The Russian rolls

Gainesville Midland Russian Decapod No. 206 rolls near Candler, Ga., on March 25, 1955, with a freight from the Seaboard Air Line connection at Athens. The engine was once Seaboard Air Line No. 544 and had originally been built for export to Russia but never went overseas. Photo by Hugh M. Comer […]

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Alco time in Florida

Seaboard Coast Line C420s Nos. 1214 and 1222 work Rochelle, Fla., on April 13, 1974. The rare units later were shipped to SCL affiliate Louisville & Nashville when that railroad became power short in the late 1970s. Photo by William J. Husa Jr. […]

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Historic diesel and steam

Norfolk & Western Bicentennial SD45 No. 1776 ties onto Southern Railway 2-8-2 No. 4501 at Mullens, W.Va., on July 5, 1974, during the multi-day Independence Limited II excursion from Cincinnati to Alexandria, Va. The SD45 helped the 1911 Mikado on steep grades over former Virginian trackage between Gilbert and Narrows. Photo by J. David Ingles […]

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A rare look Southbound

Seaboard System Railroad officials inspect the jointly owned Winston-Salem Southbound Railroad (with Norfolk Southern) on Aug. 8, 1985. The train is crossing the Yadkin River near Badin, N.C., behind former Clinchfield Railroad F units Nos. 116 and 117. Photo by Doug Koontz […]

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High hopes but no luck

In high hopes of increased coal traffic, West Virginia’s Middle Fork Railroad in the early 1960s laid heavier rail on its main line. Some of that rail waits in gons while a loaded coal train moves past at Ellamore, W.Va. Alas, the traffic never materialized. Photo by J. Michael Dunn III […]

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Plow train coming through

A Wisconsin & Southern plow train clears the line through Eagle, Wis., in February 2011, the morning after a storm dumped 2 feet of snow across the area. The plow once belong to the Milwaukee Road, as did the tracks here, part of a route from Milwaukee to Madison and Janesville. Photo by Matt Van […]

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CN sunrise

Morning sunlight glints off a Canadian National freight train rolling across Broadway in Waukesha, Wis., in August 2011. The train left Chicago in the wee hours and is headed for western Canada. Photo by Matt Van Hattem […]

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Rolling by rocks

A southbound Canadian National freight rolls through a limestone quarry in Waukesha, Wis., in August 2011. Stone, sand, and gravel make up the largest source of originating traffic on Wisconsin railroads. Photo by Matt Van Hattem […]

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Autumn in Montana

Montana Rail Link’s Missoula-Laurel manifest freight rolls through Bearmouth, Mont., on Sept. 2, 2003. This is MRL’s 3rd Subdivision which is from Helena to Missoula. Photo by Tom Danneman […]

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