The Budd Co. of Philadelphia introduced its self-propelled Rail Diesel Car in 1949. The RDC came in five versions with different arrangements of passenger, baggage, and mail compartments. Here, a train of Baltimore & Ohio Speedliners, as B&O called its RDC’s, is stopped at Cumberland, Md., during a westbound run in the early 1950s. B&O […]
Western Maryland 4-6-6-4 1203 rounds famous Helmstetter’s Curve west of Cumberland, Md., with a train for Connellsville, Pa., on May 15, 1953. Edward Theisinger photo […]
After a two-year absence — and a late reversal of a decision made earlier in the year – the CSX Santa Train returned for its 110-mile run on the railroad’s former Clinchfield route between Shelby Yard in Pikeville, Ky., and Kingsport, Tenn, on Saturday. The train, marking its 80th anniversary, drew large crowds en route. […]
I recently wrote “Burlington Northern locomotive one-offs” featuring five Electro-Motive Division diesels, including unique paint schemes, rebuilds, and test subjects. This time, I dug through my negative collection and found eight Burlington Northern freight car one-offs. Most of the photos are from family travels throughout northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota between the early 1980s […]
The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie’s cantilever bridge across the Ohio River at Beaver City, Pa., opened in 1910. The total length of the cantilever is 1,400 feet, with 769 feet between piers. Historic American Engineering Record photo […]
Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad, operator of the Cass Scenic Railroad, has announced a series of special events: — Steam Rail Heritage Weekend trains Nov. 4-6; — Rare steam winter excursions Dec. 2-4 and 9-11, 2022; — The return of West Virginia Central Railroad excursions, powered by classic diesel locomotives, from Elkins to Tygart Junction and […]
Virginian & Ohio photo tribute. W. Allen McClelland, builder of the freelanced HO scale Virginian & Ohio, passed away on October 28, 2022. You can read his obituary here. In this photo gallery, we’ll take a look at images from both versions of the V&O. The photos are from Andy Sperandeo’s article “Allen McClelland’s trendsetting […]
Two ex-Virginian Railway EL-C electrics roll a train of coal hoppers west of Roanoke, Va., in 1961. Norfolk & Western had absorbed the Virginian in 1959, and shut down the smaller road’s electric operations in 1962. John Dziobko photo […]
The most expensive 2-8-4s were Louisville & Nashville’s “Big Emma” M-1s. Perhaps no latter-day steam locomotive wheel arrangement matched the 2-8-4 for dual service, a term for overall efficiency across multiple assignments. Introduced in 1924 by Lima Locomotive Works as the first exponent of what it called “Super Power” — a promotional phrase to highlight […]
On the 3-foot-gauge East Broad Top, Reading Company boxcar 102395 — transferred to narrow-gauge trucks at the PRR-EBT interchange at Mount Union, Pa. — rides between an EBT 2-8-2 Mikado and hopper car. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Metal rail joiners are a poor conductor of electricity. As shown in this video, soldering the rail joints improves electrical conductivity and provides more reliable locomotive operation. […]
The 2022 Lionel Legacy SD40-2 is no stranger to the train-maker’s catalog. The most recent release is the first since 2018. For this round, announced in 2022 Volume 1, Lionel offered four road names and five paint schemes each with a powered and non-powered option. The railroads offered were Burlington Northern; BN in a Spirit […]
