Passengers avail themselves of the swivel seats in one of Great Northern’s 1947 Empire Builder short-haul coaches. These cars had 60 seats; long-haul cars had 44 leg-rest seats. GN photo […]
Short-haul coach on the 1947 Empire Builder
Section: Railroads
Trains Presents: ‘Ferdinand Magellan’ Presidential railcar
The Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami holds one of the nation’s most famous passenger cars, the Ferdinand Magellan. The official private car of Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower was a rolling White House for these leaders. Step inside this unique car to learn more about how it was used and how it was specially […]
Polishing the rails for General Electric
New York Central S3 No. 9363 stands on the West Side line in Manhattan in 1967. Thirteen years earlier and 150 miles to the north, the road used another Alco switcher in a novel attempt to capture special-train business. Elliot Kahn, Louis A. Marre coll. In a lifetime of reading about railroading, I’ve seen the […]
Different paths, same destination
Cummins QSK95 test locomotive No. 1919 uses Selective Catalytic Reduction aftertreatment of its exhaust. The system is located in the wing overhang; a urea and water solution tank is inside the forward portion of the fuel tank below the forward air reservoir. Chris Guss With Environmental Protection Agency Tier 4 emission regulations in effect for […]
Nitrogen blankets
Q I heard the term “nitrogen blanket” in reference to a tank car. Could you explain what this is and what types of tank cars have these nitrogen blankets? – Mike Riley, Manchester, Mo. A The term “nitrogen blanket” refers to a padding (or a layer) of nitrogen gas put into a tank car to: […]
First run of the Olympian Hiawatha
Crowds have gathered at Tacoma, Wash., on June 29, 1947, to witness the departure of the Milwaukee Road’s Olympian Hiawatha on its first run to Seattle, Minneapolis, and Chicago. John F. Endler Jr. photo […]
Shortline Ten-Wheeler
Engine 304 of western New York state short line Dansville & Mount Morris, pictured in September 1955, was built in 1905 by Alco’s Brooks plant for the Nickel Plate Road. Philip R. Hastings photo […]
L&N 4-8-2 at Louisville
Handsome Louisville & Nashville 4-8-2 No. 412 stands at the head of Birmingham–Cincinnati train 8 at Louisville Union Station. Charles B. Castner photo […]
Trains Presents: Be the Engineer on the Nevada Northern Railway
Watch as Trains Associate Editor Steve Sweeney takes the engineer’s seat in a steam locomotive for the first time — ever — courtesy of Nevada Northern Railway. The historic Nevada railroad’s Be the Engineer program, is among the best known, but far from the only engineer or fireman program in the United States. Here’s an […]
Trains Presents: Preparing a steam locomotive at Nevada Northern Railway
Every steam locomotive needs special preparation before a day of service. Joins Trains Associate Editor Steve Sweeney for a behind-the-scenes look at how Nevada Northern Railway crews prepare 4-6-0 Baldwin-built No. 40 in East Ely, Nev., in May 2016. Only from Trains! […]
High-speed steam action
Louisville & Nashville 4-8-2 No. 407 on Cincinnati–Birmingham train 7 passes 2-8-0 No. 1212 on a northbound freight on double track 10 miles south of Louisville in November 1948. C. William Streit photo […]
SP “reverse commute” train
In 1958, Southern Pacific SD7 5330 pulls into Santa Clara, Calif., with all-stops train 151, due out of San Jose at 4:20 and into San Francisco at 5:50. Jim Davis photo […]
