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A locomotive has two pilots, one on each end where it interfaces with other units and/or the cars its hauling. The main component is the coupler on each end, along with the adjacently mounted train line air hose. These are the basic connections between all freight cars and other locomotives. Working outward from the coupler […]
Amtrak RS3 diesel locomotives supported operations on the Amtrak-owned Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C. The RS3 was Alco’s best-selling road switcher model with 1,265 units sold to more than 50 railroads between 1948 and 1962. Marketed as a multi-purpose unit, some roads, including but not limited to Pennsylvania, Rock Island, and Western […]
The steam community is in a happy state of shock this week with the news that New York Central 3001, one of the NYC’s famed 4-8-2 Mohawk engines, might be restored to operating condition by the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, operators of famed Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 No. 765. The announcement came Oct. 9 […]
The model railroad industry has featured fantasy-painted locomotives for years. These are locomotive models painted for railroads that never actually owned them. Think Canadian National GP60Ms, Burlington Northern ES44ACs or Monon SD70ACes — designs the railroad either never purchased (Canadiana National), or for which the railroad wasn’t in existence at the time the locomotives were […]
Canadian National cowls Six-axle freight locomotives built with a cowl carbody are a rare design when looking at the overall quantity of models built for North American service. Compared to the thousands of GP9s, SD40-2s, and C44-9Ws built, no one cowl model exceeded 100 locomotives ordered. Canadian National ordered four of the six six-axle freight […]
Living the expat life You may not be aware, but your favorite diesel model from long ago may be living another life right now in a land far away. Thousands of locomotives no longer needed on North American railroads have been shipped off to lead a second life in foreign countries for decades. The second-hand […]
The photo is at once ordinary and extraordinary. Ordinary because the photographer had to grab it on the fly, shooting a low-angle wedge shot in low light as a New York Central steam locomotive snuck up on him out of nowhere. The photo is a bit dark and shows little of its creator’s compositional genius. […]
Predicting the future is tricky business. Circumstances can change at the drop of a hat, opening up previously unforeseen possibilities. However, with analysis and careful guesswork, a prediction can be made. With that in mind, let us examine the future of the locomotive on the U.S. rail network. The current state of railroading To predict […]
CN DC to AC Canadian National is receiving its next DC-to-AC rebuilds this summer. The first conversions already on CN’s roster are 50 former Canadian National C44-9Ws converted to AC-traction AC44C6Ms by Wabtec in its Ft. Worth, Texas, facility in 2022 and 2023. The latest group of rebuilds on order include additional AC44C6Ms and EMD […]
The New York Central diesel roster showed diversity in an era known for experimentation. Major railroads with deep financial pockets have the freedom to spend money for equipment like the proverbial kid in the candy store. Among them, you’d have to include the mighty New York Central. Nicknamed the “The Water Level Route,” […]
A friend asked me recently what was the first locomotive I clearly remember. The answer might be surprising: it was huge (to a 4-year-old, anyway), it was rare, it was a little scary, and it was orange. And to use the accepted sound nomenclature, it “burbled.” I’m referring, of course, to Elgin, Joliet & Eastern’s […]
Class I ‘bandit’: Milwaukee Road painted locomotive Locomotive rosters are constantly in a state of flux. Power is being returned off lease, sold, or scrapped in house. CPKC did the latter recently with a group of locomotives stored at its St. Paul, Minn., diesel shop. The group included the last Milwaukee Road “bandit”-painted locomotive on […]
