Welcome The next generation? Head End IRM hosts EMD centennial celebration Fast Mail Letters from readers on our Fall 2022 issue Mileposts Commentary by Kevin P. Keefe True Color Railroad divided The Way It Was Tales from railfans and railroaders Car Stop Variety in Toronto Bumping Post Toronto Union Station […]
Fall 2022
Welcome Three cheers for underdogs Head End A potpourri railroad history, then and now Fast Mail Letters from readers on our Summer 2022 issue True Color Over-under at ‘OKC’ Mileposts Commentary by Kevin P. Keefe The Way It Was Tales from railfans and railroaders Car Stop Chicago Surface Lines Bumping Post Seaboard at St. Petersburg […]
Amtrak Miami services through time
Amtrak Miami services have been dominated by trains from New York City. This included, at various times, the Silver Meteor, Silver Palm, and Silver Star. Additionally, at times, the Magic City has been served by its own section of the Floridian from Chicago and an extension of the Sunset Limited. Amtrak’s current Miami […]
Penn Central passenger trains remembered
All through May 2023, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the legacy of everyone’s favorite bankrupt railroad: Penn Central. Please enjoy this photo gallery of Penn Central passenger trains selected from the files in Kalmbach Media‘s David P. Morgan Library. Only from Trains.com! […]
General Electric BQ23-7: An Odd Diesel That Didn’t
The General Electric BQ23-7 turned out to be an odd diesel that didn’t. At the dawn of railroads eschewing cabooses as unnecessary expenses, locomotive builders were putting forth ideas to accommodate train crews. One option was the BQ23-7, the Q indicating crew Quarters. General Electric’s design team took its standard 2,250 hp […]
4-8-4 entering Moffat Tunnel
Rio Grande engine 1703, from the road’s first group of 4-8-4s, heads a westbound train out of Denver into the 6.2-mile darkness of Moffat Tunnel in August 1950. W. R. Berg Jr. photo […]
Penn Central history remembered
Penn Central history began existence on Feb. 1, 1968. More accurately, it was incorporated in 1846 as the Pennsylvania Railroad; changed its name to Pennsylvania New York Central Transportation Co. on Feb. 1, 1968, when it merged the New York Central; and adopted the name Penn Central Co. on May 8, 1968. On Oct. 1, […]
‘Olympian Hiawatha’ coach
Among the cars built for the Milwaukee Road’s 1947 Olympian Hiawatha were 52-seat coaches, produced in the road’s own shops. The interior paneling matched the exterior paint scheme, which was soon modified. MILW photo […]
NYC 2-6-6-2 in West Virginia
A long way from the broad, flat Water Level Route, New York Central 2-6-6-2 Mallet 1940 is seen in an undated photo on the road’s line to Charleston and other West Virginia points. Classic Trains collection […]
C&O book showcases photographer William M. Rittase
The railroad industry has created more than its share of publicity photographs over the past 150 years. Here, standing in Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Memorial Library, I’m surrounded by tens of thousands of them, mostly 8 x 10 black-and-white prints, all of which came flooding into the company after the 1940 launch of […]
Rio Grande 2-8-8-2 on Tennessee Pass
There’s a dusting of snow on the ground as Rio Grande 2-8-8-2 No. 3613 approaches the Tennessee Pass tunnel with an eastbound freight in October 1946. R. H. Kindig photo […]
Pennsy race track specials in Maryland
E7s, E8s, and a pair of Baldwin switchers on trains from Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington wait for horse-racing fans to finish their business at Bowie Race Track in December 1953. H. N. Proctor photo […]