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A track-level platform at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport station near Baltimore enables the use of the middle track, at bottom, for passenger boarding and detraining. Note the yellow step box behind the railing, for use with the lower platforms. Brian Schmidt Q I live near Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and see short track-level platform extensions at […]
‘American Orient Express’ observation car ‘New York’ at Denver in June 1996. Ten years later, the train would be rebranded as GrandLuxe Express. Chip Sherman Q What happened to the American Orient Express? It appeared on several railroad videos from the 1990s. – Frank Klos, San Diego, Calif. A The genesis of the American Orient […]
MGPX No. 201, part of the first batch of Magnetation iron ore cars built by FreightCar America, arrives in Superior, Wis., in June 2014. David C. Schauer Q I live along the BNSF Railway main line west of Chicago, and I have seen black gondola unit trains with MGPX reporting marks. Even from my second-story […]
A Cargill unit feed train rolls through Shawnee, Kan., in June 2009. The train consists of covered bathtub gondolas pulled from coal service. Zach Pumphery Q While traveling near Atchison, Kan., I noticed a BNSF Railway train with covered bathtub coal gondolas. What were the covers for, and could they be removed should they be […]
A Norfolk Southern SD70ACe pushes on an empty crude oil train in Toledo, Ohio, in March 2013. Michael D. Harding Q Watching passing freight trains, I’ve seen a locomotive located in the middle or at the end of the train. Are these pusher locomotives being run by remote control by the engineer in the lead […]
A conventional two-cylinder locomotive like this one exhausts four times per wheel revolution. This is thanks to the position of the valves. Library of Congress Q At low speed, the four “chuffs” a steam engine makes per wheel rotation all sound the same to me, but at higher speed I think I hear a four-beat […]
A water tank on the Pacific Coast Railroad in Washington displays discoloration brought by impurities in the local water. Al Farrow photo, Martin E. Hansen collection Q Did steam locomotive operators test the water prior to filling the tender? Was water treated then or prior to filling the tank? Without treatment would there have been […]
Pennsylvania Railroad donated K4s No. 1361 to the city of Altoona, Pa., on June 8, 1957, shortly before this photo was taken. J.J. Young Jr. Q Why was Pennsylvania K4s No. 1361 returned to Altoona, Pa., for display instead of being restored to service? – Joseph Reihing, Elizabeth, N.J. A Although the 4-6-2 is in […]
A CSX Transportation freight passes Marion (Ohio) Union Station. The site is now a museum with a restored interlocking tower. Brian Schmidt Q Why is the word “Union” used so often in the names of passenger stations and terminals? For example, Cincinnati Union Terminal, St. Louis Union Station, or Denver Union Station. Is there a […]
The Providence & Worcester operates in four Northeastern states. Here, train NR3 passes the Thames River in Preston, Conn., on Sept. 1, 2009. Robert A. LaMay Q I was watching a professional golf tournament being played in Cromwell, Conn., just south of Hartford. Who owns the rail line that passes between the 13th hole and […]
Although this CNJ RS3 had dual engineer controls, the “F” defines the leading end for hand or radio signals. Bert Pennypacker Q When diesels replaced steam locomotives, early cab units had snub noses with good front visibility for the engineer. When hood units appeared, some railroads set them up to run short hood forward and […]
Hammond Lumber Co. 2-8-2T No. 16 displays an extended smokebox in this undated photo. The seam is just ahead of the smokestack. Martin E. Hansen collection Q I am unable to identify any particular pattern for when a smokebox is short or when it is long. I do note, in most cases, that when the […]
