Stuart tanks and crated loads on flatcars tell of the herculean effort of American industries, including railroads, to bring victory in World War II. Classic Trains collection […]
Railroads at war
Section: Railroads
Riverside running
Boston & Maine’s train to Berlin, N.H., follows the Connecticut River north of White River Junction, Vt. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
Royalty in the making
On May 29, 1950, workers put the finishing touches on brand-new Norfolk & Western J Class 4-8-4 No. 611 at Roanoke, Va. It was one of four such engines outshopped in 1950 and would come to be the face of successor Norfolk Southern’s steam program in the 1980s and 1990s. Norfolk & Western photo […]
Semi-streamlined
With white extra flags flying, Minneapolis & St. Louis 2-8-2 No. 611 leads a sugar beet extra out of Hopkins, Minn., in 1946. The Mikado was built by Schenectady in 1918. Classic Trains collection […]
Station scene
Rock Island FTs lead a train past the South Washington, Iowa, station in 1948. The railroad had 30 FT A units, Nos. 70-99, and 16 FT B units, Nos. 70B-73B and 88B-99B. Classic Trains collection […]
Official inspection
Southern Pacific General Manager W.D. Lamprecht’s business car rides the rear of train No. 28 as it passes the helpers on Extra 6311 West at Midas, Calif., on Donner Pass in October 1957. In the foreground, the conductor of the freight walks forward to inspect his train. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Ohio Mountains
Homemade T-3 4-8-2 Mountains Nos. 5592 and 5558 lead a westbound Baltimore & Ohio freight past J Tower at the west end of the Willard, Ohio, yard. Forty such locomotives were rebuilt in 1942-1948 at the road’s Mount Clare Shops in Baltimore from older 4-6-2s and 2-8-2s. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Pontiacs to the people
Open-side auto racks, like these hauling new Pontiacs, were common from the 1960s into the 1970s. Louisville & Nashville photo […]
Premier service
The westbound Sunset Limited, right, and eastbound Golden State Limited — the premier trains on their respective routes — meet near Colton, Calif. Classic Trains collection […]
Prototype
Original dome car Silver Dome was at Lincoln, Neb., in 1963. It was different from production model dome cars with its square windows and corner vents. Jim C. Seacrest photo […]
C-Liners
Fairbanks-Morse C-Liners, Nos. 4802 and 4801, shown at Milwaukee, could reach speeds of 110 mph. However, these passenger locomotives proved to be unreliable. Norton D. Clark photo […]
Coal drag
One of Norfolk & Western’s 81 big Y6-class 2-8-8-2s handles a long coal drag at Blue Ridge, Va., in the mid-1950s. Jim McClellan photo […]
