Highball

A southbound Norfolk Southern freight takes the clear signal at South Leesburg, Ind., on May 16, 2011. The former New York Central branch line was upgraded with Pennsylvania-style position light signals recycled from other routes during Penn Central ownership. Photo by Bob Jordan […]

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Scenic South Fork

  Norfolk Southern’s Norfolk & Western-painted heritage unit leads northbound train No. 124 through South Fork, Ky., and into the Green River valley on May 31, 2016. Photo by Jeff Wagoner […]

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End of two eras

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Two E8As and an E7B lead NYC 26, the 20th Century Limited, eastbound at VIckers, Ohio, on a summer evening in 1966, the train’s last full year. William L. Gwyer This picture was just about the last railroad photo I took. It was the culmination of my photographic exploration of contemporary railroading in the early […]

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1939’s big breakthrough: The FT

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Seventy-five years ago on Nov. 25, 1939, Electro-Motive Corp.’s FT demonstrator diesel locomotive No. 103 left its birthplace at the company’s La Grange, Ill., plant. Nobody, not even its builders, knew what the new creation could do. True, the 17-year-old Electro-Motive had been a pioneer in diesel propulsion for railroad use, having built a successful […]

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Whistles for helper engines

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On West Virginia’s Cass Scenic Railroad, engine crews with three Shay locomotives signal each other with whistles for moves and stops. Steve Sweeney Q In the days of steam, when railroaders didn’t have radios or other one-to-one communication, how did the engineer on the lead locomotive communicate to the engineers in the “helper” locomotives as […]

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Trains Presents: Montana Rail Link

Trains Presents takes you to the marvelous Montana Rail Link in its latest installment! Check out the heavy mainline action, see the railroad’s all-EMD roster, enjoy run-through trains from BNSF Railway, and find out just what is a “Gas Local!” And be sure to check out the Trains‘ Montana Rail Link photo diesel roster and […]

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Routes of the Freedom Trains

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As part of America’s bicentennial celebration, the American Freedom Train spent 21 months touring the country, displaying 500 artifacts of the nation’s history — ranging from George Washington’s copy of the Constitution to a moon rock — to more than 7 million visitors in 48 states. That journey, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2016, was […]

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Indiana stranger

  A northbound Norfolk Southern freight passes the unique siding switch and signals at North Leesburg, Ind., on March 24, 2011. The Santa Fe-painted locomotive is a run-through from BNSF Railway. Photo by Bob Jordan […]

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