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 […]
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. […]
Crisis at the coal chute!
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 […]
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. […]
No support group
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 […]
Chesapeake & Ohio – Image Gallery
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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. […]
Classic Trains, Winter 2018
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BL2s and Pullmans to the Stock Yards
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 […]
Mountain Railroads
Also in this issue: Mountain Railroads in Photos, pg. 16 SP’s Tehachapi Pass and Cuesta Grade Mountain Railroads in Photos, pg. 28 Milwaukee’s Pacific Extension; NP’s Mullan Pass Tennessee Narrow Gauge, pg. 30 4-percent grades, 32-degree curves, and trim 4-6-0s on the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Mountain Railroads in Photos, pg. 36 Maine […]
A doubleheader to dance about
“Glory!” Doubleheaded Southern Railway Ps-4’s depart Charlottesville, Va., with an Atlanta-bound train in 1951. I. W. King My father, I. W. King, grew up in Greenville, S.C., where his father, I. E. King, was a telegraph operator for the Southern Railway. Like most railroad families, they often used the employee pass to visit relatives. Many […]
NKP Berkshire at Bellevue
In September 1955, Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 774 moves through the yard at Bellevue, Ohio, as a Fairbanks-Morse diesel switcher works in the background. Philip R. Hastings photo […]