Labor intensive Hundred-pound sacks of flour are stacked in a single-sheathed Rock Island boxcar at Minneapolis in 1939. The paper lining helps protect the bags. John Vachon, Library of Congress photo […]
Labor intensive
Capitol-bound
Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 No. 4890 rolls past C Tower, a mile from its destination, Washington Union Station. This locomotive survives on display at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wis. E. John Long photo […]
Diesel slumber
A variety of road-freight locomotives, including EMD Geeps and Alco FAs, stand at the servicing tracks at New York Central’s West Detroit, Mich., terminal in the early 1960s. J. David Ingles photo […]
Blue Streak
The Cotton Belt’s Blue Streak rolls west of Mount Pleasant, Texas, on Oct. 1, 1931. The train is led by 4-6-0 No. 659, built by Baldwin in 1913. Formally known as the St. Louis Southwestern, the railroad began as the 3-foot-gauge Tyler Tap Railroad between Tyler and Big Sandy, Texas, in the 1870s. Harold K. Vollrath […]
Mountain meet
Westbound and eastbound Western Star streamliners meet along Whitefish Lake near Whitefish, Mont., in the 1950s. Great Northern photo […]
Remembering Texas & Pacific Railway locomotives
Classic Trains editors are celebrating the heritage, history, and lore of famed (and infamous) railroads. In June 2020, we celebrate the Texas & Pacific Railway. Please enjoy a collection of locomotive images located in the David P. Morgan Library archives at Kalmbach Media that include the T&P’s iconic locomotives and classic scenic photos. You might […]
Yooper utility
Two of the Lake Superior & Ishpeming’s three Alco RS2 road-switchers power one of the railroad’s freight trains. The LS&I, which once stretched 103 miles linking Munising, Marquette, and Ishpeming in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, continues to haul iron ore. A. C. Kalmbach photo […]
Trailer On Train Express
Louisville & Nashville converted these 43-foot flatcars for trailer-on-flatcar service in 1955 by adding rub rails and jack connections. L&N marketed its service as “TOTE,” Trailer On Train Express.The trailers are an exterior-post, 32-foot type. Louisville & Nashville photo […]
Steam queen
With the westbound Pocahontas in tow, Norfolk & Western J class 4-8-4 No. 611 passes the tower at South Norfolk, Va., in July 1957. The locomotive still steams occasionally for Virginia Transportation Museum in Roanoke. H. Reid photo […]
Safety comes in cans
I can. You can. We can. Chessie System reminded its employees to remain safe on the job with this sign at Barr Yard near Chicago. Jim Hediger photo […]
Quintessential New England
Montpelier & Wells River 2-8-0 No. 20, a former Boston & Maine engine, leads train 1 with a milk car behind the tender. A combine brings up the rear of the mixed train. The M&WR, which linked its namesake Vermont communities with a 44-mile route, operated six locomotives and one passenger car in 1944. William […]
Pueblo pause
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy’s Texas Zephyr, with Colorado & Southern-lettered E5 No. 9955 on the point, pauses at Pueblo on Jan. 23, 1966. The Burlington acquired control of the C&S in 1908, gaining a route from Denver to the Gulf of Mexico at Galveston, Texas, and a route from Denver north into Wyoming. Steve Patterson photo […]
