marks but also bear a logo from a railroad? – Gary Gergye, Marietta, Ga. A This started in the early 1960s when autoracks first came into use. Flatcars, with TTX reporting marks, were pulled from the Trailer Train pool, but the racks were purchased by […]
Post-World War II East Broad Top timeline
East Broad Top 2-8-2 No. 12 pulls into Orbisonia station for another load of riders on Oct. 14, 1960, during the narrow-gauge’s reopening weekend. Don Wood photo June 24, 1951 Last of seven chartered railfan trips, dating to 1936, operates on EBT. Jan. 1, 1952 C. Roy Wilburn, who eventually would lead the railroad’s day-to-day […]
Online video extra: P&LE’s Unwanted Berkshires
Herron Rail Video archive In his The Unwanted Berkshires in the Spring 2004 issue of Classic Trains magazine, Jack Polaritz looks at the genesis and careers of Pittsburgh & Lake Erie 9401-9407, the last 2-8-4 design in America. After P&LE dieselized, the engines were stored, then reactivated in 1955 when another New York Central subsidiary, […]
Online video extra: P&LE’s Unwanted Berkshires
Herron Rail Video archive In his The Unwanted Berkshires in the Spring 2004 issue of Classic Trains magazine, Jack Polaritz looks at the genesis and careers of Pittsburgh & Lake Erie 9401-9407, the last 2-8-4 design in America. After P&LE dieselized, the engines were stored, then reactivated in 1955 when another New York Central subsidiary, […]
The General
Pennsylvania Railroad’s coast-to-coast air-rail service, run jointly with the Santa Fe and Trancontinental Air Transport, was championed by PRR president Gen. William Wallace Atterbury. (A promotional video clip of that service is available on our site. See the link at the bottom of this story.) The Winter 2003 issue of Classic Trains magazine takes an […]
Baltimore & Ohio timeline
Baltimore & Ohio timeline: 1827 Charter approved 1828 Official start of construction on July 4 1830 Scheduled service begins, Baltimore-Ellicotts Mills, May 24 1831 Service begins to Frederick, Md. 1832 Service begins to Point of Rocks, Md. 1835 Service begins on Relay-Washington branch, construction having begun in 1833 1837 Potomac River bridged at Harper’s Ferry, […]
The history of Baltimore & Ohio’s Shepherd Branch
Returning to Benning Yard, CSX local B701 makes its way slowly north on the historic Shepherd Industrial Track, near Anacostia Park in Washington, D.C. Mike Schaller The Baltimore & Ohio was the first railroad to serve Washington, D.C., completing a branch from its main line at Relay, Md., in August 1835. To reach markets south […]
Ready to serve the nation
Here’s a variation on a familiar World War II theme, the diverse geographical backgrounds of men serving together in the armed forces. It comes to us in the form of some faded sheet music dedicated to the Military Railway Service. The rousing anthem “Railroaders Always” is of interest in its own right, but the cover […]
Close Call for the Scout
I hired out in 1944 with the Santa Fe as an agent/operator apprentice and in August was assigned to the agent/operator pool. In about a year I was 26th up from the bottom of the list, so I was able to successfully bid on some openings. One night in about 1946, I was working relief […]