Northeast commuter trains per day: 2005

Northeast commuter trains map image

Think you’re in a hurry to get to work? The 3,170 trains on this map make it their business to hustle, with a purposefulness matched only by the riders packed aboard their coaches. This is a snapshot of the commuter trains that run every weekday in the Northeast. Without them, some of the biggest cities […]

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AC traction: a motive power boss’s perspective

EDITOR’S NOTE: When we asked the Class I railroads for input on the May 2010 locomotive column on the subject of A.C. traction diesels, Norfolk Southern Assistant Vice President-Mechanical Don Graab responded by email and provided us some great detail. What follows is his perspective on why some railroads order only A.C. diesels, some D.C., […]

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Tricky toy train terms

The toy train hobby, like any other, has its own language. We at Classic Toy Trains try to avoid using confusing jargon wherever possible, but we know there are some terms we use that may confuse new readers. Even if you’ve enjoyed trains for years, you may still run across terms that aren’t clear, or […]

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Gliding through Elm Grove, Wisconsin

Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern SD40-3 no. 6097 is on point of train 486 as it glides through Elm Grove, WI on its way south to Chicago. This train’s counterpart, 487, will head west to the Twin Cities later in the day. Photo by Drew Halverson […]

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Amtrak station volumes in 2007

Amtrak station volumes in 2007 map image

Across the country, the stories play out simultaneously on a weekday morning: Two businessmen headed for the 8:03 Boston-bound Acela Express dive into the crowd at New York’s Penn Station; a cluster of Purdue University students shuffles down the platform at Lafayette, Ind., for a ride on the Hoosier State to Chicago; and a conductor […]

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Railroad bottlenecks in 2035

Railroad bottlenecks in 2035 map image

What will railroading look like 27 years from now? Will yards be jammed, main lines clogged, and trains backed up from terminals for 30 miles or more? Or will routes be fluid, with freights roaring by every 8 to 10 minutes on main lines three, four, and even six tracks wide? Either future could happen, […]

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Burlington Route freight trains, 1947

Burlington freight, 1947 map thumbnail

If you want a glimpse of railroad operations six decades ago, this map of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy provides a window. It’s based on Burlington’s November 1947 freight train operating plan, a chart of schedules furnished to company officers. (Our map was modified to put eastbounds and westbounds on one page and converted to […]

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Natural resources in Kansas City Southern’s territory

Kansas City Southern natural resources map image

This map of the Kansas City Southern and Louisiana & Arkansas (just prior to their 1939 operational merger) is based on a document undoubtedly produced by the KCS traffic department to show shippers the abundance of natural resources within the roads’ territory. KCS founder Arthur Stilwell had left his secure position with a Hartford insurance […]

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Amtrak trains on May 1, 1971

Trains Magazine looks at passenger trains per day across the United States in its May 2010 issue. Our “Map of the Month” compares today’s train volumes with those Amtrak was running on its first day of operation, May 1, 1971, and what was running the day before. Check out the May issue and see which […]

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News & Products for March 25, 2010

American Model Builders Inc. HO scale Great Northern and Burlington Northern wood transfer caboose

HO scale locomotives United States Railroad Administration heavy and light Mikado steam locomotives. Heavy: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Chicago & North Western; Missouri Pacific RR; New Haven; Nickel Plate Road; Southern Ry.; and Western Pacific. Light: Canadian National, Florida East Coast, Lehigh & Hudson, Maine Central, National Ry. of Mexico, New York Central (Indiana […]

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