Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb., was named world’s largest rail yard by Guinness. The yard’s 2,850 acres includes two separate hump yards (eastbound and westbound) where freight cars are sorted and combined into new trains. From the top of the West Hump tower, watch cars move toward the crest of the hump, […]
Section: Railroads
Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard, North Platte, Nebraska
Dan Czech clearly remembers the first time he laid eyes on Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard. “I flew out here at night. I looked out the window and said, ‘That must be the city of North Platte.’ They said, ‘No, that’s the rail yard.’” The young terminal manager, who once taught Navy SEALs how to parachute, […]
Preserving Railroad History
Preservation of former railroad stations takes many forms, from visitor centers and museums to offices and restaurants. Ciddici’s Pizza of Albany, Oregon, retains most of the original exterior features of the Oregon Electric structure, especially the “OER” logo. Scott Lothes The locomotive John Bull, donated by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1884, was the Smithsonian Institution’s […]
BNSF diesels pass through Chillicothe, Iowa
Three BNSF Railway diesels pull train CATMCXEO-88 past Chillicothe, Iowa, on a snowless Dec. 4, 2006. The train is crossing BNSF’s busy ex-Chicago, Burlington & Quincy route across southern Iowa, a key coal route for BNSF. Photo by Craig Williams […]
An uncelebrated steam finale
A supplement to the Classic Trains Online Look Back e-mail newsletter Looking as proud as ever, CN 4-8-4 6205 rides the turntable at London, Ont., in July 1959, headed for the ash pit, the dead line, and oblivion. Ken Kraemer photo By spring 1959, steam locomotives were just about gone from regular service on most […]
Lake Superior Railroad Museum’s equipment roster
In our special issue, “Historic Trains Today,” TRAINS correspondent Steve Glischinski profiled the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth, Minn. Here’s a list of their non-locomotive equipment. For more detailed information, visit the museum’s website. […]
Union Pacific gas turbine cutaway drawing
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Typical run on C&NW’s Stock Yards Transfer, ca. 1952
Download the file here. […]
CP Rail’s multifaceted Multimark
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How Genesee & Wyoming deploys its 583 locomotives
Genesee & Wyoming-owned St. Lawrence & Atlantic units congregate at Danville Junction, Maine, in August 2006. Matt Martin In Trains June 2010 issue, we told you how a 14-mile New York short line became a holding company with 62 railroads. How does Genesee & Wyoming manage its power? As of spring 2010, Genesee & Wyoming […]
Chesapeake & Ohio in the West Virginia coal fields
Eastern coal railroads issued maps of coal mines they served for the information of customers. This map (redrawn for clarity) shows C&O’s New River and Kanawha (Ka-NAW) Districts in 1966. their common border marks the divide between high and low volatile coal measures, an important distinction that determines whether coal is used to make coke […]
Intermodal trains per day in 1984
Intermodal haulage on railroads initially resembled loose-car railroading: Cities of varying sizes had ramps that originated a few flatcars, which were added to merchandise freights. A trucker, though, could beat that service easily. Larger cities generated solid intermodal trains, but the cost of terminals, equipment, and operations made the business lucrative only in lanes of […]
