Coal is the most important rail commodity in the United States. In the early 2000s, when this map was produced, coal accounted for one of four cars loaded and slightly more than 20 percent of rail revenue. Eighty percent of the coal goes to the generation of electricity at steam power plants, so a map […]
Geographic growth by acquisition or merger, and the elimination of redundant routes by sale or abandonment, are two factors that have been with American railroading from the outset…and are not about to go away. Consider this map of CSX Transportation’s principal ancestors. Shown here are 22 former Class I railroads — in post-World War II […]
Commercial shipping on the Great Lakes follows a 2,300-mile corridor from the St. Lawrence Seaway to the western edge of Lake Superior. Over 200 million tons of cargo a year cross the five lakes and connecting waterways, hauled in some 150 U.S. and Canadian lakers, 50,000 barges, and about 1,000 visits by ocean-going vessels, or […]
This Map of the Month appeared in the February 2004 issue of Trains magazine. Historians have argued that one key to the success of Norfolk & Western’s 1982 consolidation with Southern Railway was that the railroads shared a similar culture — determined, forward-looking, and committed to success. This served to douse the fires of early rivalries […]
This Map of the Month was featured in the March 2007 issue of Trains magazine. Imagine if you were to go back in time and tell Cornelius Vanderbilt that the giant railroad system he had methodically assembled — the powerful New York Central — would one day be carved up by two coal roads from […]
This Map of the Month appeared in the August 2003 issue of Trains magazine. Where does a railroad go? Might seem like the most basic of questions. But with trackage rights and service alliances, a railroad’s franchise — its sphere of influence — may extend far beyond the outermost mile of track it owns. […]
Bowser HO scale C-630 diesel locomotive Modelers of Canadian roads in HO scale will be pleased with Bowser’s latest Executive Line locomotive release. The manufacturer has modified its Alco C-630 model with prototypically accurate details to represent C-630M locomotives built by Montreal Locomotive Works, Alco’s Canadian division. The M designation indicated that the engine had […]
Bachmann HO scale Alco S-4 diesel locomotive HO scale locomotives Alco S-4 diesel locomotive. Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (zebra stripe paint scheme); Erie RR; New York Central (Pittsburgh & Lake Erie reporting marks); Southern Pacific; Union Pacific (“Dependable Transportation” slogan); Western Maryland (speed lettering). Directional headlights; die-cast metal chassis, fuel tank, gear tower, and […]
Athearn HO scale Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotives HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division GP35 diesel locomotive. New paint schemes and road numbers: Southern Pacific; CP Rail; Denver & Rio Grande Western; Nickel Plate Road; Toledo, Peoria & Western; and Western Maryland. Three road numbers each. Directional headlights, prototype-specific details, and McHenry scale magnetic knuckle couplers. […]
VICTORIA, B.C. — Contract crews this week removed a short but important stretch of track that had enabled VIA Rail Canada’s Malahat to serve downtown Victoria directly. The service is currently shut down, its future uncertain. If it does return, the train will have to call at a station on the city’s west side where […]
Micro-Trains N scale heavyweight coach A paired-window steel coach built in the 1930s is the latest Pullman heavyweight car modeled in N scale by Micro-Trains Line Co. Though less glamorous than Pullman’s many types of sleeper cars, 78-foot coaches like these were common on railroads across the country in the steam era. A heavyweight champ. […]
MADISON, Wis. — Later this month, High Iron Travel will host three dining excursions, called “Dining with Pullman” from Chicago Union Station on Feb. 17-19. The five-car train will make two dinner and one brunch trip between Chicago and Sturtevant, Wis., on Canadian Pacific’s Chicago-Milwaukee main line. The power is expected to be E8 No. 6070 in […]
