Louisville & Nashville heavy 4-6-2 No. 295 was mechanically and cosmetically upgraded in 1940 for duty on the new South Wind streamliner. Some years later, No. 295 rests between runs at Louisville. Jack Fravert photo […]
L&N celebrity Pacific
Train Topic: Fallen Flags
Chicago & North Western locomotives remembered
In the steam age, most Chicago & North Western locomotives burned coal, but those assigned to divisions west of the Missouri River were oil burners; in addition, the four Pacifics rebuilt for the 400s were converted to oil. One group of light Pacifics was fitted with special grates for burning lignite, a low-grade coal. […]
The EMC TA Diesel – A Locomotive That Kind of Didn’t
The EMC TA diesel locomotive was an early passenger diesel and a Rock Island oddity. If it looks and sounds like an early EMC E-series streamlined diesel passenger locomotive, there is a good chance it is. But don’t bet the family farm. The locomotive in question is the EMC TA diesel, a […]
Chicago & North Western passenger trains remembered
Chicago & North Western passenger trains: All through December 2023, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the C&NW. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Chicago & North Western passenger trains, originally published online in May 2015. […]
Camelback on Starrucca
In an early 20th century photo, a Camelback locomotive, probably a 2-8-0, crosses the Erie Railroad’s Starrucca Viaduct with a westbound freight. Completed in 1848 at Lanesboro, Pa., on the Erie’s main line west to Binghamton, N.Y., the 1,200-foot stone structure is still carrying trains in 2017. Erie photo […]
Chicago & North Western history remembered
For years the Chicago & North Western operated Chicago’s most extensive commuter service. Its three routes were designated West, North, and Northwest. Those names also serve well to group C&NW’s lines west, northwest, and north from Chicago. West, North, and Northwest The railroad capital of the U.S., Chicago, saw its first locomotive in […]
Chicago & North Western’s bilevel ‘Flambeau 400’
Into the 1960s, Chicago & North Western passenger trains blanketed the Upper Midwest, especially in Wisconsin — a popular vacationland until the jet airliner beckoned travelers instead to the likes of Southern California, Miami, and Las Vegas. In the late 1950s, new C&NW management saw the writing on the walls of the railroad’s majestic […]
‘Olympian Hiawatha’ dining car
An artist’s rendering depicts the interior of the dining car on the Milwaukee Road’s 1947 Olympian Hiawatha. Classic Trains coll. […]
Milwaukee Road No. 261 makes second run in 2023
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Railroading Heritage of Midwest America’s Milwaukee Road 4-8-4 No. 261 made its second run of 2023 today (Thursday, Nov. 30) operating from its home base in Minneapolis to St. Paul Union Depot. Friday through Sunday, Dec. 1-3, the locomotive will run short “North Pole Express” trips at the depot in what […]
Harrisburg NRHS Chapter opens PRR Power Director’s Office
HARRISBURG, Pa. — After a long lease negotiation and a year of restoration and cleanup, the Harrisburg Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society has opened the former Pennsylvania Railroad 1937 Power Director’s Office for public visits by arrangement. Situated on the second floor of the 1887 PRR passenger station, the 60-by-60-foot room governed the […]
The significance of railroad watches in North America
Railroad watches In the era of timetable and train order operation, railroaders had to have a standard railroad watch. In those days Hamilton, Elgin, and Waltham were among several popular brands. Railroad pocket watch standards But there were dozens of watch companies making “railroad approved” watches that had mandatory features by the 1930s: a minimum […]
Punkin’ Vine
Two Wabash F7s passes State Line Tower in Hammond, Ind., bound for the railroad’s so-called “Punkin’ Vine” route across northern Indiana to Montpelier, Ohio, in 1953. The railroad had 118 F7A and 9 F7B units. Robert R. Malinoski photo […]
