Covered in coal dust, Chessie System GP40-2 No. 4156 and a mate in Baltimore & Ohio blue lead a coal train onto the Old Main Line at Point of Rocks, Md., in 1983. Michael S. Murray photo […]
Dirty kitty
Magazine: Classic Trains
Don Sims covers Nevada Northern Railway
The Nevada Northern Railway might be the most remote railroad attraction in the Lower 48, and it’s also one of the most valuable. Just ask any of the thousands of people who make the trek each year out to windswept Ely, the east-central Nevada town that hosts one of our finest steam operations. Headlined by […]
Clover Valley Lumber
Baldwin Locomotive Works built 2-6-6-2T No. 4 for Clover Valley Lumber Co. of Loyalton, Calif., in March 1924. Shown here in 1950, it also served Feather River Lumber Co. at Loyalton, Calif., before going to the Pacific Locomotive Association in July 1973. Guy L. Dunscomb photo […]
California Limited
The Santa Fe’s fastest scheduled train in 1905 was the all-Pullman California Limited, with a Los Angeles–Chicago running time of 66 hours. Compact 4-6-0 No. 54 does the honors on this day with six cars in tow. Santa Fe Railway photo […]
Broad way
The Pennsylvania Railroad’s wide four-track main line was known as the “broad way,” as seen at Braddock, Pa., near Pittsburgh. The name eventually migrated to the road’s passenger fleet, giving rise to the famed Broadway Limited. Union Switch & Signal Co. photo […]
A Tiffany jewel
Chicago & North Western SD45 No. 905 and SD40 No. 927 make a fine sight leading eastbound train No. 576 across the Tiffany Stone Bridge at Tiffany, Wis., on Feb. 15, 1977. The arch bridge, which spans Turtle Creek, was built in 1869. David Franzen photo […]
A switcher saved
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 […]
