When the train left, the fun paled

CofG500

Central of Georgia’s 500-series Consolidations possessed good lines accented by interesting detail: visored headlight, capped stack, serif numerals, striped sandbox, generous cab. Classic Trains collection An alligator crosshead moving back and forth on its greased guides to the dictates of a hot piston rod; the hurried, hollow sighs up the stack as a pair of […]

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The Shaughnessy Files

In honor of Jim Shaughnessy, a legendary railroad photographer, we have gathered together a free 15-page PDF download filled with three stories written and photographed by Shaughnessy. […]

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Crisis at the coal chute!

CN3503

The engineer of Canadian National 2-8-2 3503 enjoys the breeze as he hurries a freight east at Lorne Park, Ont., in August 1955, a year after the author’s experience on another CN Mikado some 700 miles to the northwest. W. H. N. Rossiter A steam locomotive fireman’s duties go far beyond the actual firing of the […]

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Rails Meet Water Carferries

Download this free 20-page PDF download for an in-depth look at the carferries between Canada and the United States during the Classic Era. In this free download, we discuss the crews of the Great Lakes carferries, the Badger vessel, and the railroad ferries across Lake Michigan. […]

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No support group

LNC628CorbinKYRonFlanary

While not technically perfect, this photo of L&N C628s under the sanding gantry at Corbin, Ky., remains a treasured link to an earlier time. Ron Flanary As a young railfan growing up in central Appalachia in the late 1950s and early ’60s, my only link to fellow enthusiasts was through the pulp pages of Railroad magazine, or the […]

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3 Railroading Stories

Download this free 21-page PDF download to read the stories of a field engineer, a young brakeman, and a locomotive fireman. Their stories uncover the adventures of riding and working on the Alco RS3, the C&NW freight, and the Union Pacific 4-8-4. […]

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BL2s and Pullmans to the Stock Yards

RockIslandBL2s

A pair of Rock Island BL2s, with an F7B between them, led the “Fat Stock Special” one night in 1956. Monty Powell In November 1956 I was a management trainee on the Rock Island Railroad in Rock Island, Ill. A special movement known as “the Fat Stock Special,” which originated in western Iowa, was coming […]

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