EMD DDA40X: In 1968, Union Pacific purchased 50 20-cylinder, 3,600 hp EMD SD45s for high-speed service. However, the units did not meet management’s expectations in that role. So, UP commissioned EMD to design and build a locomotive that would develop more horsepower than the DD35, U50, or C855 models. The result was the largest double-diesel […]
Diesel locomotive single order units: In the modern era, locomotive orders are typically measured in the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of units. But orders early in the dieselization of North American railroad would often come in much smaller quantities, down to a single unit. It was commonplace decades ago when customers were more plentiful […]
We all love the unusual — something that departs from our perceived norm. In railroading, it’s an Alco showing up on an otherwise all-Electro-Motive locomotive roster, or perhaps a slight variation of a paint scheme that catches our eye. Or it could be an EMD Model 40. A total of 11 were built between 1940 […]
The breakthrough The first Electro-Motive doodlebug motorcar to be delivered went to the Chicago Great Western in August 1924. Right from the first run, founder Hal Hamilton’s expectation that railroads would overload the equipment was confirmed. The gas-electric car and its transmission system had been rated and advertised as being capable of handling a 35-ton […]
Reading T-1 4-8-4 2102 is a steam locomotive of the Reading Company T-1 class locomotives built by the Reading in the 1940s. No. 2102 is expected to return to service in 2022 on passenger excursion runs in eastern Pennsylvania on lines operated by its owner on his railroad, the Reading & Northern. Periodic updates are […]
The Alco Black Marias, a trio of prototype cab units, were the builder’s initial attempt to enter the mainline diesel locomotive market after World War II. The U.S.’s World War II War Production Board closely monitored the railroad locomotive builders and what they could and could not produce. Loosely, EMD was manufacturing mostly road locomotives […]
44-ton locomotives in North America: There was a time in North American transportation where railroads were the king of moving goods and services, providing every industry whether it be 50 cars or one, a spot on their daily switch list. When steam was being dethroned by internal combustion, many railroads replaced them in-kind with similar […]
My first road-switcher cab ride started with the wub, wub, wub, wub, wub sound of the engine at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Ill. After a full-body experience aboard Frisco 1630 earlier that day, I settled into the cab of Union Pacific road-switcher No. 1848. (For the details folks, this is a diesel- electric, […]
Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history, heritage, and style of the Southern Pacific Lines all through February 2022. So, please enjoy this photo gallery of Southern Pacific locomotives selected from the archives of Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. Southern Pacific locomotives were among the most distinctive in North America. The SP was one of the only […]
2022 steam locomotive list spring update: It’s time for the active steam list update. Since we debuted the list last fall, we’ve gotten great feedback, updates, and added to the list. New to the list is Southern Railway 2-8-0 No. 154 at the East Tennessee tourist carrier, Three Rivers Rambler, a part of Gulf & […]
The General Electric passenger U-boats filled a niche in the 1960’s locomotive market. Santa Fe, like many Class I railroads at the time, was still proud of its passenger service. But its roster of suitable diesel locomotives was getting old and any thought of Amtrak was still years away. Keeping its aging fleet of silver […]
Introducing The Empress Canadian Pacific 2816 The Empress: Canadian Pacific President and CEO Rob Ritchie set the steam preservation world on its ear when in 1998 he revealed the railway’s plan to repatriate CP H1b Hudson No. 2816 from its long-time home at the National Park Service’s Steamtown museum and rebuild the 1930-vintage locomotive for […]
