The New York Central had several auto-carrier Flexi-Vans in the early 1960s. This is a publicity shot of carriers with new Chryslers on their way to New York City in 1960. New York Central photo […]
Chryslers for Gotham
Train Topic: History
The Mohawk that refused to abdicate
In the mid-1950s, in the waning days of steam on the New York Central, Trains Magazine Editor David P. Morgan and his friend, the accomplished photographer Philip R. Hastings, had a memorable encounter with a NYC Class L-3a 4-8-2 Mohawk in Shelby, Ohio. The Mohawk had seen better days and was assigned to a lowly […]
State of New Hampshire seeks to sell ‘Flying Yankee’ streamliner
LINCOLN, N.H. — The state of New Hampshire is looking to sell the Flying Yankee, the 1935 articulated New England streamliner built by Budd Co. for the Boston & Maine Railroad that is virtually identical to Burlington’s Pioneer Zephyr. The Concord Monitor reports the state has issued a Request for Proposals for sale of the […]
The history of Railway Post Offices
Railway Post Offices Mail moves by train In the 1830s, shortly after the establishment of the first railroads in the U.S., the Post Office Department began to ship mail by rail. The year 1838 saw some sorting of mail en route between Washington and Philadelphia, but the first Railway Post Office car is generally thought […]
News photo: New York Central electric locomotives moved
GLENMONT, N.Y. — Two historic New York Central electric locomotives, saved last year after long facing a threat of scrapping, have been moved from their site on an Island in the Hudson River after more than three decades, the Danbury Railway Museum has announced. The museum released a photo today of the locomotives on flatbed […]
California State Railroad Museum to restore ‘Death Valley Scotty’ locomotive to operating condition
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California State Railroad Museum and its support group, the California State Railroad Museum Foundation, have launched an effort to restore Santa Fe steam locomotive No. 1010, a 2-6-2 built by Baldwin in 1901, for use on the museum’s Sacramento Southern excursion railroad. The project — the largest steam restoration project undertaken […]
Branchline accommodation
Gas-electric motorcars were the first successful application of internal combustion on railroads. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy No. 9838 was an Electro-Motive product built by St. Louis Car Co. in 1927. It was powered by a 275-hp gasoline engine. The car pauses at Virden, Ill., south of Springfield, to load goods and passengers on this day. […]
National Railroad Museum to receive $7 million for expansion project
GREEN BAY, Wis. — The National Railroad Museum in Green Bay will receive $7 million in funding for expansion of its facilities, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced today (Thursday, Nov. 2.) The museum expansion is one of five projects, totaling $36.6 million, selected for funding under the American Rescue Plan Act, 2021 legislation intended to […]
Reading T-1 No. 2100 will debut in Freedom Train paint scheme, restoration group says
CLEVELAND — The group restoring Reading Co. T-1 4-8-4 No. 2100 has announced the locomotive will wear an American Freedom Train paint scheme nearly identical to that worn by another T-1, No. 2101, during the 1975-76 Freedom Train tour. “Our initial plan was to debut the 2100 in the original black Reading freight scheme, and […]
Ultimate dual-service engine: New York Central 4-8-2 Mohawks
The New York Central 4-8-2 Mohawks were the ultimate dual-service steam locomotives. For some railroads in the steam era, it wasn’t enough to have success with a single example of a standard wheel arrangement. Instead, new competitive challenges and evolving technology often caused railroads to rethink a given locomotive class and turn it almost entirely […]
New York City High Line railroad history
The New York City High Line a sight to behold on Manhattan’s West Side. It was born of a vast improvement program in the 1930s, which took West Side freight trains off city streets. The trains were then powered by electric traction north of 30th Street and behind diesel power south of 30th Street. […]
News photos: ‘Rocket’ debuts at Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
STRASBURG, Pa. — The Rocket, the 185-year-old former Reading Co. steam engine which had long been displayed at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute, made its debut Friday at its new home, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. About 60 people were on hand for a ribbon-cutting of the new display, a ceremony featuring Patrick Morrison, the museum’s executive […]
