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Remembering the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway

In historic TH&B turf, against the backdrop of Lake Ontario and amid the vineyards at aptly named Vinemount, Ontario, Geeps 76 and 77 roll the Port Maitland local east on March 29, 1982. Greg McDonnell History of the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Canada, thanks to its two transcontinental giants after 1923, had few small “regional” […]
Unintended clearance test

At the time of their merger in 1968, both the Pennsylvania and New York Central had extensive intermodal operations, with PRR using conventional Trailer Train cars in piggyback service and NYC using Flexi-Van equipment in an early form of containerized traffic. Penn Central retained both systems initially, but Flexi-Van traffic gradually declined. By late […]
Proud passenger power

Three Southern Railway E8s curve through Atlanta with the New Orleans cars of the Southern Crescent, running in two sections this August 1977 day. Southern began painting its passenger steam power green with gold trim in the 1920s. Its early passenger diesels wore an ornate green-white-gold livery, simplified in the 1940s to match the lines of […]
Labor intensive

Labor intensive Hundred-pound sacks of flour are stacked in a single-sheathed Rock Island boxcar at Minneapolis in 1939. The paper lining helps protect the bags. John Vachon, Library of Congress photo […]
Capitol-bound

Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 No. 4890 rolls past C Tower, a mile from its destination, Washington Union Station. This locomotive survives on display at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wis. E. John Long photo […]
Diesel slumber

A variety of road-freight locomotives, including EMD Geeps and Alco FAs, stand at the servicing tracks at New York Central’s West Detroit, Mich., terminal in the early 1960s. J. David Ingles photo […]
Blue Streak

The Cotton Belt’s Blue Streak rolls west of Mount Pleasant, Texas, on Oct. 1, 1931. The train is led by 4-6-0 No. 659, built by Baldwin in 1913. Formally known as the St. Louis Southwestern, the railroad began as the 3-foot-gauge Tyler Tap Railroad between Tyler and Big Sandy, Texas, in the 1870s. Harold K. Vollrath […]
Mountain meet

Westbound and eastbound Western Star streamliners meet along Whitefish Lake near Whitefish, Mont., in the 1950s. Great Northern photo […]
Remembering Texas & Pacific Railway locomotives

Classic Trains editors are celebrating the heritage, history, and lore of famed (and infamous) railroads. In June 2020, we celebrate the Texas & Pacific Railway. Please enjoy a collection of locomotive images located in the David P. Morgan Library archives at Kalmbach Media that include the T&P’s iconic locomotives and classic scenic photos. You might […]
Yooper utility

Two of the Lake Superior & Ishpeming’s three Alco RS2 road-switchers power one of the railroad’s freight trains. The LS&I, which once stretched 103 miles linking Munising, Marquette, and Ishpeming in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, continues to haul iron ore. A. C. Kalmbach photo […]
Trailer On Train Express

Louisville & Nashville converted these 43-foot flatcars for trailer-on-flatcar service in 1955 by adding rub rails and jack connections. L&N marketed its service as “TOTE,” Trailer On Train Express.The trailers are an exterior-post, 32-foot type. Louisville & Nashville photo […]