Mind-blowing Polar Express facts In 1985, illustrator and writer Chris Van Allsburg penned what has become a classic Christmas story — The Polar Express. Then 19 years later, 2004, film director Robert Zemeckis led a team to create the feature-length, animated version of the story centered around a most magical train and testing our “persuasion […]
North by Northwest North by Northwest is a true cinema classic and is considered one of the best of its genre. Produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this American spy thriller film stars Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, and the New York Central Railroad. It takes place in 1959 in Manhattan. The main […]
Dirt the Cat One of the world’s most famous cats is a railroader. Dirt, his fur coat stained by a lifetime amid the soot and grease of Nevada Northern Railway’s 114-year-old engine-servicing facility, is nobody’s pet and everybody’s friend. The people-loving shop cat has an international following thanks to a series of widely shared social […]
What was your first byline in Trains? I had a news photo of brand-new Southern Railway GE U30Cs in the April 1968 issue, but my first feature story, “Yes, I DID Want to Run a Railroad” appeared in the July 1978 issue. It was a completely unsolicited manuscript with no photos. I wanted to describe my […]
Steam locomotives generate electricity As soon as trains began running at night railroads realized a light was needed for crews to see the tracks ahead and for people at grade crossings to be warned of the oncoming train. The first attempt at a headlight appeared in 1832 and involved a large wood bonfire burning in […]
A Norfolk Southern train storms eastward through Otis, Indiana. Trains staff Read more Norfolk Southern articles on Trains‘ website. Norfolk Southern summary Norfolk Southern Corporation is a railroad holding company incorporated in Virginia. The company’s corporate headquarters are in Norfolk, Virginia. Operations headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NS), a large […]
ET23DCM locomotives explained ET23DCM locomotives explained: EMD’s SD40-2 turned 50 this year. While its days of front-line power on the mainline have long passed, the sheer quantity of locomotives built means a significant SD40-2 presence remains across the railroad industry. After a half century, the SD40-2 model has been rebuilt, upgraded, downgraded, and chopped up […]
Metra six-axle commuter locomotives Metra six-axle commuter locomotives: The arrival in October 2022 of Metra’s SD70MACH, MEXT No. 500, marks the return of six-axle commuter locomotives to Chicago after more than a decade. Rebuilt from former Kansas City Southern/Transportación Ferroviaria Mexicana SD70MACs sourced from Progress Rail’s locomotive fleet, the 15-unit order brings new technology to […]
Hot Water Gingerbread Muffins Classic Trains Editor Brian Schmidt loaned me some old railroad cookbooks recently, and the recipe for “Hot Water Gingerbread” caught my eye. According to the book, this dessert was a favorite on the Sunset Limited in the 1950s and 60s. How would it taste today? With a few tweaks, I made […]
Central of Georgia passenger trains All through November 2022, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the Central of Georgia Railroad. For this article, please enjoy Central of Georgia passenger trains in images selected from Kalmbach Media’s David P. Morgan Library. This article was first published in December 2017. […]
The most expensive 2-8-4s were Louisville & Nashville’s “Big Emma” M-1s. Perhaps no latter-day steam locomotive wheel arrangement matched the 2-8-4 for dual service, a term for overall efficiency across multiple assignments. Introduced in 1924 by Lima Locomotive Works as the first exponent of what it called “Super Power” — a promotional phrase to highlight […]
The best-selling Baldwin diesel locomotives are low-horsepower end-cab switchers owing to wartime material restrictions. Baldwin Locomotive Works of Eddystone, Pa., was the country’s largest steam locomotive builder. But it was no stranger to electric and internal-combustion locomotives. It was, however, slow to offer a standard line of diesel road engines. Baldwin’s late entry to the […]
