Western Pacific EMD SW1500 No. 1503 is one of only three such units built in 1973 for the fan-favorite western railroad. Today, it resides at the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, Calif., after being retired by successor Union Pacific. Vic Reyna photo […]
75,000th
This Alco PA, the company’s 75,000th locomotive, made its well-publicized debut on Track 61 at Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The company would make 16-cylinder PA-1 locomotives for Santa Fe, Rio Grande, Erie, New York Central, Union Pacific, and others. Alco photo […]
Train of Tomorrow observation lounge
The rear lounge section of Moon Glow, the dome-observation car of General Motors’ 1947 Train of Tomorrow, featured extra-wide curved windows, covered by drapes in this publicity photo. General Motors photo […]
Amtrak National Limited service through the years
Amtrak National Limited service began operation on May 1, 1971, linking New York City and Washington, D.C., with Kansas City. It carried Nos. 30-31. The route roughly paralleled that of Interstate 70, which links Baltimore and Kansas City. The name was a nod to a Baltimore & Ohio train serving Washington and St. Louis, but […]
Best-selling second-generation Electro-Motive diesel locomotives
Although a latecomer to the hood unit market, EMD became the dominant builder of road switchers with the GP7. Dynamic brakes are indicated by a protruding housing (“blister”) with grids atop the middle of the long hood, with rooftop cooling fans above it. The radiators are at the end of the hood, with an intake […]
Rare images of Reading 2102 on the P&LE
Of all the mainline steam locomotives running these days — and there is an uncanny amount of them — I can’t think of one with as many distinct transitions as Reading 4-8-4 No. 2102. By my count, she’s a cat with at least five lives, with four more to go, if you believe that sort […]
The Canadian departing Toronto
An FP7 and F7B depart Toronto with Canadian Pacific Railway train 11, The Canadian, in 1964. The 13-car train will rendezvous at Sudbury, Ont., with a section from Montreal, then continue west to Vancouver, B.C. J. David Ingles photo, Brian M. Schmidt collection […]
Spuyten Duyvil panorama
A mid-1940s view from the Henry Hudson Parkway bridge near the north end of New York City shows the converging New York Central lines at Spuyten Duyvil. An electric multiple-unit train out of Grand Central pulls away from Spuyten Duyvil station to head up the main line along the Hudson River. The West Side freight […]
Santa Fe parade at Joliet
FT diesels on a westbound Santa Fe freight idle in front of Joliet (Ill.) Union Station, waiting for the Chief, visible in the distance, to clear the block ahead in Fall 1951. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
Sacramento Northern rail and bus
Two interurban cars and a bus stand at the Sacramento Northern’s ramshackle shop complex in Oakland in 1940. Linn H. Westcott photo […]
NC&StL locomotives remembered
NC&StL locomotives were distinctive but disappeared all too soon. The Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railway had its share of unique items and was a pioneer. Historian Dain L. Schult says the “NC,” as it was known, was the only southern road to try a Camelback and a duplex; neither type worked out. It […]
5 traits of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad
Here are five traits of the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton that made it special. The DT&I was formed in 1905 with the combination of the Detroit Southern and Ohio Southern railroads. In 1920, automobile tycoon Henry Ford acquired the road, popularly to ensure a new River Rouge bridge could be built to ensure water […]