Chasing the elusive Black Marias

Photos of Alco’s mid-1940’s Black Maria freight diesels are extremely scarce. Obviously one factor was the short time the units operated. When Jerry A. Pinkepank and Kalmbach Publishing Co. issued the first Diesel Spotter’s Guide in 1967, no photos of the units had come to light, so on page Alco-49, below the technical description of […]

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Video: History according to Hediger 3

Freight cars by gray wooden depot

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader Senior Editor Jim Hediger also has experience working on the real railroads. In this episode Jim talks about his job as a telegraph operator for the Wabash RR. You’ll also see some vintage photos of some places where Jim worked, including […]

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Railroad story of the month: July 2009

A supplement to the Classic Trains Online Look Back e-mail newsletter Canting grandly to the gentle curve, E units break the quiet of a late fall day as they roar through Georgetown Junction with B&O’s Capitol Limited. Paul Seidenman photo Late fall encounter at Georgetown Junction By Paul Seidenman It was especially beautiful, that fall […]

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Video: History according to Hediger 2

Orange diesel locomotives

Having trouble viewing this video?   Please visit our Video FAQ page Model Railroader Senior Editor Jim Hediger has had many experiences working with the real railroads. In this episode he talks about how he acquired his collection of official paint chips from the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton RR, as well as how the DT&I […]

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50 years ago this month: May 1959

Classic Trains logo

50 years ago in railroad history … A supplement to the Classic Trains Online Look Back e-mail newsletter Chesapeake & Ohio on May 7 launches mail and express service between Grand Rapids and Petoskey, Mich., using Railvans – a predecessor of today’s RoadRailer railcar/semitrailer hybrids. . . . Chicago & North Western, seeking to modernize […]

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GG1 engineer’s controls

Built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1934 and 1943, the GG1 electric locomotive was the backbone of the busy New York-Washington and Philadelphia-Harrisburg corridors for decades. In the Summer 2009 issue of Classic Trains magazine, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of this great locomotive design with 35 pages of special features. Step inside a GG1 […]

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GG1 roster

Built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1934 and 1943, the GG1 electric locomotive was the backbone of the busy New York-Washington and Philadelphia-Harrisburg corridors for decades. In the Summer 2009 issue of Classic Trains magazine, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of this great locomotive design with 35 pages of special features. View a roster listing […]

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