All about air horns

CN3062ET44AC

Horns are typically placed near the middle of the locomotive to minimize noise to the crew. New Canadian National ET44AC No. 3062 shows off its Nathan K5HLR2. Chris Guss A horn is one of the many safety appliances installed on a locomotive and is used to warn both the general public and railroad employees while […]

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‘Abandoned’ during switching at Jacksonville

JacksonvilleUnStanight

Splitting and combining trains was a well-practiced ritual at Jacksonville Union Station. David W. Salter From 1954 until I was 11 years old in 1965, we traveled, by Pullman, from 30th Street Station in Philadelphia to North Miami, using either the Seaboard Air Line or Atlantic Coast Line south of Richmond, Va. Until the Florida […]

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WM local from Elkins

Western Maryland Railroad local train on the Potomac River

Pacific 203 leads Western Maryland’s Elkins, W.Va.–Cumberland, Md., local train along the North Branch of the Potomac River near Westernport, Md., in June 1952. H. F. Houck photo […]

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Genesis of a debt to be repaid

NHPAsSouthStation1961

Before starting their seven-stop trek to Providence, the two Alco PAs on New Haven train 531 prepare to follow the FL9s on the Merchants Limited (left in photo) out of South Station, Boston, in 1961. Chris Burger In the early 1960s, I was a student at Providence College in Rhode Island’s capital city, commuting on […]

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Winter Rail Memories

Celebrate the winter season with Classic Trains’ compilation of Winter Rail Memories, featuring four articles and stunning images showcasing some of our favorite snow-filled stories. In Long Way Home for Christmas, author David Ingles recounts his trip home from college in 1965, when he ventured on a rail odyssey from central Illinois, to Dearborn, Mich., […]

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Piedmont & Northern electric train

Piedmont and Northern Railroad in Belmont, South Carolina

A northbound Piedmont & Northern train makes a stop at Belton, S.C., in April 1951. Later that year the road ended all passenger service and converted its South Carolina division from electric to diesel operation. A.C. Kalmbach photo […]

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Centennial Trains

Classic Trains Logo

View the public schedule of the 1963 West Virginia Centennial Special. Download the schedule by clicking on the PDF below. WV_Centennial_Schedule     View the initial working schedules of the 1964 Montana Centennial Train. Download the schedule by clicking on the PDF below. Montana_centennial_train_schedule […]

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Chicago Railroad Fair

an illustrated red and orange official guide book cover for the chicago railroad fair

Tour the Chicago Railroad Fair through the pages of the 1948 Official Guide Book. FULL SCREEN FULL SCREEN FULL SCREEN FULL SCREEN FULL SCREEN FULL SCREEN FULL SCREEN FULL SCREEN FULL SCREEN FULL SCREEN Read about the Chicago Railroad Fair in “The Last Great Railroad Show,” an article from August 1998 Trains magazine. Download the story by clicking […]

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