Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range 2-8-8-4 No. 230 hauls an ore extra through Alborn, Minn., in 1959. Missabe men called all articulateds, compound as well as simple, “Mallets.” Franklin A. King photo […]
Missabe “Mallet”
Section: Railroads
Minneapolis & St. Louis side-door caboose
The conductor of Minneapolis & St. Louis’ Story City, Iowa, mixed train looks out from the old hack’s side door at McCallsburg, Iowa, in the 1940s. William F. Armstrong photo […]
Mail on the fly!
The arm on a New York Central Railway Post Office car has just snatched the bag from the trackside crane. Incoming bags for such locations would simply be kicked out the door as the train passed. A. C. Kalmbach photo […]
Homefront supply line
Railroads were the primary means of moving men and materiel within the United States during World War II. Here a freight conductor walks beside flatcars loaded with M3 Lee tanks at an unknown location. U.S. Army Signal Corps photo […]
Photo of the Day
The Burlington Route created the first dome cars by modifying two coaches originally built by Budd in 1940. Silver Dome, pictured on display at Wichita Falls, Texas, was first, in 1945, followed by Silver Castle the next year. Wichita Times-Record News photo […]
The big picture
A westbound Union Pacific manifest freight works its way toward Los Angeles in October 2013 in the “Blue Cut” section of California’s famed Cajon Pass. With the lead locomotives a mile away in the distance, you gain a better perspective of magnitude of the San Gabriel Mountains and the challenges railroads overcame more than […]
Charlie’s Trackside Postcards – West Somerset Railway
In this Trackside Postcard, Charles “Lindbergh” Conway travels across the Atlantic Ocean and makes his way to the UK! He wastes no time getting trackside at Minehead, England, all in effort to explore and experience steam-powered passenger service on the West Somerset Railway. […]
Charlie’s Trackside Postcards – Day on the footplate
While traveling in the UK, Charlie enjoyed the rare thrill of riding in the cab of a steam locomotive operated by the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. In this Trackside Postcard to Drew, Chas captured the pure artistry of Driver and Fireman commanding Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T no. 41298 across the picturesque countryside. […]
Rock Island steam and stainless steel
In April 1948, a Rock Island 4-6-2 with an inbound commuter train approaches Englewood Union Station on Chicago’s South Side as the Peoria Rocket accelerates toward its namesake city. Bob Borcherding photo […]
Relics
A westbound Napoleon, Defiance & Western train crosses a short trestle over a country road near Antwerp, Ohio, on Oct. 17, 2014. Photo by Brian Schmidt […]
Trains Presents: Piedmont & Northern
Join Trains on a rare trip through the South along the route of the Piedmont & Northern. Only from Trains! […]
Vertical crossing signals
A less common crossing signal warned motorists of oncoming trains by blinking “stop.” Kevin King Q As a child in the 1950s and 1960s, I saw a number of railroad grade crossings on the Wabash that were protected by a row of vertical lights on the signal mast in addition to the standard red alternating […]
