Download this free 21-page PDF download to read the stories of a field engineer, a young brakeman, and a locomotive fireman. Their stories uncover the adventures of riding and working on the Alco RS3, the C&NW freight, and the Union Pacific 4-8-4. […]
Section: Railroads
Spacing of steam ‘chuffs’
A conventional two-cylinder locomotive like this one exhausts four times per wheel revolution. This is thanks to the position of the valves. Library of Congress Q At low speed, the four “chuffs” a steam engine makes per wheel rotation all sound the same to me, but at higher speed I think I hear a four-beat […]
Road to Oblivion
Financial hardships, highway competition, and inadequate maintenance and investment led to the abandonment of a wide array of railroads. Take a look at our free 45-page PDF download to uncover the history behind the following railroads: The formation of the Wisconsin & Calumet Railroad and the different rail lines it operated, restored, and acquired. How the Vicksburg Route changed […]
BL2s and Pullmans to the Stock Yards
A pair of Rock Island BL2s, with an F7B between them, led the “Fat Stock Special” one night in 1956. Monty Powell In November 1956 I was a management trainee on the Rock Island Railroad in Rock Island, Ill. A special movement known as “the Fat Stock Special,” which originated in western Iowa, was coming […]
Western Rail photo gallery and roster
FULL SCREEN Tom Danneman GE B23-7 No. 4201, built for Conrail in 1978 FULL SCREEN Tom Danneman EMD SW14 No. 102, built for Illinois Central in 1951 FULL SCREEN Tom Danneman EMD GP30 No. 2508, built for Rio Grande in 1962 FULL SCREEN Tom Danneman EMD GP9R No. 8319, built for Southern Pacific in 1955 […]
Steam engine water treatment
A water tank on the Pacific Coast Railroad in Washington displays discoloration brought by impurities in the local water. Al Farrow photo, Martin E. Hansen collection Q Did steam locomotive operators test the water prior to filling the tender? Was water treated then or prior to filling the tank? Without treatment would there have been […]
Trains Presents: Cumbres & Toltec narrow gauge photo freight experience
Ride along on Trains‘ August 2018 photo charter experience commemorating the end of revenue freight operations on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad’s narrow gauge route through New Mexico and Colorado 50 years ago in 1968. Along the way, you’ll see double-headed 2-8-2s Mikado-type steam locomotives, helper engines, and classic railroad action on the […]
Trains Presents: Nashville steam revival
Learn more about the Nashville steam restoration project and 4-8-4 No. 576! You’ll hear from the people involved in the project and examine the locomotive in its current state. […]
Trains Photo Contest 2019: Go West!
2018 Grand Prize: Todd Halamka Having lived and worked in Chicago for nearly my entire adult life, the city continues to nurture two passions — buildings and trains. The Chicago River and the Loop elevated rail are two key components that define the urban core. The newly opened Chicago Riverwalk invites residents and visitors to […]
End details that add realism to heavyweight passenger cars
Passenger car end details were pretty standard and most followed the pattern used on sleeping cars built by the Pullman Co. The car in the photo is Crystal Point, a Pullman 3-compartment, 2-drawing-room, observation lounge assigned to the Milwaukee Road’s Olympian Hiawatha in 1947. A number of details are visible that appear on most cars […]
Trains Photo Contest 2018 Winners: Hometown Railroad
FULL SCREEN Runner-up: Before I was of driving age, I railfanned Tacoma, Wash., using my father’s small boat: buzzing up and down the Tacoma Narrows and other waterways, gathering knowledge of photography and railroad operations. After getting my license, I continued to photograph trains from the water. From my boat, May 5, 2013, in Tacoma, beachgoers […]
Trains Presents: Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad
Visit Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad with Editor Jim Wrinn. The train operates on a former Baltimore & Ohio line through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park south of Cleveland. You’ll see visiting Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765, tour cars from the famed California Zephyr, and much more! […]
