The Streamlined Era For the industrial designer, no object was as enticing, dramatic, or attention-getting as the streamlined passenger train. Pulling together contemporary aeronautical theory and function, American designers in the 1930s created a whole new breed of streamlined trains with names such as Zephyr, Comet, Mercury, and 20th Century Limited — names that implied […]
A BC Rail freight rolls along the shore of Seton Lake, south of Lillooet, B.C. Dale Sanders In 1952, British Columbia pinned its future on a frontier railway. But the traffic didn’t follow, leaving the province to look for ways of rescuing its traffic-starved and cash-starved railway. A white knight came in the form of […]
As Don Sims explained in the August 2003 issue of TRAINS Magazine, Beaumont Hill is a railroader’s term, taken from the small town of Beaumont, Calif., very near the 2591-foot summit crest of the former Southern Pacific Sunset Route linking Los Angeles and New Orleans. While much has changed from author Sims’ account of 1950s […]
Hot spot: Cajon Pass, California Cajon Pass is profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. DescriptionHeavy mountain grade on BNSF Railway transcontinental (Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) main line with separate rights-of-way for the north and south tracks (Tracks 1 and 2, respectively); Union Pacific operates […]
If you want to know railroads, you’ve got to know Chicago. And Trains Magazine takes you there in its July 2003 Special Issue. You’ll see how 500 freight trains a day thread their way through the city, check in at the 30 active interlocking towers, pay homage to the city’s six great passenger stations, and […]
Tower 55 in Fort Worth, where the T&P crosses UP and BNSF lines, is one of four Texas locations profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below for Tower 55 information. DescriptionGrade-level crossing of double-track Union Pacific (ex-Texas & Pacific) and single-track BNSF Railway (ex-AT&SF) […]
CSX AC4400CW 37 rolls past Fostoria, Ohio’s F Tower on the point of southward grain train G061 on February 18, 2001. With two railroads, three main lines, diamonds, and an active tower, Fostoria provides countless opportunities and angles for train watchers. James B. Winters A triangle of steel rails cross each other, the echoes of […]
A CN intermodal hotshot heads east on the Dundas Subdivision at Bayview Junction in Hamilton, Ontario, on July 2, 1989. Howard Ande For a first-hand look at Canada’s major railways, there are few places better than Bayview Junction in Hamilton, Ontario, where two of Canadian National’s busiest lines converge at a wye. Canadian Pacific comes […]
Hutchinson, Kans., is generally thought of as a town to pass through, not a point of final destination. As rail enthusiasts and photographers head west to Curtis Hill, or follow the Union Pacific’s trackage into the southwest, they’re likely to pass through thinking it’s just a good place for gas and food. But “Hutch” offers […]
TRAIN-WATCHING HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TWIN CITIES HIAWATHA LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT LINE Runs from: Warehouse District/Hennepin Ave. in downtown Minneapolis along Hiawatha Avenue to MSP International Airport and Mall of America in Bloomington, 11.6 miles. Train frequency: Trains run daily, every 7-8 minutes during rush hours, every 10 minutes between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, every […]
A westbound CSX freight approaches the diamond at Palmer, Mass., in February of 2000. James B. Winters Palmer, Mass., is one of two New England hot spots profiled in Kalmbach’s Guide to North American Railroad Hot Spots by TRAINS Senior Editor J. David Ingles. Read below: DescriptionGrade-level crossing of CSX’s single-track Boston Subdivision (former Conrail […]
A westbound NortheastDirect train crosses the Susquehanna River at twilight in October 2000, seen from the Jean S. Roberts Memorial Park in Havre de Grace, Md. Dale R. Jacobson Halfway between Baltimore and Wilmington, Del., lie the cities of Perryville and Havre de Grace, Md., separated from each other by the Susquehanna River at the […]
