A World War II-era view at Chicago & North Western’s 40th Street coach yard in Chicago shows four streamliners. From left: C&NW’s Twin Cities 400, the C&NW-UP City of Denver, the C&NW-UP City of Los Angeles (apparently coupled behind C&NW E3 5001B), and the C&NW-UP-SP City of San Francisco. C&NW photo […]
Train Topic: Fallen Flags
RBP Trains, Trainworld team for custom locomotive
Having your own YouTube channel is a cool thing. Getting your own custom-decorated locomotive is also pretty spectacular. Trainworld, in conjunction with Chris Raines, the creator behind YouTube toy-train channel RBP Trains, is producing a Lionel Legacy ES44AC in a modified Union Pacific heritage Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railway paint scheme. RBP Trains, Trainworld make custom locomotive If […]
First run of Santa Fe’s Super C
Santa Fe FP45’s 100 and 102 race west of Gallup, N.Mex., with the inaugural run of the road’s premium piggyback train the Super C on January 18, 1968. Road Foreman of Engines Jack Elwood is at the throttle; he wrote about the trip in Classic Trains‘ Special Edition No. 7, Fast Trains. ATSF photo […]
Santa Fe hi-level lounge acquired by Arizona museum
CHANDLER, Ariz. — The Arizona Railway Museum has acquired former Santa Fe hi-level lounge No. 576. The car arrived at the museum last month Six hi-level lounge cars with curved glass roofs were built for Santa Fe by Budd in 1956. They were numbered 575–580 and operated on the all-coach El Capitan streamliner between Chicago […]
CB&Q Hudson with the ‘Empire Builder’
In April 1943, Burlington Route 4-6-4 No. 4000 enters Chicago Union Station with Great Northern’s Empire Builder, which has used CB&Q rails from the Twin Cities. Hudson 4000 was once streamlined to pinch-hit for diesels on the stainless-steel Zephyrs. Classic Trains collection […]
Lounge car on Pennsy’s 1938 ‘Broadway’
The 1938 Broadway Limited‘s mid-train lounge cars, Harbor Point and Harbor Springs, contained two double bedrooms, a barber shop, a secretary’s room, and a 14-seat lounge area. Typically for designer Raymond Loewy, the lounge section was elegantly decorated but had no windows. PRR photo […]
Monon Railroad history remembered
Monon Railroad history is tied to Indiana state history. Imagine a meandering Midwestern railway constructed through difficult, sparsely settled territory and soon bankrupt as a result, discovering upon completion that it had been built between the wrong cities. It would attempt to rectify early mistakes through expensive acquisitions of adjoining railroads, and trackage rights […]
Classic Conrail from Canaseraga
When created in 1976, lowering the flags of several once-proud but troubled Northeastern railroads, it was shockingly new. But that was 44 years ago. Moreover, it’s been more than two decades since Conrail itself became a fallen flag. Here is a photo of classic Conrail. The train is eastbound at Canaseraga, N.Y., 13 miles […]
Monon Route passenger trains photo gallery
Monon Route passenger trains All through March 2023, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway — the Monon Route! Please enjoy a selection of images of Monon Route passenger trains selected from the files of Kalmabch Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. This gallery was originally published […]
Colorful Louisville & Nashville diesel locomotives of the 1960s
Louisville & Nashville diesel locomotives show a variety that was typical for the era. The railroad’s roster was largely comprised of Alco and EMD models, but the road also sampled Baldwin and GE switchers and later GE road power. In the 1960s, L&N management opted to stick with what it knew, acquiring a number of […]
Conrail models you can buy
Whether you need more blue on your locomotive roster or want to add Conrail units in other paint schemes to your layout, this is a comprehensive list of Conrail models you can buy. This list just focuses on locomotives and cabooses. Mixing Conrail freight cars into your rolling stock roster will also add some colorful […]
Lehigh Valley passenger trains remembered
Lehigh Valley passenger trains remembered: All through February 2023, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of the Lehigh Valley Railroad in upstate New York. The LV was a smaller Class I railroads in its day, but still had interesting passenger trains as you can see from this photo gallery selected from the […]