Looking west at Frankfort, Ind., in 1944, we see the westbound yard with its east-end ladder angling off to the right, and in the distance the eastbound yard’s east ladder running the other way. Beyond the east yard ladder are the icing platform and the ice plant. Jay Williams photo […]
Section: Photos and Videos
Inside Nickel Plate’s Conneaut roundhouse
In the Nickel Plate Road’s roundhouse at Conneaut, Ohio — one of the last citadels of high-speed steam freight locomotives — Berkshire 731 and another engine rest on March 16, 1957. Classic Trains coll. […]
History According to Hediger: Riding the Auto-Train
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Planes, trains, automobiles, and even a tornado, this episode has it all! Jim recounts his trip to Florida in the 1970s on the then-new Auto-Train, but half the adventure proved to be just getting to the station! Related Topics: history according to hediger […]
History According to Hediger: Fantrip on the Wabash
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page It’s into the Way-Back Machine for this episode of History According to Hediger. In 1959 Jim was part of a fantrip on the Wabash RR, put on by the Michigan Railroad Club, and he shares many great pictures from the event in this […]
History According to Hediger: The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Ry.
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Back in the 1970s Jim Hediger and Model Railroader‘s then new editor, Russ Larson, took a fall trip to ride the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Ry., one of the famous western narrow gauge lines. Jim shares the story, complete with some great photographs […]
Dick Iannacone’s realistic S gauge layout
Inspired by a lifelong love of American Flyer trains and the beauty of his home, New England, Dick Iannacone built this highly realistic 16 x 20-foot S gauge layout set in the steam-to-diesel transition period of the late 1930s into the 1950s. Enjoy additional photos of his outstanding layout in the gallery below. […]
Omaha Road local departing Minneapolis
Bound for Ashland, Wis., on Lake Superior, the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha’s local train No. 508 departs Minneapolis on August 4, 1950. Drawn by 4-6-2 No. 500, the train’s consist suggests that its mission involved considerably more express and mail than passenger traffic. The “Omaha Road” was a Chicago & North Western subsidiary. […]
Roller-bearing stunt on the Western Maryland
In a stunt meant to demonstrate the free-rolling characteristics of freight cars equipped with Timken roller bearings, three women — Jackie White, Jean Crow, and Chris Roberts — heave on a new 55-ton hopper car at Western Maryland’s Port Covington yard in Baltimore in the 1950s. Classic Trains coll. […]
SP yard at Dunsmuir, Calif.
With Mt. Shasta rising in the background, a Baldwin road-switcher works the Southern Pacific yard at Dunsmuir, Calif., in the 1950s. Mac LeFebre photo […]
GG1 helping a Metroliner
Amtrak GG1 No. 912 dashes through the snow at Bowie, Md., with a four-car Metroliner train in February 1978. The high-speed M.U.’s did not do well in snow, and were often towed by GG1’s when the flakes began to fly. Walter Feibelman photo […]
Video: History according to Hediger 7: A real railroading story from our senior editor
Having trouble viewing this video? Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader Senior Editor Jim Hediger worked on the Wabash RR as a relief operator. Listen as Jim tells the story of how he learned not stand on the wrong side of the diamond when a freight train passed by. You’ll also see […]
B&O Q-4 Mikado in Indiana
Baltimore & Ohio class Q-4 2-8-2 No. 4479 steps along a manicured right of way with a westbound freight near Walkerton, Ind., in the early 1950s. Linn H. Westcott photo […]