Pecos River crossing Southern Pacific’s crossing over the Pecos River 65 miles west of Del Rio, Texas, stands 362 feet above the river. It opened in 1944. Southern Pacific photo […]
Pecos River crossing
Magazine: Classic Trains
Chesapeake Western
Chesapeake Western Chesapeake Western DS-4-4-660 No. 662 switches at Harrisonburg, Va., on September 15, 1958. It was one of three such 1946 Baldwins on the 54-mile road. J.W. Swanberg photo […]
Cars of the ‘Century’
Cars of the ‘Century’ Mail-baggage car No. 5020 had a 60-foot Railway Post Office section. The 20th Century Limited typically carried one such car per consist. There were four cars in the 5020-5023 series. Pullman-Standard photo […]
Giant turbine and diesel locomotives followed Union Pacific’s famous Big Boys
Union Pacific’s fascination with large, single-unit freight locomotives did not end when it received the last of its 25 Big Boys in 1944. The railroad fielded fleets of powerful gas-turbine-electric and double-engined diesel locomotives in the 1950s and 1960s. […]
Lane Cutoff
Lane Cutoff Brand-new in mid-1936, one of the two City of Denver trains poses on the Lane Cutoff west of Omaha, a favorite spot for Union Pacific publicity photos. The portholed cab and booster units rode on two trucks each, but were connected by a span bolster, not couplers. Union Pacific photo […]
Faces of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s K4s steam locomotive
The recent announcement of a fresh start in the long effort to restore the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum’s class K4s steam locomotive No. 1361 is great news for Pennsylvania Railroad fans. More than any other locomotive, the K4 was the face of the steam-era PRR. For 40 years, the Pacific types could be found […]
Branch line service
Branch line service The Milwaukee Road ordered the lightweight EMD SDL39 for use on its light-rail branch lines. The railroad bought five of the locomotives in 1969 and followed with an order for another five in 1972. The 2,300-hp unit is equipped with a 12-cylinder 645E3 prime mover and 1,200-gallon fuel tank. EMD photo […]
Blue Ridge conqueror
Blue Ridge conqueror Norfolk & Western 2-8-8-2 No. 2174 climbs Blue Ridge Mountain east of Roanoke, Va., on Sept. 11, 1958. The railroad had 227 locomotives of the wheel arrangement in 10 classes. Ken Murry photo […]
‘San Francisco Overland’
‘San Francisco Overland’ Dressed in two-tone gray, FEF-1 816 and FEF-2 824 make 55 mph up Sherman Hill near Otto, Wyo., on October 21, 1949. Green flags and “1-27” in the 4-8-4s’ train indicator boxes tell that at least one other section of the San Francisco Overland is following. Ross B. Grenard Jr. photo […]
Freight guidance
Freight guidance Early covered hopper loaders were modified from boxcar loaders, often requiring workers to climb car ladders for access. This elevator is at Glenwood, Minn., in 1984. Bob Wise photo […]
Summer 2021
Welcome The most exciting sound Head End A potpourri railroad history, then and now Fast Mail Letters from readers on our Spring 2021 issue True Color One fine day on Sand Patch Mileposts Commentary by Kevin P. Keefe The Way It Was Tales from railfans and railroaders Car Stop Winnipeg trolleys Bumping Post PRR’s Pittsburgh […]
GP39
GP39 Chesapeake & Ohio No. 3909 is a GP39. It looks like a GP38 but it /has a single turbo stack in front of the dynamic brake fan. The GP39 was an “in-between” locomotive, using a smaller (12-cylinder) turbocharged 645 engine rated at 2,300 hp, putting it between the GP38 and GP40. It never became […]
