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Gil Reid’s prized Auto Train watercolor Wall calendars have always been an effective business advertising tool, and some of the most memorable and collectable have been products of the public relations departments of America’s railroads. Anxious to make establish the branding of its role as the newly formed National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Amtrak began producing […]
Combine culinary style of the late 1800s, the taste of one railroad magnate and the inspiration of another plus throw in a touch of crazy. The result is an attempt to satisfy a national craving for oysters. The old saying stands that necessity is the mother of invention. In this case, the need was finding […]
When it comes to showmanship in mainline mountain railroading, California’s Tehachapi Pass can be described as a grand theater. Located between Bakersfield and Mojave, historic Tehachapi Loop is at center stage, an impressive helix stretching three-quarters of a mile while looping over itself to gain 77 feet in elevation. The loop itself sits at about […]
Amtrak has honored past passenger trains over the years by inheriting their names. How many are in service today and how close — or far — do they follow the original routes? Auto Train Eugene K. Garfield’s Auto-Train carried passengers and their automobiles over the former Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac and Seaboard Coast Line railroads […]
Four decades later, I still chuckle when I think about the grouchy old farmer who jumped on my locomotive at a central Iowa grade crossing, cast iron fry pan in hand, and cussed me out like he was a drunken sailor! It was summer 1979. I had been a qualified Chicago & North Western Railway […]
Display Layouts and Showrooms is the latest 100-page special or extra issue of Classic Toy Trains. The editors and artists responsible for the magazine are working overtime to make this unique publication the most informative and attractive it can be. The question, “Want a sip?” usually causes another person to ask about the beverage in […]
An office on the 4th floor Aside from criss-crossing the country to take pictures of everything Amtrak, my greatest pleasure was working with the folks who occupied the executive offices of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, explaining to them the “other side of railroading.” Unionized workers typically envision management as an army of clueless, overpaid, […]
Maine Central While reading a recent local newspaper obituary page, I recognized the name of a person I knew from my work on the Maine Central. I had served in several positions before being promoted to the company safety department, so I got to know a good number of people. The gentleman was 89, had […]
Over the years… When there was a shortage of crews in Train, Yard, and Engine service (TY&E), and a surplus in other areas, my former employer would advertise for extra employees from other areas of the system. Permit me to digress a bit before I became a borrow out myself. At this point (1983) I […]
Since January, we’ve been nominating people to establish a Model Railroader Hall of Fame. Just to be clear, this isn’t a Model Railroader magazine Hall of Fame, but a Hall of Fame for all model railroaders. This idea had been percolating in my mind since a couple of middle-aged model railroaders came to visit the […]
A lot of diligent photographers were scattered along the old Wabash main line in Indiana and Illinois this past weekend to photograph the last runs of trains 255 and 256, the remnants of one of the most novel trains to ever grace American rails, Norfolk Southern’s Kansas City-Detroit RoadRailer service. What the fans were shooting […]
A locomotive on fire Since railroading’s very inception, fire has been one of the most frightening things that can occur, and it can happen on any unit from any manufacturer at any time, usually without warning. And thinking about it, why not? You have a constantly vibrating platform with multiple moving parts surrounded by myriad […]
