Beyond the raised hat in the foreground, SP’s L. P. Hopkins, Utah Gov. Herbert Maw, and UP’s E. C. Schmidt stand with the just-removed “Last Spike,” undoing 73 years of history. Often called “Promontory Summit,” the location was simply “Promontory” to SP and in the Official Guide. Classic Trains collection Removing the Transcontinental Railroad’s last […]
A northbound Amtrak Acela tiptoes through the turnouts, exiting high-level Track 20, passing K Tower at Washington Union Station. Doug Riddell Author and retired Amtrak engineer and company photographer Doug Riddell (left) and former Amtrak President Joseph Boardman pose at an inaugural train event in 2009. Doug Riddell A friend of mine asked for advice […]
Today, Promontory Summit is home to the recreated Golden Spike Historic Site, home for two replica 4-4-0s: Union Pacific No. 119, shown, and Central Pacific Jupiter. Jim Wrinn Most school children learned that the Transcontinental Railroad was completed May 10, 1869, at “Promontory Point,” where the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific met, and where […]
Transcontinental Railroad financial troubles After just 18 years of operation, there had been so many irregularities and so much concern over the Union Pacific’s ability to repay its federal loans that in 1887 Congress created the United States Pacific Railroad Commission to investigate the finances and structure of all the major railroads initially described as […]
UP crews built a switchback to reach a tunnel during construction. In many ways, the work done on the transcontinental railroad were feats of ingenuity and engineering. Union Pacific Importance of The Transcontinental Railroad In the 1850s, major railroad projects were viewed as projects for the public good, in much the same way we justify […]
Union Pacific directors pose at the 100th Meridian, 247 miles west of Omaha, Neb. There were still many miles to go to reach Ogden, Utah. Library of Congress collection Many railroads have had their share of drama and intrigue, but it is hard to recall another railroad with the narrative complexity and heroic scale of […]
See sample consists of the Overland Route’s City of San Francisco from 1936, 1939, 1947, and 1955. Download the information by clicking here. […]
See color movies that Dave’s friend Dick Wallin took during their 1969 visit to Horseshoe Curve. […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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. […]
