UP Challenger No. 3985 photo gallery

closeup of cab

UP Challenger No. 3985 On Jan. 6, Railroading Heritage of Midwest America began work on UP Challenger No. 3985 at its shop in Silvis, Ill. The main focus of the day was first to move the Milwaukee Road turntable from Bensenville, Ill., donated by Canadian Pacific to the Silvis sandblasting booth where it will be […]

Read More…

‘Twin Zephyr’ at Aurora

20140121

Diesel locomotive 9901, named Zephyrus, leads Burlington Route’s Twin Zephyr into Aurora, Ill., about 38 miles into the streamliner’s Chicago–Minneapolis run sometime in 1937. L. E. Griffith photo […]

Read More…

West Side Lumber Co. car shops

20150121

This 1950s overview of the West Side Lumber Co. car shops in Tuolumne, Calif., shows the dual-gauge track with the mill switcher — a former narrow-gauge Heisler that was converted to standard gauge. Glenn W. Beier photo […]

Read More…

Standard-gauge East Broad Top 0-6-0

20150106

The 3-foot-gauge East Broad Top had two standard-gauge 0-6-0s to switch the dual-gauge yard at Mount Union, Pa., where EBT interchanged with the Pennsylvania. Here, EBT’s Three-Spot moves a PRR hopper in September 1955. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

Read More…

Rio Grande FT’s at Coal Creek

20150127

Four Rio Grande FT diesels labor up the Front Range of the Rockies with a 55-car freight out of Denver in March 1942. Smoke from the train’s 2-8-2 pusher is visible in the distance. This line up to and though Moffatt Tunnel was built by the Denver & Salt Lake but used heavily by Rio […]

Read More…

Lineup at IC’s Central Station, Chicago

20150114

A late afternoon photo from 1951 at Central Station, Illinois Central’s main terminal in Chicago, finds three trains ready to depart. From left: IC’s Panama Limited to New Orleans, New York Central’s Twilight Limited to Detroit, and IC’s Seminole to Jacksonville, Fla. Part of the Seminole’s run was on the Central of Georgia, which assigned […]

Read More…

Icing station at Laramie, Wyo.

20150116

Union Pacific Big Boy 4004 pulls alongside the Pacific Fruit Express icing platform at Laramie, Wyo., in the mid-1950s. Conveyors have pulled the ice blocks into position for the train’s arrival. Union Pacific photo […]

Read More…

Bring on the snow-themed photo gallery

steam train in snow

Snow-themed photo gallery Though the weather outside is frightful, these trains sure make it look delightful. This gallery of snow-covered trains and railroads are from all over the United States. Captured within the last decade or so, from winter storms to light dustings, these photos reveal the beauty of cold, winter days. While scrolling through […]

Read More…

Empire Builder diner

20150115

Cut-glass partitions with imagery representing the mining and timber industries decorate the interior of a 36-seat dining car built for Great Northern’s Empire Builder in 1950. Great Northern photo […]

Read More…

Dansville & Mount Morris 2-6-0

20150123

In September 1955, employees of New York short line Dansville & Mount Morris conduct repairs on former Lackawanna Mogul No. 565. D&MM would use one of its two steam engines in one year, the other in the next. Philip R. Hastings photo […]

Read More…

B&O freight to Rochester

20150119

Framed by the road’s trademark color position-light signals, a Baltimore & Ohio freight passes Ashford Junction, N.Y., where B&O’s former Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad lines diverge to Rochester (left) and Buffalo (right). B&O was part of Chessie System at the time of this 1970s photo. Robert E. Gabbey photo […]

Read More…