The final Frontier Central’s Frontier Yard, formally opened on March 14, 1956, replaced eight smaller yards in the Buffalo area, slashing classification time per car from 27 hours to 9. New York Central photo […]
The final Frontier
Lonely Rock Island
Lonely Rock Island An inbound Rock Island commuter train arrives at the mostly vacant LaSalle Street Station on Dec. 27, 1972. The Chicago skyline shown here is drastically different from what visitors today would see. Denny Hamilton photo […]
Pennsy power
Pennsy power A Pennsylvania Railroad M1 4-8-2 and a pair of PA passenger diesels, both assigned to helper service, are seen at Ralston, Pa., on a damp May 4, 1957. Note the crewman climbing the steam locomotive. Jim Shaughnessy photo […]
Scenic wonder
Scenic wonder Curved windows along the edge of the roof give the Santa Fe’s Hi-Level lounges, a signature of the all-coach El Capitan, a bright, airy feeling. A smaller lounge-buffet is on the lower level. Budd Co. photo […]
Articulated study
Articulated study Pittsburgh & West Virginia 1102, from the first group of 2-6-6-4s, is in as-built condition at Rook, Pa., in May 1940, with footboards and tender booster. The 132-mile railroad had seven such locomotive. Nos. 1100–1102, built 1934, had boosters on rear tender truck, which were removed in 1944. Harold K. Vollrath collection […]
Rock Island resourcefulness
Rock Island resourcefulness The Rock Island converted an old flatcar to a ramp in Sioux Falls, S.D., in 1961. One truck and coupler is still in place (note the wheel stops on the track just to the right of the ramp). D. E. Winter photo […]
Before the whiteout
Before the whiteout Wearing the handsome yellow, black, and red Kansas City Southern passenger-diesel livery, E8 No. 28 is at Sallisaw, Okla., with the New Orleans-Kansas City Southern Belle in June 1962. KCS began using a version of this paint scheme, introduced with the Belle in 1940. The railroad later went to all-red and all-white […]
Two railfan friends take a great F-unit safari
By the mid-1960s, the appearance of F units on freights along Union Pacific’s main line through southern Wyoming was rare to nonexistent at best. All of the road’s F3s and F7s had been traded to EMD by the end of 1964 for replacement units in the form of GP30s, GP35s, and DD35s. However, there […]
Baldwin’s best?
Baldwin’s best? Baldwin’s best-known diesels are its sharknose cab units, in particular the DR-4-4-15 and RF-16 freight units that became favorites among railfans. Here DR-4-4-15 demonstrator 6001 and a booster pause at Des Moines, Iowa, on the Wabash in 1950. Louis A. Marre collection […]
Central Railroad of New Jersey: A history
History of the Central Railroad of New Jersey At its peak, the Central Railroad of New Jersey, the self-proclaimed “Big Little Railroad,” operated only about 700 route-miles, but in keeping with its densely populated region, totaled over 1,900 miles of track, two-thirds in New Jersey. CNJ’s Central Division extended from Jersey City to Phillipsburg, on […]
Seatrain at anchor
Seatrain at anchor Wearing the shipping line’s distinctive stylized railroad track funnel markings, Seatrain Georgia and a sister are moored at Edgewater, N.J. The dock crane was fixed, so precise positioning was crucial. […]
Central Railroad of New Jersey, passenger trains
All through June 2021, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Jersey Central passenger trains, first published online in February 2019. Only from Classic Trains. […]
