Wired up: The stages of U.S. railroad electrification

Baltimore railroad tunnels

U.S. railroad electrification In 1939, the United States was the global leader in railroad electrification, with over 20% of the world’s total. Today, electrification is a non-factor on almost all American railroads outside the Northeast Corridor. How did this happen? The heady projects from the early 20th century that propelled the U.S. to world leader […]

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GE box-cabs in Chile

FCTT in Chile

General Electric B-B electrics 606 and 601 are ready to depart Barriles yard, current terminus of the FCTT’s electrification on July 23, 2007. The short train of gondolas is conveying processed nitrate to the shipping terminal at Tocopilla, 17.25 miles and 1.5 hours away, and 3, 231 feet downhill. Ian A. Dunn Nos. 604 and […]

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Lionel O gauge Congressional GG1 video

Staff comments on this train set included Roger Carp’s opinion that this is your chance to pick up a handsome classic with modern features – bringing back wonderful memories of Lionel’s second version of the Pennsy’s Congressional train.   […]

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Postwar style GG1 locomotive by Lionel

THE POSTWAR-STYLE GG1 IS A FAVORITE IN SOME THREE-RAIL CIRCLES. Back in the day, it was an impressive model of the nation’s premier electric-profile locomotive. The fact that it had a die-cast metal shell and possessed 10 wheelsets to noisily clank and chunk through switches certainly appealed to everyone’s inner kid. This model gets my […]

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Norfolk Southern and Amtrak’s Vermonter

A Norfolk Southern freight prepares to diverge from Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor onto NS track at Newport, Del., while Amtrak’s Vermonter passes, on Aug. 26, 2008. The NS freight is bound for the “Shellpot Secondary” and Edgemoor Yard in Wilmington, and has been riding the Corridor from Perryville, Md. […]

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GG1 engineer’s controls

Built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1934 and 1943, the GG1 electric locomotive was the backbone of the busy New York-Washington and Philadelphia-Harrisburg corridors for decades. In the Summer 2009 issue of Classic Trains magazine, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of this great locomotive design with 35 pages of special features. Step inside a GG1 […]

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GG1 roster

Built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1934 and 1943, the GG1 electric locomotive was the backbone of the busy New York-Washington and Philadelphia-Harrisburg corridors for decades. In the Summer 2009 issue of Classic Trains magazine, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of this great locomotive design with 35 pages of special features. View a roster listing […]

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