The year and locomotive number are the same – 1954 – as one of Louisville & Nashville’s big M-1-class “Big Emma” 2-8-4s leads an Atlanta-bound freight out of Decoursey Yard in Kentucky, a few miles south of Cincinnati. Louisville & Nashville photo […]
The best-known and most-popular early General Electric locomotives are its 44-ton and 70-ton switching locomotives, both of which found favor among large Class I railroads as well as short lines and industrial users. The GE 44-ton locomotive was significant, as it was the heaviest locomotive that, by operating rules, could be run by an engineer […]
A 4-6-0 and 4-8-4 lead Denver & Rio Grande Western’s westbound Scenic Limited into the Royal Gorge west of Canon City in 1942. William Moedinger photo […]
A metal emblem and lettering on the nose of Missouri Pacific E6 No. 7002 touts the diesel’s initial assignment to the joint MoPac-Rio Grande Colorado Eagle. When this photo was made in April 1948, the unit was preparing to depart St. Louis with the westbound Royal Gorge, another MoPac-D&RGW operation. Rick Church photo […]
Versatility is a single word that sums up the Mikado-type steam locomotive. This 2-8-2 wheel arrangement became the “one size fits all” in terms of mass usage across North America’s railroads. When it also came to bridging the gap in advanced steam technology at the turn of the 20th century, this locomotive type delivered. […]
A Lackawanna Railroad local train is near the end of its Hoboken–Washington (N.J.) run as mail bags and other items are unloaded from its combine car during the station stop at Hackettstown, N.J., in 1947. Aaron G. Fryer photo […]
Milwaukee Road 4-6-4 No. 135 passes Tower A-2 at Western Avenue in Chicago with a suburban run to Elgin in June 1953. Robert R. Malinoski photo […]
Steam-turbine-electric No. 2300 Jawn Henry — N&W’s bid for a coal-fired future — drops down Virginia’s Christianburg Hill with its own doghouse-equipped water tender, an extra canteen, the road’s dynamometer car, and tidewater-bound coal loads. LeRoy A. Scott photo […]
Amtrak Indianapolis services exhibit more than their share of tumult through Amtrak’s five decades. No single train has served the city during this time, and, in fact, the Hoosier State’s capital city had no Amtrak service from October 1979 to October 1980. Amtrak’s Indianapolis station is, and has been, located at 350 S. Illinois […]
Freshly washed GG1 No. 4876 leaves Wilmington, Del., with the Executive. On Jan. 15, 1953, the locomotive was involved in a runaway wreck that dropped it into the basement of Washington Union Station. R.H. Braun photo Freshly washed GG1 No. 4876 leaves Wilmington, Del., with the Executive. On Jan. 15, 1953, the locomotive was involved in […]
Seaboard Air Line train No. 280 heads northbound near Aberdeen, N.C., with several piggyback trailers in 1962. Trailers include Pennsy, Fruit Growers Express, and Chesapeake & Ohio. J. David Ingles collection […]
Like some railfan contemporaries, in recent weeks I’ve been going through decades of railroad stuff, seeing what I can get rid of and what I simply can’t live without. Tough choices. In the “can’t live without” category, anything with David P. Morgan’s name on it, or anything labeled “New York Central” or “C&EI.” In the […]
