Western Maryland 4-6-6-4 1203 rounds famous Helmstetter’s Curve west of Cumberland, Md., with a train for Connellsville, Pa., on May 15, 1953. Edward Theisinger photo […]
Challenger on Helmstetter’s
Section: Photos
Celebrity PA on the GM&O
Gulf, Mobile & Ohio Alco PA No. 292 leads local train 11 to St. Louis across PRR’s Chicago River drawbridge and onto home rails at 21st Street, Chicago, in October 1950. This unit powered the 1947 Freedom Train, evidenced by the plaque just ahead of the ladder to the cab. Wallace W. Abbey photo […]
Alco RSDs in Utah
On the Utah Railway, three six-motor Alco diesels —RSD4 301, RSD5 306, and RSD4 302 — descend Soldier Summit with a loaded coal train in 1970. J. David Ingles photo […]
CB&Q troop train departing Aurora
Burlington Route 2-8-2 5304 pulls out of the station at Aurora, Ill., 38 miles west of Chicago, with 22 empty standard Pullmans and troop sleepers in February 1946. The equipment is likely headed to the Pacific Coast for a load of demobilizing troops. Henry J. McCord photo […]
Interview with Photographer Wang Wei
Interview with Photographer Wang Wei: Golden sunlight-lit autumn leaves, grazing horses, steam, snow. Majestic mountains. Night shots. Sparks. The Big Dipper. Words fail at this point. Wang Wei’s images convey color, contrast, and depth to equal any images showing off awe-inspiring Chinese landscapes. Underlying these images’ qualities is a single constant: trains. Steam locomotives are […]
Wabash 4-8-2 out of Detroit
A Wabash Railroad Detroit–Decatur, Ill., freight departs Oakwood Yard outside the Motor City behind Mountain type 2812 in 1940. Robert A. Hadley photo […]
TH&B Geeps on a freight
Although its tracks didn’t reach the first and last places in its name, the 110-mile Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo served several important points in southern Ontario. Here, maroon-and-cream GP7 No. 76 and GP9 No. 402 lead a Toronto–Coburg freight on the rails of TH&B parent Canadian Pacific in April 1976. A. J. Sutherland photo […]
SP’s Lucin Cutoff
The Southern Pacific’s original transcontinental line north of Ogden, Utah, and around the top of the Great Salt Lake via Promontory was operationally difficult. In 1904, SP opened the 102-mile Lucin Cutoff, a shorter, flatter, straighter route that included a 12-mile trestle across the lake. Classic Train coll. […]
Santa Fe’s Argentine freight house
The Santa Fe built a large, new freight station at Argentine, Kan., in 1961. The office building portion included offices for agents, the railroad’s transportation company, and division freight traffic personnel. ATSF photo […]
Porter 0-4-0T
A diminutive Porter 0-4-0T works in the great north woods of Minnesota. Although not powerful, small Porters like this one enabled small logging operations to get in business quickly and cheaply. Library of Congress photo […]
Exiting CN’s St. Clair Tunnel
In a view from the head end, an eastbound train led by St. Clair Tunnel Co. electrics exits Canadian National’s Port Huron, Mich.–Sarnia, Ont., St. Clair Tunnel in 1958. Jim Davis photo […]
P&LE’s massive Ohio River bridge
The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie’s cantilever bridge across the Ohio River at Beaver City, Pa., opened in 1910. The total length of the cantilever is 1,400 feet, with 769 feet between piers. Historic American Engineering Record photo […]
