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 […]
SP “reverse commute” train
Section: Railroads
PRR Congressional observation car
During a preview trip, members of the press enjoy one of the new parlor-lounge-observation cars the Pennsylvania Railroad acquired from Budd for the March 1952 re-equipping of the Congressional and Senator. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
SCL piggyback train
Two Seaboard Coast Line GP40s lead a fast piggyback train through Neuse, N.C., a few miles north of Raleigh on the former Seaboard Air Line main line in June 1979. Curt Tillotson Jr. photo […]
Drew’s Trackside Adventures: Episode 38 – Race along the Rails
For their final two days in Alberta, Canada, Drew and The Crew find new places and perspectives for railfanning over Yellowhead Pass. Take a ride with Mike and KJ aboard a VIA Rail Canada regional run, before rejoining Drew (and some of his grizzly friends) for one last dash along CN’s Edson and Albreda Subdivisions. Don’t […]
West Virginia survivor
2-8-0 No. 4 of short line Buffalo Creek & Gauley works at Swandale, W.Va., in the early 1960s. After a spell at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, where it ran as “Southern Railway 604,” this engine is now at Cass, W.Va. Classic Trains coll. […]
Topping Tennessee Pass
At Mitchell, Colo., an eastbound freight train is about a mile short of Tennessee Pass on Oct. 5, 1947. In deference to the stiff grade, the 4-8-2 road engine is assisted by a 2-8-8-2 at mid-train and another 2-8-8-2 at the rear — all for a 30-car train. Ralph E. Hallock photo […]
Passenger car beds
A sleeping berth shown set for feet first in the direction of travel on an Amtrak long-distance train. Bob Johnston Q I previously understood that the safest position to sleep while traveling by train was with feet first, but the past Amtrak trips I took had the bed set up head first. Is there an […]
Trains Presents: New Raleigh station tour
Take a tour of the new Raleigh, N.C., station, which opened in May 2018. The facility serves both Amtrak long-distance and state-supported trains, but it’s designed to accommodate commuter and high speed rail services in the future. […]
Rush hour at North Western Terminal
Two Chicago & North Western Pacific-powered commuter trains (“scoots,” in local parlance) unload passengers at the road’s Windy City passenger terminal in June 1953. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
The “middle” order
Baldwin road-switcher 1615 passes the Hertford, N.C., depot with Norfolk Southern freight 88 in January 1965. A few months later, removal of a siding here would cause some confusion. Harry Bundy Telegraph operators working from the extra list rolled with the punches. They were on call 24/7, as they say now, to fill vacancies created […]
Where diesels go to the doctor
Home for the heaviest rebuild, repair, and repaint work on the Norfolk Southern system is the sprawling former Pennsylvania Railroad Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pa. The backshop is the heart of this operation in the Keystone State. Alex Mayes Diesel locomotives are amazing. They are built to withstand the rigors of service, running 24 hours […]
Colored dots on freight cars
Dots painted on trilevel auto racks indicate clearance heights. Rob Burnet Q I have seen colored painted dots on freight cars, mostly multilevel auto rack cars. What do they signify? – Rob Burnet, Etobicoke, Ont., Canada A Colored marks on auto multi-levels are to designate slightly different deck height clearances on trilevels. Orange dots indicate […]
